Amended in Senate July 16, 2015

Amended in Senate July 7, 2015

Amended in Assembly May 6, 2015

Amended in Assembly April 22, 2015

Amended in Assembly March 26, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 564

Introduced by Assembly Member Eggman

February 24, 2015

An act to amend Section 4677, to amend, repeal, and add Section 4784 of, and to repeal Section 4782 of, the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to developmental services, and making an appropriation therefor.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 564, as amended, Eggman. Regional centers: parental fees.

Under existing law, the Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Services Act, the State Department of Developmental Services is required to contract with regional centers to provide services and supports to individuals with developmental disabilities and their families. Existing law requires the Director of Developmental Services to establish, annually review, and adjust as needed, a schedule of parental fees to be paid by parents of children under 18 years of age who are receiving 24-hour out-of-home care services through a regional center or who are residents of a state hospital or on leave from the state hospital.

Existing law provides that all parental fees collected by or for regional centers are remitted to the State Treasury to be deposited in the Program Development Fund, a continuously appropriated fund.

This bill would, effective July 1, 2016, revise and recast those provisions by, among other things, calculating monthly parental fees based on a percentage of the parents’ annual income and authorizing a credit of the equivalent of one day of the monthly parental fee for each day a child spends 6 or more consecutive hours in a 24-hour period on a home visit. The bill would prohibit a monthly parental fee from exceeding the maximum monthly cost of caring for a child or the cost of services provided, whichever is less. The bill would require, for parents of children placed in 24-hour out-of-home care prior to July 1, 2016, the monthly parental fee to be recalculated at the time of the parents’ annual fee begin delete recalculation. end delete begin insert recalculation, or within 30 days of a parental request for review by the department. end insert The bill would make other related and conforming changes. To the extent monthly parental fees are increased by these provisions, this bill would make an appropriation.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: yes. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 4677 of the Welfare and Institutions Code
is amended to read:

4677.  

(a) (1) All parental fees collected by or for regional
centers shall be remitted to the State Treasury to be deposited in
the Developmental Disabilities Program Development Fund, which
is hereby created in the State Treasury and hereinafter called the
Program Development Fund. The purpose of the Program
Development Fund shall be to provide resources needed to initiate
new programs, and to expand or convert existing programs. Within
the context of, and consistent with, approved priorities for program
development in the state plan, program development funds shall
promote integrated residential, work, instructional, social, civic,
volunteer, and recreational services and supports that increase
opportunities for self-determination and maximum independence
of persons with developmental disabilities. Notwithstanding any
other law or regulation, commencing July 1, 2009, parental fees
remitted to the State Treasury shall be deposited in accordance
with Section 4784.

(2) In no event shall an allocation from the Program
Development Fund be granted for more than 24 months.

(b) (1) The State Council on Developmental Disabilities shall,
at least once every five years, request from all regional centers
information on the types and amounts of services and supports
needed, but currently unavailable.

(2) The state council shall work collaboratively with the
department and the Association of Regional Center Agencies to
develop standardized forms and protocols that shall be used by all
regional centers and the state council in collecting and reporting
this information. In addition to identifying services and supports
that are needed, but currently unavailable, the forms and protocols
shall also solicit input and suggestions on alternative and innovative
service delivery models that would address consumer needs.

(3) In addition to the information provided pursuant to paragraph
(2), the state council may utilize information from other sources,
including, but not limited to, public hearings, quality assurance
assessments conducted pursuant to Section 4571, regional center
reports on alternative service delivery submitted to the department
pursuant to Section 4669.2, and the annual report on self-directed
services produced pursuant to Section 4685.7.

(4) The department shall provide additional information, as
requested by the state council.

(5) Based on the information provided by the regional centers
and other agencies, the state council shall develop an assessment
of the need for new, expanded, or converted community services
and support, and make that assessment available to the public. The
assessment shall include a discussion of the type and amount of
services and supports necessary but currently unavailable including
the impact on consumers with common characteristics, including,
but not limited to, disability, specified geographic regions, age,
and ethnicity, face distinct challenges. The assessment shall
highlight alternative and innovative service delivery models
identified through their assessment process.

(6) This needs assessment shall be conducted at least once every
five years and updated annually. The assessment shall be included
in the state plan and shall be provided to the department and to the
appropriate committees of the Legislature. The assessment and
annual updates shall be made available to the public. The State
Council on Developmental Disabilities, in consultation with the
department, shall make a recommendation to the Department of
Finance as to the level of funding for program development to be
included in the Governor’s Budget, based upon this needs
assessment.

(c) In addition to parental fees and General Fund appropriations,
the Program Development Fund may be augmented by federal
funds available to the state for program development purposes,
when these funds are allotted to the Program Development Fund
in the state plan. The Program Development Fund is,
notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code, hereby
continuously appropriated to the department, and subject to any
allocations that may be made in the annual Budget Act. In no event
shall any of these funds revert to the General Fund.

(d) The department may allocate funds from the Program
Development Fund for any legal purpose, provided that requests
for proposals and allocations are approved by the state council in
consultation with the department, and are consistent with the
priorities for program development in the state plan. Allocations
from the Program Development Fund shall take into consideration
the following factors:

(1) The future fiscal impact of the allocations on other state
supported services and supports for persons with developmental
disabilities.

(2) (A) The information on priority services and supports
needed, but currently unavailable, submitted by the regional
centers.

(B) Consistent with the level of need as determined in the state
plan, excess parental fees may be used for purposes other than
programs specified in subdivision (a) only when specifically
appropriated to the State Department of Developmental Services
for those purposes.

(e) Under no circumstances shall the deposit of federal moneys
into the Program Development Fund be construed as requiring the
State Department of Developmental Services to comply with a
definition of “developmental disabilities” and “services for persons
with developmental disabilities” other than as specified in
subdivisions (a) and (b) of Section 4512 for the purposes of
determining eligibility for developmental services or for allocating
parental fees and state general funds deposited in the Program
Development Fund.

SEC. 2.  

Section 4782 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
repealed.

SEC. 3.  

Section 4784 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:

4784.  

(a) The Director of Developmental Services shall
establish, annually review, and adjust as needed, a schedule of
parental fees for services received through the regional centers.
Effective July 1, 2009, this schedule shall be revised to reflect
changes in economic conditions that affect parents’ ability to pay
the fee, but not to exceed an inflationary factor as determined by
the department.

(b) The parental fee schedule established pursuant to this section
shall be exempt from Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section
11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.

(c) In establishing the amount parents shall pay, the director
shall take into account all of the following factors:

(1) The current cost of caring for a child at home, as determined
by the most recent data available from the United States
Department of Agriculture’s survey on the cost of raising a child
in California, adjusted for the Consumer Price Index (CPI) from
the survey date to the date of payment adjustment.

(2) Medical expenses incurred prior to regional center care.

(3) Whether the child is living at home.

(4) Parental payments for medical expenses, clothing,
incidentals, and other items considered necessary for the normal
rearing of a child.

(5) Transportation expenses incurred in visiting a child.

(d) The parental fee schedule shall exempt families with an
income below the federal poverty level from assessment and
payment of the parental fee.

(e) (1) The adjusted fee shall be assessed in full for children
when the out-of-home placement commences on or after July 1,
2009.

(2) For children placed out-of-home prior to July 1, 2009, the
department shall determine the increase in the parental fee above
the amount assessed using the fee schedule in effect on June 30,
2009. This fee increase shall be implemented over three years,
with one-third of the increase added to the fee on July 1, 2009,
one-third of the increase added to the fee on July 1, 2010, and the
final third added to the fee on July 1, 2011.

(f) Notwithstanding any other law, commencing July 1, 2009,
all fees collected shall be remitted to the State Treasury to be
deposited as follows:

(1) Fees collected up to the amount that would be assessed using
the fee schedule in effect on June 30, 2009, shall be deposited into
the Program Development Fund established in Chapter 6
(commencing with Section 4670) to provide resources needed to
initiate new programs, consistent with approved priorities for
program development in the state plan.

(2) Fees collected using the July 1, 2009, schedule that are
greater than the amount that would have been assessed using the
fee schedule in effect on June 30, 2009, shall be deposited into the
Program Development Fund and shall be available for expenditure
by the department to offset General Fund costs.

(g) This section shall become inoperative on July 1, 2016, and,
as of January 1, 2017, is repealed, unless a later enacted statute,
that becomes operative on or before January 1, 2017, deletes or
extends the dates on which it becomes inoperative and is repealed.

SEC. 4.  

Section 4784 is added to the Welfare and Institutions
Code, to read:

4784.  

(a) The department shall assess a monthly fee to parents
of children under 18 years of age who are receiving 24-hour
out-of-home care services through a regional center or as a resident
of a state hospital when the family’s gross income is above 200
percent of the federal poverty level.

(b) The monthly parental fees and credits established pursuant
to this section shall be exempt from Chapter 3.5 (commencing
with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the
Government Code.

(c) A monthly parental fee described in this section shall be
assessed beginning 60 days from the date of the child’s placement
in 24-hour out-of-home care.

(d) For the purpose of assessing the fee, parents shall provide
income documentation to the department within 30 days of the
date the department requested the documentation. Income
documentation shall include a copy of a parent’s most recent
federal tax return or a copy of each parent’s most recent paystub
or employer-provided earnings statement, issued within 60 days
of the date the department requested the documentation. A
self-employed parent shall document his or her income by
providing a copy of his or her most recent federal tax return. A
parent without income documentation shall report and certify his
or her income on a form provided by the department.

(e) (1) The monthly parental fee for parents who timely submit
income documentation or from whom the department does not
request income documentation shall be as follows:

(A) Parents who have a family income of 201 percent to 300
percent, inclusive, of the current federal poverty level shall be
assessed a monthly fee of 3 percent of their annual gross income,
divided by 12.

(B) Parents who have a family income of 301 percent to 400
percent, inclusive, of the current federal poverty level shall be
assessed a monthly fee of 4 percent of their annual gross income,
divided by 12.

(C) Parents who have a family income of 401 percent to 500
percent, inclusive, of the current federal poverty level shall be
assessed a monthly fee of 5 percent of their annual gross income,
divided by 12.

(D) Parents who have a family income of 501 percent or more
of the current federal poverty level shall be assessed a monthly
fee of 6 percent of their annual gross income, divided by 12.

(2) The monthly parental fee for parents who fail to provide
income documentation to the department within 30 days of the
date the department requested the documentation shall be
equivalent to the maximum monthly cost of caring for a child, as
determined by the most recent data available from the United States
Department of Agriculture’s survey on the cost of raising a child
in the west region. However, if parents whose monthly parental
fee is calculated pursuant to this paragraph later provide the
required income documentation, their monthly parental fee shall
be recalculated pursuant to paragraph (1) and retroactively adjusted
based on the income information provided.

(3) A monthly parental fee assessed pursuant to this section
shall not exceed the maximum monthly cost of caring for a child,
as determined by the most recent data available from the United
States Department of Agriculture’s survey on the cost of raising
a child in the west region, or the cost of the services provided,
whichever is less.

(4) A monthly parental fee assessed pursuant to this section
shall be recalculated every 12 months, on the date of the original
fee assessment, and within 60 days of the date a parent notifies
the department of a change in family income or family size and
provides updated income documentation, as described in
subdivision (d).

(5) Parents of children placed in 24-hour out-of-home care prior
to July 1, 2016, shall have their monthly parental fee recalculated
pursuant to the provisions of this section at the time of their annual
fee begin delete recalculation. end delete begin insert recalculation, or within 30 days of a parental
request for review by the department. end insert

(6) The department may grant a temporary waiver from paying
the monthly parental fee for parents who substantiate, with receipts,
an unavoidable and uninsured catastrophic loss with direct
economic impact on the family or significant unreimbursed medical
costs associated with care for a child who is a regional center
consumer.

(f) Parents who remove their child from 24-hour out-of-home
care for a home visit for six or more consecutive hours during a
24-hour period shall be entitled to a credit equal to one day of the
monthly parental fee. A credit shall be calculated by multiplying
the parents’ monthly parental fee by 12 and dividing that number
by the number of days in the year. In order to receive a credit
pursuant to this subdivision, parents shall submit a request to the
department that is postmarked no later than 60 days after the day
for which the credit was earned. Failure to comply with this
requirement will result in a denial of the credit by the department.

(g) All fees collected shall be remitted to the State Treasury to
be deposited into the Program Development Fund established in
Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 4670) to provide resources
needed to initiate new programs, consistent with approved priorities
for the program development in the state plan, or to be used by the
department to offset General Fund costs.

(h) Parents may appeal a determination of the amount of a
monthly parental fee or the denial or amount of a credit requested
pursuant to subdivision (f) by submitting a written appeal request
to the director within 30 days of the date of the monthly parental
fee confirmation letter or credit confirmation or denial letter. An
appeal pursuant to this subdivision may consider only disputes
concerning the family income used to set the monthly parental fee
and the denial or amount of credit. The director, or his or her
designee shall, within 30 days after receipt of the appeal, review
the assessed monthly parental fee or credit denial or amount for
accuracy and provide written notice of the decision to the appellant.
The director or his or her designee shall, when deciding an appeal
of a monthly parental fee, consider the income documentation and
the calculation of the monthly parental fee described in subdivision
(e). All decisions regarding monthly parental fee appeals shall be
retroactive to the date the appealed monthly parental fee was
assessed.

(i) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2016.