BILL NUMBER: AB 2702 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Chesbro
FEBRUARY 19, 2010
An act to amend Section 95020 of the Government Code, and to amend
Sections 4648.35, 4648.5, 4685, 4686.2, 4689, and 4689.05 of the
Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to developmental services.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2702, as introduced, Chesbro. Developmental services: planning
teams.
Existing law, the California Early Intervention Services Act,
provides a statewide system of coordinated, comprehensive,
family-centered, multidisciplinary, and interagency programs that are
responsible for providing appropriate early intervention services
and support to all eligible infants and toddlers, as defined, and
their families and requires an eligible infant or toddler receiving
services under the act to have an individualized family service plan
(IFSP). The act requires these services to be provided pursuant to
the existing regional center system under the Lanterman Developmental
Disabilities Service Act.
Under existing law, the Lanterman Developmental Disabilities
Services Act, the State Department of Developmental Services is
responsible for providing various services and supports to
individuals with developmental disabilities, and for ensuring the
appropriateness and quality of those services and supports. Under
existing law, the department contracts with regional centers to
provide services and supports to persons with developmental
disabilities. The services and supports to be provided to a regional
center consumer are contained in an individual program plan (IPP),
developed in accordance with prescribed requirements.
Under existing law, development and monitoring of IFSPs and IPPs
is done by planning teams, as defined, that include specified
participants.
This bill would involve the planning team in various other aspects
of the decision making process relating to the provision of services
and supports through both the California Early Intervention Services
Act and the Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Services Act and
would, in specified instances, make the planning team the decision
making entity.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 95020 of the Government Code is amended to
read:
95020. (a) An eligible infant or toddler shall have an
individualized family service plan. The individualized family service
plan shall be used in place of an individualized education program
required pursuant to Sections 4646 and 4646.5 of the Welfare and
Institutions Code, the individualized program plan required pursuant
to Section 56340 of the Education Code, or any other applicable
service plan.
(b) For an infant or toddler who has been evaluated for the first
time, a meeting to share the results of the evaluation, to determine
eligibility , and, for children who are eligible, to
develop the initial individualized family service plan shall be
conducted within 45 calendar days of receipt of the written referral.
Evaluation results and determination of eligibility may be shared in
a meeting with the family prior to the individualized family service
plan. Written parent consent to evaluate and assess shall be
obtained within the 45-day timeline. A regional center, local
educational agency, or the designee of one of those entities shall
initiate and conduct this meeting. Families shall be afforded the
opportunity to participate in all decisions regarding eligibility and
services.
(c) Parents shall be fully informed of their rights, including the
right to invite another person, including a family member or an
advocate or peer parent, or any or all of them, to accompany them to
any or all individualized family service plan meetings. With parental
consent, a referral shall be made to the local family resource
center or network.
(d) The individualized family service plan shall be in writing and
shall address all of the following:
(1) A statement of the infant's or toddler's present levels of
physical development including vision, hearing, and health status,
cognitive development, communication development, social and
emotional development, and adaptive developments.
(2) With the concurrence of the family, a statement of the family'
s concerns, priorities, and resources related to meeting the special
developmental needs of the eligible infant or toddler.
(3) A statement of the major outcomes expected to be achieved for
the infant or toddler and family where services for the family are
related to meeting the special developmental needs of the eligible
infant or toddler.
(4) The criteria, procedures, and timelines used to determine the
degree to which progress toward achieving the outcomes is being made
and whether modifications or revisions are necessary.
(5) (A) A statement of the specific early intervention services
necessary to meet the unique needs of the infant or toddler as
identified in paragraph (3), including, but not limited to, the
frequency, intensity, location, duration, and method of delivering
the services, and ways of providing services in natural generic
environments, including group training for parents on behavioral
intervention techniques in lieu of some or all of the in-home parent
training component of the behavior intervention services, and
purchase of neighborhood preschool services and needed qualified
personnel in lieu of infant development programs.
(B) Effective July 1, 2009, at the time of development, review, or
modification of an infant's or toddler's individualized family
service plan, the regional center planning
team shall consider both of the following:
(i) The use of group training for parents on behavior intervention
techniques, in lieu of some or all of the in-home parent training
component of the behavior intervention services.
(ii) The purchase of neighborhood preschool services and needed
qualified personnel, in lieu of infant development programs.
(6) A statement of the agency responsible for providing the
identified services.
(7) The name of the service coordinator who shall be responsible
for facilitating implementation of the plan and coordinating with
other agencies and persons.
(8) The steps to be taken to ensure transition of the infant or
toddler upon reaching three years of age to other appropriate
services. These may include, as appropriate, special education or
other services offered in natural environments.
(9) The projected dates for the initiation of services in
paragraph (5) and the anticipated duration of those services.
(e) Each service identified on the individualized family service
plan shall be designated as one of three types:
(1) An early intervention service, as defined in subsection (4) of
Section 1432 of Title 20 of the United States Code, and applicable
regulations, that is provided or purchased through the regional
center, local educational agency, or other participating agency. The
State Department of Health Care Services, State Department of Social
Services, State Department of Mental Health, and State Department of
Alcohol and Drug Programs shall provide services in accordance with
state and federal law and applicable regulations, and up to the level
of funding as appropriated by the Legislature. Early intervention
services identified on an individualized family service plan that
exceed the funding, statutory, and regulatory requirements of these
departments shall be provided or purchased by regional centers or
local educational agencies under subdivisions (b) and (c) of Section
95014. The State Department of Health Care Services, State Department
of Social Services, State Department of Mental Health, and State
Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs shall not be required to
provide early intervention services over their existing funding,
statutory, and regulatory requirements.
(2) Another service, other than those specified in paragraph (1),
which the eligible infant or toddler or his or her family may receive
from other state programs, subject to the eligibility standards of
those programs.
(3) A referral to a nonrequired service that may be provided to an
eligible infant or toddler or his or her family. Nonrequired
services are those services that are not defined as early
intervention services or do not relate to meeting the special
developmental needs of an eligible infant or toddler related to the
disability, but that may be helpful to the family. The granting or
denial of nonrequired services by a public or private agency is not
subject to appeal under this title. Notwithstanding any other
provision of law or regulation to the contrary, effective July 1,
2009, with the exception of durable medical equipment, regional
centers shall not purchase nonrequired services, but may refer a
family to a nonrequired service that may be available to an eligible
infant or toddler or his or her family.
(f) An annual review, and other periodic reviews, of the
individualized family service plan for an infant or toddler and the
infant's or toddler's family shall be conducted to determine the
degree of progress that is being made in achieving the outcomes
specified in the plan and whether modification or revision of the
outcomes or services is necessary. The frequency, participants,
purpose, and required processes for annual and periodic reviews shall
be consistent with the statutes and regulations under Part C of the
federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. Sec.
1431 et seq.) and this title, and shall be specified in regulations
adopted pursuant to Section 95028.
SEC. 2. Section 4648.35 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
4648.35. Effective July 1, 2009, at the time of development,
review, or modification of a consumer's individual program plan (IPP)
or individualized family service plan (IFSP), all of the following
shall apply to a regional center:
(a) A regional center shall not fund private specialized
transportation services for an adult consumer who can safely access
and utilize public transportation, when that transportation is
available , as determined by the planning team .
(b) A regional center shall fund the least expensive
transportation modality that meets the consumer's needs, as
determined by the planning team and set forth in the consumer's
IPP or IFSP.
(c) A regional center shall fund transportation, when required,
from the consumer's residence to the lowest-cost vendor that provides
the service that meets the consumer's needs, as determined by
the planning team and set forth in the consumer's IPP or IFSP.
For purposes of this subdivision, the cost of a vendor shall be
determined by combining the vendor's program costs and the costs to
transport a consumer from the consumer's residence to the vendor.
(d) A regional center shall fund transportation services for a
minor child living in the family residence, only if the family of the
child provides sufficient written documentation to the
regional center planning team to demonstrate
that it the family is unable to provide
transportation for the child.
SEC. 3. Section 4648.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
4648.5. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law or
regulations to the contrary, effective July 1, 2009, a regional
centers' authority to purchase the following services shall be
suspended pending implementation of the Individual Choice Budget and
certification by the Director of Developmental Services that the
Individual Choice Budget has been implemented and will result in
state budget savings sufficient to offset the costs of providing the
following services:
(1) Camping services and associated travel expenses.
(2) Social recreation activities, except for those activities
vendored as community-based day programs.
(3) Educational services for children three to 17, inclusive,
years of age.
(4) Nonmedical therapies, including, but not limited to,
specialized recreation, art, dance, and music.
(b) For regional center consumers receiving services described in
subdivision (a) as part of their individual program plan (IPP) or
individualized family service plan (IFSP), the prohibition in
subdivision (a) shall take effect on August 1, 2009.
(c) An exemption may be granted on an individual basis in
extraordinary circumstances to permit purchase of a service
identified in subdivision (a) when the regional center , upon
recommendation of the planning team, determines that the
service is a primary or critical means for ameliorating the physical,
cognitive, or psychosocial effects of the consumer's developmental
disability, or the service is necessary to enable the consumer to
remain in his or her home and no alternative service is available to
meet the consumer's needs.
SEC. 4. Section 4685 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
4685. (a) Consistent with state and federal law, the Legislature
finds and declares that children with developmental disabilities most
often have greater opportunities for educational and social growth
when they live with their families. The Legislature further finds and
declares that the cost of providing necessary services and supports
which enable a child with developmental disabilities to live at home
is typically equal to or lower than the cost of providing out-of-home
placement. The Legislature places a high priority on providing
opportunities for children with developmental disabilities to live
with their families, when living at home is the preferred objective
in the child's individual program plan.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature that regional centers
provide or secure family support services that do all of the
following:
(1) Respect and support the decisionmaking authority of the
family.
(2) Be flexible and creative in meeting the unique and individual
needs of families as they evolve over time.
(3) Recognize and build on family strengths, natural supports, and
existing community resources.
(4) Be designed to meet the cultural preferences, values, and
lifestyles of families.
(5) Focus on the entire family and promote the inclusion of
children with disabilities in all aspects of school and community.
(c) In order to provide opportunities for children to live with
their families, the following procedures shall be adopted:
(1) The department and regional centers shall give a very high
priority to the development and expansion of services and supports
designed to assist families that are caring for their children at
home, when that is the preferred objective in the individual program
plan. This assistance may include, but is not limited to specialized
medical and dental care, special training for parents, infant
stimulation programs, respite for parents, homemaker services,
camping, day care, short-term out-of-home care, child care,
counseling, mental health services, behavior modification programs,
special adaptive equipment such as wheelchairs, hospital beds,
communication devices, and other necessary appliances and supplies,
and advocacy to assist persons in securing income maintenance,
educational services, and other benefits to which they are entitled.
(2) When children with developmental disabilities live with their
families, the individual program plan shall include a family plan
component which describes those services and supports necessary to
successfully maintain the child at home. Regional centers
The planning team shall consider every possible
way to assist families in maintaining their children at home, when
living at home will be in the best interest of the child, before
considering out-of-home placement alternatives. When the regional
center first becomes aware that a family may consider an out-of-home
placement, or is in need of additional specialized services to assist
in caring for the child in the home, the regional center shall meet
with the family to discuss the situation and the family's current
needs, solicit from the family what supports would be necessary to
maintain the child in the home, and utilize creative and innovative
ways of meeting the family's needs and providing adequate supports to
keep the family together, if possible.
(3) (A) To ensure that these services and supports are provided in
the most cost-effective and beneficial manner, regional
centers a planning team may utilize innovative
service-delivery mechanisms, including, but not limited to, vouchers;
alternative respite options such as foster families, vacant
community facility beds, crisis child care facilities; group training
for parents on behavioral intervention techniques in lieu of some or
all of the in-home parent training component of the behavioral
intervention services; purchase of neighborhood preschool services
and needed qualified personnel in lieu of infant development
programs; and alternative child care options such as supplemental
support to generic child care facilities and parent child care
cooperatives.
(B) Effective July 1, 2009, at the time of development, review, or
modification of a child's individualized family service plan or
individual program plan, the regional center
planning team shall consider both of the following:
(i) The use of group training for parents on behavioral
intervention techniques in lieu of some or all of the in-home parent
training component of the behavioral intervention services.
(ii) The purchase of neighborhood preschool services and needed
qualified personnel in lieu of infant development programs.
(4) If the parent of any child receiving services and supports
from a regional center believes that the regional center is not
offering adequate assistance to enable the family to keep the child
at home, the parent may initiate a request for fair hearing as
established in this division. A family shall not be required to start
a placement process or to commit to placing a child in order to
receive requested services.
(5) Nothing in this section shall be construed to encourage the
continued residency of adult children in the home of their parents
when that residency is not in the best interests of the person.
(6) When purchasing or providing a voucher for day care services
for parents who are caring for children at home, the regional center
may pay only the cost of the day care service that exceeds the cost
of providing day care services to a child without disabilities. The
regional center , upon the recommendation of the planning team,
may pay in excess of this amount when a family can demonstrate
a financial need and when doing so will enable the child to remain in
the family home.
(7) A regional center , pursuant to an individual
program plan (IPP), may purchase or provide a voucher for
diapers for children three years of age or older. A regional center
may purchase or provide vouchers for diapers under three years of age
when a family can demonstrate a financial need and when doing so
will enable the child to remain in the family home.
SEC. 5. Section 4686.2 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
4686.2. (a) Effective July 1, 2009, notwithstanding any other
provision of law or regulation to the contrary, any vendor who
provides applied behavioral analysis (ABA) services, or intensive
behavioral intervention services or both, as defined in subdivision
(d), shall:
(1) Conduct a behavioral assessment of each consumer to whom the
vendor provides these services.
(2) Design an intervention plan that shall include the service
type, number of hours and parent participation needed to achieve the
consumer's goals and objectives, as set forth in the consumer's
individual program plan (IPP) or individualized family service plan
(IFSP). The intervention plan shall also set forth the frequency at
which the consumer's progress shall be evaluated and reported.
(3) Provide a copy of the intervention plan to the regional center
for review and consideration by the planning team members.
(b) Effective July 1, 2009, notwithstanding any other provision of
law or regulation to the contrary , regional centers
planning teams shall:
(1) Only provide for the purchase of ABA
services or intensive behavioral intervention services that reflect
evidence-based practices, promote positive social behaviors, and
ameliorate behaviors that interfere with learning and social
interactions.
(2) Only provide for the purchase of ABA or
intensive behavioral intervention services when the parent or parents
of minor consumers receiving services participate in the
intervention plan for the consumers, given the critical nature of
parent participation to the success of the intervention plan.
(3) Not provide for the purchase of either
ABA or intensive behavioral intervention services for purposes of
providing respite, day care, or school services.
(4) Discontinue purchasing providing for
the purchase of ABA or intensive behavioral intervention
services for a consumer when the consumer's treatment goals and
objectives, as described under subdivision (a), are achieved. ABA or
intensive behavioral intervention services shall not be discontinued
until the goals and objectives are reviewed and updated as required
in paragraph (5) and shall be discontinued only if those updated
treatment goals and objectives do not require ABA or intensive
behavioral intervention services.
(5) For each consumer, evaluate the vendor's intervention plan and
number of service hours for ABA or intensive behavioral intervention
no less than every six months, consistent with evidence-based
practices. If necessary, the intervention plan's treatment goals and
objectives shall be updated and revised.
(6) Not reimburse provide for the
reimbursement of a parent for participating in a behavioral
services treatment program.
(c) For consumers receiving ABA or behavioral intervention
services on July 1, 2009, as part of their IPP or IFSP, subdivision
(b) shall apply on August 1, 2009.
(d) For purposes of this section the following definitions shall
apply:
(1) "Applied behavioral analysis" means the design,
implementation, and evaluation of systematic instructional and
environmental modifications to promote positive social behaviors and
reduce or ameliorate behaviors which interfere with learning and
social interaction.
(2) "Intensive behavioral intervention" means any form of applied
behavioral analysis that is comprehensive, designed to address all
domains of functioning, and provided in multiple settings for no more
than 40 hours per week, across all settings, depending on the
individual's needs and progress. Interventions can be delivered in a
one-to-one ratio or small group format, as appropriate.
(3) "Evidence-based practice" means a decisionmaking process that
integrates the best available scientifically rigorous research,
clinical expertise, and individual's characteristics. Evidence-based
practice is an approach to treatment rather than a specific
treatment. Evidence-based practice promotes the collection,
interpretation, integration, and continuous evaluation of valid,
important, and applicable individual- or family-reported,
clinically-observed, and research-supported evidence. The best
available evidence, matched to consumer circumstances and
preferences, is applied to ensure the quality of clinical judgments
and facilitates the most cost-effective care.
(4) "Parent participation" shall include, but shall not be limited
to, the following meanings:
(A) Completion of group instruction on the basics of behavior
intervention.
(B) Implementation of intervention strategies, according to the
intervention plan.
(C) If needed, collection of data on behavioral strategies and
submission of that data to the provider for incorporation into
progress reports.
(D) Participation in any needed clinical meetings.
(E) Purchase of suggested behavior modification materials or
community involvement if a reward system is used.
SEC. 6. Section 4689 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
4689. Consistent with state and federal law, the Legislature
places a high priority on providing opportunities for adults with
developmental disabilities, regardless of the degree of disability,
to live in homes that they own or lease with support available as
often and for as long as it is needed, when that is the preferred
objective in the individual program plan. In order to provide
opportunities for adults to live in their own homes, the following
procedures shall be adopted:
(a) The department and regional centers shall ensure that
supported living arrangements adhere to the following principles:
(1) Consumers shall be supported in living arrangements which are
typical of those in which persons without disabilities reside.
(2) The services or supports that a consumer receives shall change
as his or her needs change without the consumer having to move
elsewhere.
(3) The consumer's preference shall guide decisions concerning
where and with whom he or she lives.
(4) Consumers shall have control over the environment within their
own home.
(5) The purpose of furnishing services and supports to a consumer
shall be to assist that individual to exercise choice in his or her
life while building critical and durable relationships with other
individuals.
(6) The services or supports shall be flexible and tailored to a
consumer's needs and preferences.
(7) Services and supports are most effective when furnished where
a person lives and within the context of his or her day-to-day
activities.
(8) Consumers shall not be excluded from supported living
arrangements based solely on the nature and severity of their
disabilities.
(b) Regional centers may contract with agencies or individuals to
assist consumers in securing their own homes and to provide consumers
with the supports needed to live in their own homes.
(c) The range of supported living services and supports available
include, but are not limited to, assessment of consumer needs;
assistance in finding, modifying and maintaining a home; facilitating
circles of support to encourage the development of unpaid and
natural supports in the community; advocacy and self-advocacy
facilitation; development of employment goals; social, behavioral,
and daily living skills training and support; development and
provision of 24-hour emergency response systems; securing and
maintaining adaptive equipment and supplies; recruiting, training,
and hiring individuals to provide personal care and other assistance,
including in-home supportive services workers, paid neighbors, and
paid roommates; providing respite and emergency relief for personal
care attendants; and facilitating community participation. Assessment
of consumer needs may begin before 18 years of age to enable the
consumer to move to his or her own home when he or she reaches 18
years of age.
(d) Regional centers shall provide information and education to
consumers and their families about supported living principles and
services.
(e) Regional centers shall monitor and ensure the quality of
services and supports provided to individuals living in homes that
they own or lease. Monitoring shall take into account all of the
following:
(1) Adherence to the principles set forth in this section.
(2) Whether the services and supports outlined in the consumer's
individual program plan are congruent with the choices and needs of
the individual.
(3) Whether services and supports described in the consumer's
individual program plan are being delivered.
(4) Whether services and supports are having the desired effects.
(5) Whether the consumer is satisfied with the services and
supports.
(f) The planning team, established pursuant to subdivision (j) of
Section 4512, for a consumer receiving supported living services
shall confirm that all appropriate and available sources of natural
and generic supports have been utilized to the fullest extent
possible for that consumer.
(g) Regional centers shall utilize the same supported living
provider for consumers who reside in the same domicile, provided that
each individual consumer's particular needs can still be met
pursuant to his or her individual program plans.
(h) Rent, mortgage, and lease payments of a supported living home
and household expenses shall be the responsibility of the consumer
and any roommate who resides with the consumer.
(i) A regional center shall not make rent, mortgage, or lease
payments on a supported living home, or pay for household expenses of
consumers receiving supported living services, except under the
following circumstances:
(1) If all of the following conditions are met, a regional center
may make rent, mortgage, or lease payments as follows:
(A) The regional center executive
director planning team verifies in writing that
making the rent, mortgage, or lease payments or paying for household
expenses is required to meet the specific care needs unique to the
individual consumer as set forth in an addendum to the consumer's
individual program plan, and is required when a consumer's
demonstrated medical, behavioral, or psychiatric condition presents a
health and safety risk to himself or herself, or another.
(B) During the time period that a regional center is making rent,
mortgage, or lease payments, or paying for household expenses, the
supported living services vendor shall assist the consumer in
accessing all sources of generic and natural supports consistent with
the needs of the consumer.
(C) The regional center shall not make rent, mortgage, or lease
payments on a supported living home or pay for household expenses for
more than six months, unless the regional center
planning team finds that it is necessary to meet the
individual consumer's particular needs pursuant to the consumer's
individual program plan. The regional center
planning team shall review a finding of necessity on a
quarterly basis and the regional center executive director
shall annually verify in an addendum to the consumer's
individual program plan that the requirements set forth in
subparagraph (A) continue to be met.
(2) A When a regional center
that has been contributing to rent, mortgage, or
lease payments or paying for household expenses prior to July 1,
2009, the planning team shall , at the time of
development, review, or modification of a consumer's individual
program plan , determine if the conditions in paragraph
(1) are met. If the planning team determines that these contributions
are no longer appropriate under this section, a reasonable time for
transition, not to exceed six months, shall be permitted.
(j) All paid roommates and live-in support staff in supported
living arrangements in which regional centers have made rent,
mortgage, or lease payments, or have paid for household expenses
pursuant to subdivision (i) shall pay their share of the rent,
mortgage, or lease payments or household expenses for the supported
living home, subject to the requirements of Industrial Welfare
Commission Order No. 15-2001 and the Housing Choice Voucher Program,
as set forth in Section 1437f of Title 42 of the United States Code.
(k) Regional centers shall ensure that the supported living
services vendors' administrative costs are necessary and reasonable,
given the particular services that they are providing and the number
of consumers to whom the vendor provides services. Administrative
costs shall be limited to allowable costs for community-based day
programs, as defined in Section 57434 of Title 17 of the California
Code of Regulations, or its successor.
(l) Regional centers shall ensure that the most cost-effective of
the rate methodologies is utilized to determine the negotiated rate
for vendors of supported living services, consistent with Section
4689.8 and Title 17 of the California Code of Regulations.
(m) For purposes of this section, "household expenses" means
general living expenses and includes, but is not limited to,
utilities paid and food consumed within the home.
(n) A supported living services provider shall provide assistance
to a consumer who is a Medi-Cal beneficiary in applying for in-home
supportive services, as set forth in Section 12300, within five days
of the consumer moving into a supported living services arrangement.
SEC. 7. Section 4689.05 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
4689.05. (a) A regional center shall not purchase supportive
services, as defined in Section 12300, for a consumer who meets the
criteria to receive, but declines to apply for, in-home supportive
services (IHSS) benefits, as set forth in Section 12300, except as
set forth in subdivision (d).
(b) Consistent with Section 4648, a regional center shall not
purchase supported living services for a consumer to supplant IHSS.
(c) Between the date that a consumer applies for IHSS and the date
that a consumer's application for IHSS is approved, a regional
center shall not purchase supportive services for the consumer at a
rate that exceeds the IHSS hourly rate, which includes the IHSS
provider hourly wage, the provider's hourly payroll taxes, and the
hourly administrative costs, for the county in which the consumer
resides.
(d) A regional center executive director
The planning team may waive the requirements set forth in
subdivision (a) if the executive director it
finds that extraordinary circumstances warrant the waiver, and
that a finding is documented in an addendum to the consumer's
individual program plan.