BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
1129 (Wiggins)
Hearing Date: 5/27/2010 Amended: 5/4/2010
Consultant: Katie Johnson Policy Vote: Human Serv. 3-1
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BILL SUMMARY: SB 1129 would provide that a person with a
developmental disability served by any regional center may
access intensive behavioral intervention services at the Sonoma
Developmental Center (SDC) when it is determined that he or she
is a danger to himself or herself or others, and when he or she
has a pending hearing related to a such a situation.
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Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 Fund
Services purchased unknown, but potentially inGeneral/*
at SDC by RCs the hundreds of thousands Federal
to millions depending on the
number of consumers
*See staff comments
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STAFF COMMENTS: SUSPENSE FILE.
This bill would state that the Legislature finds and declares
that California should find ways to make high-quality
developmental center services available to the broader disabled
community. This bill would permit a regional center (RC) to
purchase intensive behavioral intervention services at the
Sonoma Developmental Center (SDC) for persons who are not
residents of SDC when a consumer is a danger to himself or
herself or others and, pursuant to an existing process, when a
consumer has a pending court hearing. This bill would permit
individuals to be temporary residents of SDC when they would
receive intensive behavioral intervention at SDC even though the
RC would purchase the services. It is unclear what the funding
source would be for this bill because RCs do not currently
purchase services from a developmental center (DC). Costs
related to DC residents are currently paid directly by the
state.
21 non-profit RCs purchase services for approximately over
240,000 clients of all ages through community vendors registered
with DDS, including respite and day programs. In contrast, the 4
DCs are licensed to include a combination of general acute care
hospitals, skilled-nursing facilities, and intermediate care
facilities. They serve a population of 2,130 full-time residents
and do not currently provide inpatient or outpatient services to
RC clients other than their own residents.
Existing law provides that if a person is determined to be a
danger to himself or herself or others, he or she would enter a
DC through a court commitment process. Prior to the commitment
hearing, a court could order the alleged dangerous person to be
left in the charge of his or her parent or to be placed in a DC,
a psychiatric hospital or in any other
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SB 1129 (Wiggins)
suitable placement that would be the least restrictive
residential environment as recommended by the person's RC and a
DC, when applicable. SDC intensive behavioral intervention beds
are licensed as intermediate care facility beds, which also
exist in the community. It would be unlikely that a court would
consider temporary residence in SDC, a state hospital, as the
least restrictive residential placement for a person requiring
such services when those services would be available in a
licensed community care facility.
This bill would permit any RC to choose to provide intensive
behavioral services at SDC instead of in a community
intermediate care facility regardless of whether or not the
placement was the most appropriate or the least restrictive
residential environment, as per existing law.
It costs the state approximately $25,000 per DC resident per
month. DCs are paid as follows according to the FY 2009-2010
budget: 96 percent General Fund and 4 percent other funds, the
State Lottery, and federal funds. Accordingly, the state could
expect to pay a similar per resident per month amount for any
temporary resident at SDC pursuant to this bill.
To the extent that this bill would result in the procurement of
DC services not already provided for under existing law, if RCs
chose to purchase services from SDC for at least one consumer
per regional center for a single month, costs would be $525,000.
Alternatively, if a single person in the state were to be placed
temporarily in SDC for intensive behavioral intervention for up
to six months, as permitted by this bill, the cost would be
approximately $150,000, as compared to a community placement
which has less overhead and fewer staff and is an overall less
expensive placement.
This bill would provide that intensive behavioral intervention
services at SDC would be funded through existing resources and
that no additional General Fund moneys would be appropriated.
DDS cut $334 million in its FY 2009-2010 budget. It is unlikely
that DDS could absorb these costs.