BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  AB 2204
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   April 14, 2010

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Felipe Fuentes, Chair

                    AB 2204 (Beall) - As Amended:  April 5, 2010 

          Policy Committee:                              Human  
          ServicesVote:4-2

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          No     Reimbursable:              

           SUMMARY  

          This bill requires the Department of Developmental Services  
          (DDS) to take into account California's ethnic, sexual  
          orientation, gender identity, geographic, and socioeconomic  
          diversity when convening stakeholder groups. This bill does not  
          establish any stakeholder group, but imposes the requirement on  
          stakeholder groups convened under current law.  

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          Minor absorbable workload to DDS to take into account  
          California's diversity when convening stakeholder groups and to  
          account for such efforts in written reports required under  
          current law to the Legislature. 

           COMMENTS  

          1)Rationale  . This bill, sponsored by the author, is in response  
            to concerns about a lack of stakeholder diversity when  
            Lanterman Act groups are convened. The Lanterman Act governs  
            the rights of and services provided to individuals with  
            disabilities in California's four Developmental Centers (DCs)  
            and 21 Regional Centers (RCs). According to the author,  
            stakeholder groups are one specific mechanism by which to  
            ensure all segments of the DDS consumer population has a voice  
            in shaping programming and accessing services. 

           2)Background  . Statewide, services under the Lanterman Act are  
            provided in the DCs that provide 24-hour care and supervision  
            to 2,100 residents and the RCs that serve 230,000 clients  
            through community-based services. The author indicates several  








                                                                  AB 2204
                                                                  Page  2

            reports over the past 15 years have shown significant  
            differences in expenditures for consumers of different racial  
            groups. For example, a report published by researchers at the  
            University of California, San Francisco concluded that  
            African-American, Asian, and Latino consumers had annual  
            purchase of service expenditures 10% and 25% lower than their  
            Caucasian counterparts. Research indicates such differences  
            may reflect service access, demand for services, and  
            discrimination.

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Mary Ader / APPR. / (916) 319-2081