BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1626
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 1626 (Maienschein)
As Amended February 10, 2014
Majority vote
HUMAN SERVICES 7-0 APPROPRIATIONS 17-0
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|Ayes:|Stone, Maienschein, |Ayes:|Gatto, Bigelow, |
| |Ammiano, | |Bocanegra, Bradford, Ian |
| |Ian Calderon, Garcia, | |Calderon, Campos, |
| |Grove, Hall | |Donnelly, Eggman, Gomez, |
| | | |Holden, Jones, Linder, |
| | | |Pan, Quirk, |
| | | |Ridley-Thomas, Wagner, |
| | | |Weber |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Increases the rates and fees paid to supported
employment services providers for regional center consumers.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Increases the hourly rate for supported employment services
provided to consumers receiving individualized or group
services to $34.24.
2)Increases the fee regional centers pay interim program
providers to complete the intake process for a consumer
entering a supported employment program to $400.
3)Increases the fee paid for placement of a consumer in an
integrated job and the fee paid after a consumer is retained
in a job for 90 days to $800 apiece.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes the Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Services
Act (Lanterman Act), under which the Department of
Developmental Services (DDS) is authorized to contract with
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. Welfare and Institutions Code (WIC) Section 4500 et
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seq.)
2)Grants all individuals with developmental disabilities, among
all other rights and responsibilities established for any
individual by the United States Constitution and laws and the
California Constitution and laws, the right to treatment and
habilitation services and supports in the least restrictive
environment. (WIC Section 4502)
3)Requires the development of an Individual Program Plan (IPP)
for each regional center consumer, which specifies services to
be provided to the consumer, based on an individualized needs
determination. (WIC Section 4512)
4)States the Legislature's intent that habilitation services for
adults with developmental disabilities be planned and provided
in a manner that enables persons with developmental
disabilities to approximate the pattern of everyday living
available to nondisabled people of the same age. (WIC Section
4850)
5)Defines "habilitation services" as community-based services
purchased or provided for adults with developmental
disabilities, including services provided under the Work
Activity Program and the Supported Employment Program, to
prepare and maintain them at their highest level of vocational
functioning, or to prepare them for referral to vocational
rehabilitation services. (WIC Section 4851)
6)Requires a regional center to authorize appropriate
habilitation services for a consumer while he or she awaits
service authorization from the Department of Rehabilitation
(DOR) if the regional center has referred that consumer to the
DOR for vocational rehabilitation services, and the consumer
is put on a waiting list. (WIC Section 4855)
7)Establishes the following rates and fees to be paid to interim
providers of rehabilitation services that are authorized by
the regional center for the period during which a consumer is
on a waiting list for vocational services from the DOR:
a) A rate of $30.82 per hour for supported employment
services provided to consumers receiving individualized or
group services;
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b) A $360 fee to be paid to a program provider upon intake
of a consumer into a supported employment program;
c) A $720 fee to be paid upon placement of a consumer in an
integrated job, as specified; and,
d) A $720 fee to be paid after a 90-day retention period of
a consumer in a job, as specified. (WIC Section 4860)
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, this bill will result in annual costs of
approximately $10 million (General Fund) to Department of Social
Services (DSS) and $2.5 million (General Fund) to Department of
Rehabilitation for increasing the rates paid to service
providers for supported employment.
COMMENTS : This bill seeks to increase the statutorily-set
supported employment rates and one-time intake, placement and
maintenance fees to the levels achieved in 2006, which were
maintained until a 10% cut was applied in the 2008-09 Budget
Act.
The Lanterman Act (WIC Section 4500 et seq.) guides the
provision of services and supports for Californians with
developmental disabilities. Each individual under the Lanterman
Act, typically referred to as a "consumer," is legally entitled
to treatment and habilitation services and supports in the least
restrictive environment. Lanterman Act services are designed to
enable all consumers to live more independent and productive
lives in the community.
The term "developmental disability" means a disability that
originates before an individual attains 18 years of age, is
expected to continue indefinitely, and constitutes a substantial
disability for that individual. It includes intellectual
disabilities, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, and autism spectrum
disorders (ASD). Other developmental disabilities are those
disabling conditions similar to an intellectual disability that
require treatment (i.e., care and management) similar to that
required by individuals with an intellectual disability. This
does not include conditions that are solely psychiatric or
physical in nature, and the conditions must occur before age 18,
result in a substantial disability, be likely to continue
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indefinitely, and involve brain damage or dysfunction. Examples
of conditions might include intracranial neoplasms, degenerative
brain disease or brain damage associated with accidents.
Direct responsibility for implementation of the Lanterman Act
service system is shared by the DDS and 21 regional centers,
which are private nonprofit entities, established pursuant to
the Lanterman Act, that contract with DDS to carry out many of
the state's responsibilities under the Lanterman Act. The
principal roles of regional centers include intake and
assessment, individualized program plan development, case
management, and securing services through generic agencies or
purchasing services provided by vendors. Regional centers also
share primary responsibility with local education agencies for
provision of early intervention services under the California
Early Intervention Services Act.
The 21 regional centers throughout the state serve over 270,000
consumers who receive services such as residential placements,
supported living services, respite care, transportation, day
treatment programs, work support programs, and various social
and therapeutic activities. Approximately 1,300 consumers
reside at one of California's four Developmental Centers-and one
state-operated, specialized community facility-which provide
24-hour habilitation and medical and social treatment services.
Over 130,000 regional center consumers are of working age.
Services provided to people with developmental disabilities are
determined through an individual planning process. Under this
process, planning teams-which include, among others, the
consumer, his or her legally authorized representative, and one
or more regional center representatives-jointly prepare an IPP
based on the consumer's needs and choices. The Lanterman Act
requires that the IPP promote community integration and maximize
opportunities for each consumer to develop relationships, be
part of community life, increase control over his or her life,
and acquire increasingly positive roles in the community. The
IPP must give the highest preference to those services and
supports that allow minors to live with their families and
adults to live as independently as possible in the community.
Employment Services: Regional centers contract with employment
services programs and providers to address the employment needs
of individuals with developmental disabilities. Consumers are
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placed in jobs according to their individual skills, needs and
choices, and they are provided support services on an individual
or group basis. In addition to meeting the employment needs of
the consumer, work programs can also greatly increase
opportunities for community integration for consumers.
Work Activity Programs (WAPs) are employment services programs
in a sheltered work environment for consumers who have acquired
basic vocational and independent living skills. All WAP work is
paid at a daily per capita rate based on productivity.
Alternatively, Supported Employment Programs (SEPs) are
community-based rehabilitation programs that focus on helping
consumers obtain, retain or maintain employment in integrated
settings. SEPs often involve job coaches that provide
on-the-job services and training, and wages paid directly to the
consumer by the employer. If it is determined that some form of
supported employment would best meet the employment needs of a
consumer, a regional center will refer the consumer to the DOR,
which is responsible for increasing employment opportunities in
the community and providing time-limited employment services to
individuals with disabilities. If a regional center consumer
needs long-term support to continue in their place of
employment, the responsibility for providing a job coach and
maintaining supportive services shifts back to DDS.
DOR provides and pays for three tiers of employment-related
services, with set corresponding rates, for individuals with
developmental disabilities. These include: intake to determine
employment needs and develop a plan of action; placement in a
particular job; and retention for 90-days in a particular job.
Need for this bill: Although all of the rates and fees included
in WIC Section 4860 have applied to regional centers in the
past, the only rates that apply to services currently paid for
by the regional centers are the individual- and group-based
hourly job coaching rates for supported employment (which the
author seeks to increase from $30.82 to $34.24). Conversely,
the fees established in this section, which the bill also
increases, are intended to be paid by the regional centers to
program providers only when WIC Section 4855 applies, or in
other words, when a consumer is referred to DOR by the regional
center and is placed on a waiting list. In this instance, the
regional center would be responsible for paying the indicated
fees while the consumer awaits services from DOR. However,
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while there may be a waiting list within the DOR service and
rate structure for people with developmental disabilities again
in the future, consumers who are referred today are given equal
consideration among individuals that do not have developmental
disabilities and are not placed on waiting lists.
While the elimination of the DOR waitlist for individuals with
developmental disabilities would seem to eliminate the need for
the fee increases in the bill, the increases sought will result
in fee increases for providers of services through DOR, as DOR
bases its uniform service structure for individuals with
developmental disabilities-including applicable rates and
fees-on WIC Section 4860. Essentially, the rate and fee
increases included in this bill will apply to consumers
regardless of whether the services outlined in this Section are
paid for by the regional centers or through DOR.
The author states, "[This bill] simply restores these rates to
the 2006 level in the hopes of creating more opportunities for
Californians with developmental disabilities to become
productive, working members of our communities. Just as in
2006, there is no partisan disagreement over whether we want to
help this population be successful in achieving independent,
fulfilled lives, and there are other efficiencies in this system
that should be examined in prioritizing our expenditures in
support of this population."
Analysis Prepared by : Myesha Jackson / HUM. S. / (916)
319-2089
FN: 0003810