BILL ANALYSIS Ó SB 982 Page 1 Date of Hearing: August 3, 2016 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Lorena Gonzalez, Chair SB 982 (McGuire) - As Amended May 31, 2016 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Policy |Human Services |Vote:|7 - 0 | |Committee: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- 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. SB 982 Page 2 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. SB 982 Page 3 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, SB 982 Page 4 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 SB 982 Page 5