BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 982
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Date of Hearing: August 3, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Lorena Gonzalez, Chair
SB 982
(McGuire) - As Amended May 31, 2016
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|Policy |Human Services |Vote:|7 - 0 |
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No
SUMMARY: This bill requires the Department of Developmental
Services (DDS) to contract with an outside agency, beginning
July 1, 2017, to conduct a longitudinal study to collect data on
the quality of life of residents of the Sonoma Developmental
Center (SDC), the Fairview Developmental Center (FDC), and the
general treatment area of the Porterville Developmental Center
(PDC) who transition out of the facilities due the closure of
these centers. Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires the study to supplement the quality assessment system
established in current law and that the study be conducted
each year regarding residents who move from the developmental
centers (DCs) until two years following the date the last
resident moves from the developmental centers.
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2)Requires the contractor to perform the following duties:
a) Measure consumer and family satisfaction with services
provided, as specified;
b) 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; and
c) Meet with no fewer than two persons familiar with the
consumer and interview staff and friends who know the
consumer best and review records, and use data collected
through the quality assurance instrument, in the event that
a consumer is not capable of communicating his or her
responses and a family member, or legal guardian or
conservator is not involved.
1)Requires DDS, for purposes of conducting the study, to:
a) Maintain and update contact information for former
residents of the centers who relocated as a result of the
closure of the centers:
b) Ensure that researchers conducting the study have access
to data and other information necessary to conduct the
study: and
c) Submit interim reports to the Legislature regarding the
study at the end of the first and second years of the study
and submit the study to the Legislature upon its
completion.
FISCAL EFFECT:
DDS estimates ongoing costs in the range of $373,000 to $467,
000 ($290,000 to $360,000 GF) per year for approximately
six-and-a-half-years, for an independent contractor to undertake
the required study.
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COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. In the 2015 May Revision, the Governor announced the
closure of the remaining three DCs in California. According
to the author's office, "This means in the next five years
over 1,000 developmental center residents will be
transitioning into the community system. This bill requires a
longitudinal quality of life study to monitor and evaluate the
transition process and ensure our state follows through with
its commitment to provide appropriate services to
developmentally disabled Californians. Given the fact that
there will NO LONGER be any DCs to fall back on if residents
have challenges in the community, a comprehensive longitudinal
study should be required."
2)Background. Over the past 15 years the Department of Public
Health, the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
Services, and the U.S. Department of Justice have identified
problems in California's DCs, including inadequate care,
insufficient staffing, and insufficient reporting and
investigation of instances of abuse and neglect. In January
2014, the Task Force on the Future of the Developmental
Centers convened by the Administration released a plan for the
long-term future of the developmental centers. In May 2015,
Governor Brown's Administration announced plans to initiate
and develop closure plans for the state's remaining DCs,
except for the secure treatment program at Porterville DC (and
a smaller facility at Canyon Springs in Riverside County).
Currently the administration's intent is to have the last DC
closure completed by 2021.
Since 1993, DDS has utilized a number of tracking projects to
ensure quality of life is maintained when residents of DCs
transition to the community. In 1997, in response to concerns
expressed by the California Association for State Hospital
Parent Councils for the Retarded and Protection and Advocacy,
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the legislature codified requirements for tracking individuals
moving from DCs in order to ensure long-term well-being and
self-sufficiency. The legislation also required DDS to
contract with an independent contractor to complete an annual
Quality of Life survey on all persons who moved from DCs to
the community since April 1993.
In 2009, the above requirement was replaced by the National
Core Indicator (NCI) Survey, a nation-wide quality assessment
survey used by DDS to monitor the performance of developmental
disabilities service system as well as regional center
performance in providing services and supports to consumers.
Conducted by the State Council on Developmental Disabilities,
the survey collects data on consumer and family satisfaction,
quality of services, linguistic and cultural competency, and
personal results.
3)Opposition. In opposition to the bill, DDS indicates that the
information obtained through the study required in this bill
"would be an additional layer of data collection and reporting
on top of the existing and planned quality assurance processes
for monitoring DC movers, would be costly, and would not add
significantly, if at all, to data and information that is
being, or will be obtained through the existing processes."
4)Prior Legislation. SB 391 (Solis and Ducheny), Chapter 294,
Statutes of 1997, codified the State's obligation to track
individuals moving from DCs into the community. It also
specified that, beginning July 1, 1998, an independent
contractor must provide a report to the Governor, the
Legislature, and DDS outlining activities and findings of the
annual Quality of Life survey.
Analysis Prepared by:Jennifer Swenson / APPR. / (916) 319-2081
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