BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE HUMAN
SERVICES COMMITTEE
Senator Carol Liu, Chair
BILL NO: AB 2702
A
AUTHOR: Chesbro
B
VERSION: April 20, 2010
HEARING DATE: June 22, 2010
2
FISCAL: Appropriations
7
0
CONSULTANT:
2
Park
SUBJECT
Developmental services: planning teams
SUMMARY
Recasts the requirement in current law, for regional
centers to ensure that, in developing, reviewing, or
modifying a consumer's individual program plan (IPP) or
individualized family service plan (IFSP), all decisions
must be made pursuant to procedures established in the
Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Services Act
(Lanterman Act) or California Early Intervention Services
Act (CEISA), as notwithstanding any other provision of law.
ABSTRACT
Existing law:
1.Establishes the Lanterman 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, services that meet
the needs of individuals with developmental disabilities,
as defined.
Continued---
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2.Requires an individual program plan to be developed for
every individual over the age of 36 months who is
eligible for regional center services. Requires the
individual program plan to identify the services and
supports to be purchased by the regional center or
obtained from other agencies.
3.Defines "planning team" to mean the individual with a
developmental disability or disabilities; the parents or
legally appointed guardian of a minor consumer or the
legally appointed conservator of an adult consumer, or an
authorized representative; one or more regional center
representatives, including the designated regional center
service coordinator; and any individual, including a
service provider, invited by the consumer or the parents
or legally appointed guardian of a minor consumer or the
legally appointed conservator of an adult consumer, or
the authorized representative.
4.Provides that individual program plans shall be prepared
jointly by the planning team, and that decisions
concerning the consumer's goals, objectives, and services
and supports to be included in the individual program
plan shall be made by agreement between the regional
center representative and the consumer or, where
appropriate, the parents, legal guardian, conservator, or
authorized representative at the program plan meeting.
5.Establishes the CEISA and Early Start Program, funded
through Part C of the federal Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act, to promote a coordinated
family service system for children from birth to 36
months who have a developmental delay or an established
risk condition.
6.Requires regional centers to share primary responsibility
for provision of early intervention services with local
education agencies. Requires an individualized family
service plan to be developed for each eligible child,
delineating the child's levels of development, desired
outcomes, services to be provided, and methods to be used
to determine the child's progress.
7.Requires that final decisions regarding the individual
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program plan or individualized family service plan be
made pursuant to the procedures for individual program
plan and individualized family service plan development
set forth in the Lanterman Act or CEISA, respectively.
This bill:
1.Recasts the requirement in current law, for regional
centers to ensure that, in developing, reviewing, or
modifying a consumer's individual program plan (IPP) or
individualized family service plan (IFSP), all decisions
must be made pursuant to procedures established in the
Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Services Act
(Lanterman Act) or California Early Intervention Services
Act (CEISA), as notwithstanding any other provision of
law.
FISCAL IMPACT
According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, no
direct fiscal impact to regional centers or DDS.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
Author's statement
The author states that, in 1977, the Legislature passed and
Governor Ronald Reagan signed the Lanterman Act, a
groundbreaking law guaranteeing persons with intellectual
and developmental disabilities the supports and services
necessary to lead the life of equal citizens. The author
believes that a key concept of the Lanterman Act is that
each person's plan for those services is to be developed by
a program planning team consisting of the person with
disabilities, his or her advocate (parent, legal guardian,
conservator, or authorized representative), the service
coordinator working for the regional center that acts as
the state's agent in payment for the services, and others
invited by the person with the disabilities or his or her
advocate. The author notes that, if the team cannot agree
after full consultation, there is a process for bringing
them to consensus; and, if there still is no consensus, the
person with disabilities or his or her advocate receives
written notice of the person's right to appeal to a fair
hearing. The author further notes that each plan must
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demonstrate the cost-effective use of public resources.
The author believes that expenditures for services in the
community have increased in recent years principally due to
case load increases caused by the alarming growth in fetal
alcoholism spectrum disorders and by the release of people
with disabilities from state institutions called
developmental centers into the community. The author states
that, in an effort to control expenditures, the Legislature
and governor have adopted language in some cases that
created a lack of clarity about the roles of participants
in the planning process. The author believes this has
resulted in making the process less cost-effective and
creating more appeals.
Individual program plan and individualized family services
plan
The Lanterman Act serves individuals with a developmental
disability (or disabilities) that originates before an
individual's 18th birthday, and continues, or can be
expected to continue, indefinitely, and constitutes a
substantial disability for that individual. Individuals
with mental retardation, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, and
autism are also served through the Lanterman Act, as are
individuals with disabling conditions found to be closely
related to mental retardation or to require treatment
similar to that required for individuals with mental
retardation.
The individual with a developmental disability (or
disabilities) and, where appropriate, his or her parents,
legal guardian or conservator, or authorized
representative, must have the opportunity to actively
participate in the development of the IPP. The planning
process includes gathering information and conducting
assessments to determine the life goals, capabilities and
strengths, preferences, barriers, and concerns or problems
of the person with developmental disabilities and, in the
case of children, of the family unit as a whole. The IPP
includes a statement of goals, based on the needs,
preferences and life choices of the individual, and a
statement of specific time-limited objectives for
implementing the person's goals and addressing his or her
needs. It also includes a schedule of the type and amount
of services and supports to be purchased by the regional
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center or obtained from generic agencies or other resources
to achieve the IPP goals and objectives. The process for
reviewing and modifying the IPP is the same as the process
for IPP development.
Similar procedures are followed for children from birth to
36 months who have a developmental delay or an established
risk condition and are eligible for services under the
CEISA through the Early Start Program. Each such eligible
infant or toddler is required to have an IFSP. Families
must be afforded the opportunity to participate in all
decisions regarding eligibility and services. The IFSP
must address the child's present levels of development, the
family's concerns, priorities, and resources to meet the
child's developmental needs, a statement of major outcomes
expected, and a statement of the specific early
intervention services necessary to meet the infant or
toddler's unique needs. Regional centers develop the IFSP
and share responsibility for provision of early
intervention services with local education agencies.
Arguments in support
The sponsor of this bill, The Arc of California, asserts
that some regional center staff members have mistakenly cut
people off services without consultation, a result no one
intended. Disability Rights California (DRC) states that
it is aware of some circumstances where the IPP requirement
has been circumvented, as well as circumstances where some
regional centers have not informed families of exemptions
to changes made by the trailer bill. DRC proposes
additional amendments to the bill to strengthen rights.
Supporters believe that the bill will protect and preserve
the entitlement and the rights of the developmentally
disabled who are the most vulnerable members of our
community.
Related/prior legislation
ABX4 9 (Evans), Chapter 9, Statutes of 2009-10 4th
Extraordinary Session, enacted changes related to the area
of developmental services necessary to enact modifications
to the 2009-10 budget. All of the changes occur, unless
otherwise specified, at the time of the development,
scheduled review, or modification of a client's individual
program plan or individual family service plan. The bill
affected purchase of services; made modifications to the
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Early Intervention Services Act; and established
requirements for least costly alternatives, negotiation of
rates, and uniform holiday schedule, among others changes.
AB 1183 (Committee on Budget), Chapter 758, Statutes of
2008, among other things, required the establishment of an
internal regional center review process in conjunction with
the development, review, or modification of IPPs and IFSPs,
to ensure adherence with federal and state law when
purchasing services and supports.
PRIOR VOTES
Assembly Floor: 65 - 7
Assembly Appropriations:12 - 0
Assembly Human Services: 5 - 1
COMMENTS
1.Interaction with current law and trailer bill. It is
unclear how this measure would impact changes made by
ABX4 9 (Evans), Chapter 9, Statutes of 2009-10, 4th
Extraordinary Session, or current law. In responding to
a request for technical assistance from committee staff,
DDS staff indicate that the bill is almost identical to
existing language in the Lanterman Act, and that the
"notwithstanding any other provision of law" may
introduce ambiguity and detract from the clarity in
existing statute. DDS states that regional centers are
already mandated to ensure that IPPs and IFSPs are
developed, reviewed, and modified pursuant to procedures
established in the Lanterman Act and the California Early
Intervention Services Act. DDS also expresses concerns
about the effect of this measure on changes made through
the DDS trailer bill last year.
POSITIONS
Support: The Arc of California (sponsor)
ABC Adult Day Programs, Mendocino County
California Communities United Institute
Children's Law Center of Los Angeles
Developmental Disabilities Area Board 10
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Disability Rights California
United Association of California Careproviders
635 individuals
Oppose:None received.
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