Amended in Senate May 31, 2016

Amended in Senate April 14, 2016

Amended in Senate March 28, 2016

Senate Bill No. 982

Introduced by Senator McGuire

February 10, 2016

An act to add Section 4474.12 to the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to developmental services.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 982, as amended, McGuire. State Department of Developmental Services: developmental centers.

Existing law vests in the State Department of Developmental Services jurisdiction over state hospitals referred to as developmental centers for the provision of residential care to individuals with developmental disabilities, including the Sonoma Developmental Center, the Fairview Developmental Center, and the Porterville Developmental Center, as specified. Existing law requires the department to comply with procedural requirements when closing a developmental center. Existing law required, on or before October 1, 2015, the State Department of Developmental Services to submit to the Legislature a plan or plans to close one or more developmental centers.

This bill would require the department to contract for a longitudinal study, commencing July 1, 2017, begin delete to end delete begin insert to, among other things, end insert assess the quality of life and outcomes of developmental center residents who relocate from the Sonoma Developmental Center, the Fairview Developmental Center, and the general treatment area of the Porterville Developmental Center as a result of the closure of those begin delete centers. end delete begin insert centers and to make specified recommendations. end insert The bill would specify the qualifications and duties of the contractor, as specified. The bill would require the department to submit interim reports to the Legislature regarding the study at the end of the first and second years of the study. The bill would require, upon the completion of the study, the department to submit the study to the Legislature, as specified.

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

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

begin insert

begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

end insert

begin insert It is the intent of the Legislature to ensure the
appropriate transition of consumers currently living in
developmental centers from those centers to community living
arrangements as a result of the closure of the Sonoma
Developmental Center, the Fairview Developmental Center, and
the general treatment area of the Porterville Developmental
Center. It is the further intent of the Legislature to measure the
unique needs of people transitioning from developmental centers,
including providing information about the quality of life,
satisfaction with services, the degree to which the individuals
achieve their goals, and other measures as determined by the
department. end insert

begin delete SECTION 1. end delete

begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

Section 4474.12 is added to the Welfare and Institutions
Code, immediately following Section 4474.11, to read:

4474.12.  

(a) To ensure that persons with developmental
disabilities who are moved from developmental centers to the
community are receiving necessary services and supports, the
department shall contract with an independent agency or
organization for a longitudinal study, commencing July 1, 2017,
to assess the quality of life and outcomes of developmental center
residents who relocate from the Sonoma Developmental Center,
the Fairview Developmental Center, and the general treatment
area of the Porterville Developmental Center, as those institutions
are identified in Sections 4440 and 4440.5, as a result of the closure
of those centers. begin insert The study shall supplement the quality assessment
system established by Section 4571 and make recommendations
regarding improving health and safety, choice, integration, and
other similar factors based on the data collected. The study shall
be conducted each year concerning residents who move from the
developmental centers until two years following the date the last
resident moves from the developmental centers. end insert

(b) The contractor shall be experienced in all of the following:

(1) Designing valid tracking instruments.

(2) Tracking the quality of community programs, including
outcome-based measures such as health and safety, quality of life,
integration, choice, and consumer satisfaction.

(3) Tracking the quality and appropriateness of community
placements for persons moving from large institutions into
community settings.

(4) Developing data systems.

(5) Data analysis and report preparation.

(c) (1) The contractor shall measure consumer and family
satisfaction with services provided, including case management
and quality of life, including, but not limited to, health and safety,
independence, productivity, integration, opportunities for choice,
and delivery of needed services.

(2) The contractor shall meet with each person, and the person’s
family, or legal guardian or conservator, when appropriate, no less
than once per year to discuss quality of life and observe the
person’s services and supports.

(3) In cases in which the consumer is not capable of
communicating his or her responses, and in which a family
member, or legal guardian or conservator, is not involved, the
contractor shall meet with no fewer than two persons familiar with
the consumer. Additionally, the contractor shall interview staff
and friends who know the consumer best and review records, as

begin delete appropriate. end delete begin insert appropriate, and shall use any data concerning the
consumer collected through the quality assurance instrument
pursuant to Section 4571. end insert

(d) The contract may be satisfied by the same contractor used
by the department to implement the quality assurance instrument
pursuant to Section 4571, if appropriate.

(e) (1) For purposes of conducting the study, the department
shall maintain and update the addresses of, and contact information
for, former residents of the begin delete center end delete begin insert centers end insert who relocated as a result
of the closure of the centers.

(2) The department shall ensure, to the extent permitted by law,
that researchers conducting the study have access to data and other
information necessary to conduct the study, including the addresses
of, and contact information for, former residents of the begin delete center end delete
begin insert centers end insert who relocated due to the closure of the begin delete center. end delete begin insert centers. end insert

(f) The department shall submit interim reports to the Legislature
regarding the study at the end of the first and second years of the
study, in accordance with the requirements of Section 9795 of the
Government Code. Upon the completion of the begin delete study, end delete begin insert study as
described in subdivision (a), end insert the department shall submit the study
to the Legislature, in accordance with the requirements of Section
9795 of the Government Code.