BILL ANALYSIS
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1191
Author: Longville (D), et al
Amended: 7/10/01 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE HEALTH & HUMAN SERV. COMMITTEE : 10-0, 6/27/01
AYES: Ortiz, Haynes, Battin, Chesbro, Escutia, Figueroa,
Kuehl, Romero, Vasconcellos, Vincent
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 9-0, 8/20/01
AYES: Alpert, Battin, Burton, Escutia, Johannessen,
Johnson, Karnette, Poochigian, Speier
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 75-0, 5/24/01 (Passed on Consent) - See
last page for vote
SUBJECT : Developmental disabilities
SOURCE : Association of Regional Center Agencies
DIGEST : This bill establishes a process for resolving
disputes between regional centers and local public
agencies.
ANALYSIS : Existing law:
1. Establishes the Lanterman Developmental Disabilities
Services Act, under which the Department of
Developmental Services (DDS) contracts with 21 private
non-profit regional centers to provide case management
services and arrange for, or purchase, other services
CONTINUED
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that meet the needs of individuals with developmental
disabilities. Some of the services are sought from
another publicly-funded agency.
2. Prohibits regional centers from using funds to supplant
the budget of any agency that has a legal responsibility
and is funded to provide services to the general public;
however, the regional center is the payer of last resort
for services the regional center has determined
necessary for an individual.
3. Requires that regional centers develop an individualized
program plan (IPP) to be developed for every child over
the age of 36 months who is determined by a regional
center to be eligible for DDS system services. Requires
the IPP to identify the services and supports to be
purchased by the regional center or obtained from other
agencies.
4. Establishes the California Early Intervention Services
Act (Early Start Program), in addition to regular
development disabilities (DD) system service, funded
through Part C of the federal Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), to promote a
coordinated family service system for children from
birth to 36 months who have a developmental delay or are
at risk of developing a disability. Eligibility for
Early Start is broader than eligibility for regular DD
system services.
5. Requires regional centers to share primary
responsibility for provision of Early Start early
intervention services with local education agencies.
Requires that the regional centers develop an
individualized family service plan (IFSP) for each child
in Early Start, delineating the child's levels of
development, desired outcomes, services to be provided,
and methods to be used to determine the child's
progress.
This bill:
1. Establishes a dispute resolution process that applies to
disputes regarding which local agency is responsible for
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delivering or paying for a specific type, duration, or
frequency of service contained in either an Early Start
IFSP or a regular DD System IPP of a child, aged 0 - 5.
2. Prohibits the dispute resolution process from being used
to determine eligibility for a service, resolve disputes
between a consumer and a regional center, or take up
issues that have been decided through a state fair
hearing process or a proceeding under the California
Early Intervention Act, or for which a consumer has
requested mediation or a fair hearing.
3. Specifies that the provisions of the bill do not modify
the mandated responsibility of a regional center or
local education agency to fund services identified in
the Early Start IFSP, and do not modify the
responsibilities of a regional center under the
Lanterman Developmental Services Act (regular DD
system).
4. Authorizes a regional center to submit to another local
agency (e.g., local education agency, county health
department, county mental health department) a written
notification of the failure to provide a service, and a
request for dispute resolution, to the agency that the
regional center believes is responsible for providing
the service. Requires the regional center also to
provide written notification of this request to the
consumer's parent, legal guardian, or authorized
representative.
5. Permits the regional center to withdraw its request for
dispute resolution at any time during the process.
6. Upon receipt of the written notification, requires the
local agency to meet with the regional center and
resolve the dispute within 15 calendar days. If the
dispute is resolved, requires the agency to mail a
written copy of the resolution to the parent, guardian,
or authorized representative within 10 calendar days of
the meeting.
7. If the dispute cannot be resolved within 10 calendar
days of the meeting, requires the parties to submit
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their contentions to the Office of Administrative
Hearings (OAH).
8. Requires OAH to review the dispute and issue a binding
written decision within 30 calendar days of receipt of
the case, specifying the type, frequency and duration of
the disputed service to be provided, as specified in the
IFSP or IPP developed by the regional center, and which
entity is responsible for the service.
9. Requires OAH to send a written copy of the resolution to
the parent, guardian, or authorized representative, the
Director of Developmental Services, the regional center,
and the local agency involved in the dispute resolution
process.
10.Permits the local agency and the regional center to
arrange for the provision of services in the child's
IFSP or IPP on an interim basis, until the dispute is
resolved.
11.Once the dispute resolution process is completed,
requires the agency determined to be responsible for the
service to reimburse the agency that provided the
service, if one did.
12.Specifies that nothing in the inter-agency dispute
resolution process shall prevent a consumer from filing
for a due process hearing or pursuing a remedy through a
civil action.
13.Requires DDS to pay for the services of the OAH.
14.Specifies that no resolution reached through this
process shall set a precedent for the resolution of any
other matter.
15.Sunsets the program December 31, 2004.
Comments :
DDS and the regional centers administer early intervention
services for children who are developmentally delayed or at
risk of developmental disability. However, the regional
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centers are required to share program responsibility with
local school districts and, if the child has health care
needs, programs administered by the Department of Health
Services, (including Medi-Cal and California Children's
Services) and programs administered by county mental
health departments. It is not uncommon for disagreements to
occur among these various agencies regarding which agency
is responsible for paying for a particular service. When
such disagreements arise, the result is that the child may
go without the service until the agencies resolve their
differences or one of the agencies agrees to provide it.
Such disagreements can cause stress on families, interfere
with the provision of early intervention services, and,
regional centers believe, cause regional centers to absorb
more costs.
This bill, sponsored by the Association of Regional Center
Agencies (ARCA), is nearly identical to one introduced last
year by the Assembly Human Services Committee, AB 2918. AB
2918 passed out of the Assembly, but failed passage in the
Senate Appropriations Committee. According to ARCA, the
bill was re-introduced this year because the need still
exists. Families often face great frustration when a
regional center refers it to another local agency for
services, but the agency is reluctant to provide them.
This bill is intended to assure a timely resolution of
inter-agency disputes, and encourage services to be
provided while the resolution process is underway.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04
Fund
Dispute process 60 120
120 General
Staff Comments :
DDS has estimated that the annual cost of the dispute
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process would be approximately $120,000 from the General
Fund. These funds would be used to pay the Office of
Administrative Hearings (OAH) for its services for the
review of, and decisions on, about 70 cases per year.
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/22/01)
Association of Regional Center Agencies (source)
Alta California Regional Center
Developmental Disabilities Area Board 10
San Gabriel/Pomona Regional Center
Tri-Counties Association for the Developmentally Disabled,
Inc.
OPPOSITION : (Verified 8/22/01)
Department of Education
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : ARCA states that they are
sponsoring this bill because it is a major issue for
families when they attempt to access regional center
services. Under law, regional centers are the payor of
last resort and must refer consumers and families to other
agencies for specific services. Often agencies are
reluctant to provide these services even though they are
mandated to do so. This is a frustrating process for
families who are caught between agencies in search of
services. It also frequently results in regional centers
providing services for which they are not responsible.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : The Department of Education
states that this legislation does not just cover children
under the Early Start program, but applies to all children
under the age of 6 who also have individual program plans
(IPPs). The department states that these children most
likely also have individualized education plans (IEPs),
which take effect when a child reaches the age of 3. AB
1191 establishes, on a piecemeal basis, greater protections
through interagency dispute resolution for children with
IPPs who may also be receiving services from other
noneducational public agencies through their IEPs, which is
in violation to the federal Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act.
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ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Aanestad, Alquist, Aroner, Ashburn, Bates, Bogh,
Briggs, Calderon, Bill Campbell, John Campbell,
Canciamilla, Cardenas, Cardoza, Cedillo, Chan, Chavez,
Chu, Cohn, Correa, Cox, Daucher, Diaz, Dickerson, Dutra,
Firebaugh, Frommer, Goldberg, Havice, Hollingsworth,
Horton, Jackson, Keeley, Kehoe, Kelley, Koretz, La Suer,
Leach, Leslie, Liu, Longville, Lowenthal, Maddox,
Maldonado, Matthews, Migden, Mountjoy, Nakano, Nation,
Negrete McLeod, Oropeza, Robert Pacheco, Rod Pacheco,
Papan, Pavley, Pescetti, Reyes, Richman, Runner, Salinas,
Shelley, Simitian, Steinberg, Strickland, Strom-Martin,
Thomson, Vargas, Washington, Wayne, Wesson, Wiggins,
Wright, Wyland, Wyman, Zettel, Hertzberg
CP:jk 8/22/01 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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