BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 577
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 577 (Pavley)
As Amended August 21, 2014
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :32-0
HUMAN SERVICES 7-0 APPROPRIATIONS 16-1
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|Ayes:|Stone, Maienschein, |Ayes:|Gatto, Bigelow, |
| |Ammiano, | |Bocanegra, Bradford, Ian |
| |Ian Calderon, Garcia, | |Calderon, Campos, Eggman, |
| |Grove, Lowenthal | |Gomez, Holden, Jones, |
| | | |Linder, Pan, Quirk, |
| | | |Ridley-Thomas, Wagner, |
| | | |Weber |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | |Nays:|Donnelly |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Establishes a new community-based vocational
development service to better support and prepare individuals
with developmental disabilities for employment. Specifically,
this bill :
1)Declares legislative findings pertaining to the difficulties
individuals with developmental disabilities experience when
seeking employment and the need to adequately assess the
skills and needs of individuals with developmental
disabilities who are seeking jobs in order to promote
employment success, as specified.
2)States the intent of the Legislature that in order to increase
effectiveness and opportunity to gain meaningful integrated
competitive employment opportunities pursuant to the state's
Employment First Policy, habilitation services shall also
provide community-based vocational development services to
enhance community employment readiness, develop social skills
necessary for successful community employment, and build a
network of community and employment opportunities for
individuals with developmental disabilities.
3)Requires the Department of Developmental Services (DDS) to
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conduct a four-year demonstration project in five regional
centers, as specified, to determine whether community-based
vocational development services increase integrated
competitive employment outcomes and reduce purchase of service
costs for working age adults receiving regional center
services.
4)Provides that the pilot will only be implemented to the extent
federal financial participation is obtained, as specified, and
requires DDS to notify the Legislature of its findings
regarding the effectiveness of community-based vocational
development services upon the conclusion of the pilot.
5)Defines community-based vocational development services as all
of the following:
a) Services provided to enhance community employment
readiness, which may include the use of discovery and job
exploration opportunities;
b) Social skill development services necessary to obtain
and maintain community employment;
c) Services to use internship, apprenticeship, and
volunteer opportunities to provide community-based
vocational development skills development opportunities;
d) Services to access and participate in postsecondary
education or career technical education; and
e) Building a network of community and employment
opportunities.
1)Requires the development of a community-based vocational
development services plan, as specified, if such services are
deemed necessary to help a person with a developmental
disability achieve a supported employment outcome.
2)Requires the habilitation service provider and the regional
center to review the plan for community-based vocational
services semiannually, as specified.
3)Authorizes hours of participation in community-based
vocational development services to be provided in lieu of
hours of participation in other community-based day program
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services for up to two years and provides that such services
can be authorized for up to an additional two years if the
consumer is making significant progress toward his or her
habilitation services objectives, as specified.
4)Establishes, for purposes of the pilot, a new $40 per hour
rate for the provision of services identified in a consumer's
community-based vocational development services plan for a
maximum of 75 hours per calendar quarter.
5)Requires the DDS to secure federal Medicaid funding prior to
the implementation of community-based vocational development
services.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes the Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Services
Act (Lanterman Act), under which 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 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 them 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
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Activity Program (WAP) and the Supported Employment Program
(SEP), 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 work activity program to which a consumer has been
referred for habilitation services to submit a work skills
evaluation report to the regional centers, which includes
information about the skills and productivity of the consumer,
to be used to determine the appropriateness of the work
placement. (WIC Section 4853)
7)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)
8)Establishes the following rates and fees to be paid to interim
providers of vocational 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;
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)
1)Establishes an Employment First Policy in California to
prioritize opportunities for integrated, competitive
employment for individuals with developmental disabilities,
regardless of the severity of their disabilities, as
specified. (WIC Section 4869)
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FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee:
1)Minor and absorbable costs to DDS to administer and evaluate
the project.
2)If community-based vocational development services are
implemented statewide at some future date, unknown, potential
short-term costs ranging from $0 to $9,400 (General Fund and
federal funds) per consumer to the extent that those who use
community-based vocational development services at the new $40
per hour rate will be using less of some other less costly
service. Exact costs will depend on how many consumers use
the new services and what services they were previously using.
3)In the long term, if the intended outcomes of enhancing
employment opportunities and reducing purchase of service
costs are achieved, there will be cost savings over time
because more consumers will move from the more expensive day
programs into the less expensive supported employment
programs.
COMMENTS : This bill establishes a pilot project for the
provision of community-based vocational development services to
ensure individuals with developmental disabilities who desire to
work and need additional basic skills training and education are
better prepared for employment and experience better employment
outcomes.
Background: 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. Other developmental disabilities are those disabling
conditions similar to an intellectual disability that require
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treatment (i.e., care and management) similar to that required
by individuals with an intellectual disability.
Direct responsibility for implementation of the Lanterman Act
service system is shared by 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 21
regional centers throughout the state serve 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. 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
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.
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, 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
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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 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
supported employment services shifts back to DDS.
The 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: While DOR is charged with helping people
with disabilities obtain and maintain employment, supporters of
this bill claim that people with developmental disabilities need
additional vocational development to ensure success in the
workplace. Current statute outlines a process for evaluating a
consumer's readiness for the workplace and the appropriateness
of the chosen workplace. However, there is no explicit language
in statute that requires attention to work-related "soft skills"
needs and the provision of these services prior to employment if
it is determined that the consumer may not yet be prepared for
employment in an integrated work environment. Furthermore,
supporters of the bill state that many individuals with
developmental disabilities are placed in inappropriate job
placements, and the current process facilitates more traditional
settings (e.g., warehouses and grocery stores), and does not
promote non-traditional placements (e.g., jobs in a medical or
technical field), which might better meet the consumer's
interests and goals and could lead to long-term employment.
In order to ensure adult regional center consumers experience
better employment outcomes, this bill requires DDS to implement
a four-year pilot project for the provision of community-based
vocational development services, after which the Legislature can
decide whether to continue the provision of such services based
on an evaluation of the pilot's effectiveness provided by DDS.
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Expressing the need for this bill, the author states:
"In California, the employment rates for people with autism and
other developmental disabilities are appalling. According to
the 2010-2011 Department of Developmental Services report on
employment and day services, as the number of individuals in
regional centers has risen from 2007-2011, the percentage of
working age regional center clients that are employed has
steadily decreased to 12.5%. The 2011-12 National Core
Indicators survey of 5,532 regional center clients indicated
that less than 5% of those surveyed had a job in an integrated
competitive employment setting.
"[This bill] will help increase opportunities for individuals
with autism and other developmental disabilities to gain
integrated, competitive, community employment and career
advancement by helping individuals develop general,
non-job-task-specific strengths and skills."
Analysis Prepared by : Myesha Jackson / HUM. S. / (916)
319-2089
FN: 0005119