Bill Text: CA AB1147 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Disability Equity and Accountability Act of 2023.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-1)
Status: (Engrossed) 2024-07-03 - Ordered to second reading. [AB1147 Detail]
Download: California-2023-AB1147-Amended.html
Amended
IN
Assembly
May 19, 2023 |
Amended
IN
Assembly
April 11, 2023 |
Amended
IN
Assembly
March 27, 2023 |
Introduced by Assembly (Coauthor: Assembly Member Mathis) |
February 16, 2023 |
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
Existing law requires regional centers to conduct client assessments, and requires those assessments to be performed within 120 days following intake, and within no more than 60 days following initial intake if delay would expose the client to unnecessary
risk to their health and safety, as specified.
This bill would revise those timeframes to require an assessment to be completed within 60 days of intake, and within 30 days of intake for at-risk clients.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NOBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the Disability Equity and Accountability Act of 2023.SEC. 2.
(a) The Legislature finds and declares as follows:SEC. 3.
Section 4519.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is amended to read:4519.5.
(a) The department and the regional centers shall annually collaborate to compile data in a uniform manner relating to purchase of service authorization, utilization, and expenditure by each regional center with respect to all of the following:(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
(7)
(8)
SEC. 4.
Section 4519.20 is added to the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:4519.20.
As part of the department’s planning process for the planning and development of a uniform statewide data automation system, the department, in consultation with stakeholders shall develop, by March 1, 2024, a project charter that shall be approved by the Secretary of the California Health and Human Services Agency and the Department of Technology. The charter development process shall include the participation and input of program consumers and families, researchers and quality and outcome evaluators, regional centers, and service providers. The project charter shall include all of the following:SEC. 5.
Section 4571 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is amended to read:4571.
(a) It is the intent of the Legislature to ensure the well-being of consumers, taking into account their informed and expressed choices. It is further the intent of the Legislature to support the satisfaction and success of consumers through the delivery of quality services and supports. Evaluation of the services that consumers receive is a key aspect to the service system. Utilizing the information that consumers and their families provide about those services in a reliable and meaningful way is also critical to enable the department to assess the performance of the state’s developmental services system and to improve services for consumers in the future. To that end, the State Department of Developmental Services, on or before January 1, 2010, shall implement an improved, unified quality assessment system, in accordance with this section.SEC. 6.
Section 4620.6 is added to the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:4620.6.
(a) (1) To provide uniformity, consistency, and cost-effectiveness in the delivery of services by regional centers throughout the state, the department shall establish, by January 1, 2025, a common set of services and supports, including supported living services, that every regional center in the state shall make available to consumers in negotiating, developing, or amending the individualized program plan as required by Sections 4646 and 4646.5. The common set of services and supports shall be prominently posted on each regional center’s internet website.SEC. 7.
Section 4622 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is amended to read:4622.
The state shall contract only with agencies, the governing boards of which conform to all of the following criteria:SEC. 8.
Section 4626.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is amended to read:4626.5.
Each regional center shall submit a conflict-of-interest policy to the department by July 1, 2011, and shall post the policy on its internet website by August 1, 2011. The policy shall do, or comply with, all of the following:SEC. 9.
Section 4629.1 is added to the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:4629.1.
(a) Notwithstanding any other law, the evaluation of regional center performance shall be implemented using a common set of performance measures, which shall be administered by the department. This includes the performance requirements under the regional center contracts pursuant to Section 4629, the performance incentives established under Section 4620.5, and the quality assessment instrument required under Section 4571. These measures shall be annually reported and made available to the public through posting of the measures results in machine-readable formats.(1)Community integration, including all of the following:
(A)The percentage of consumers who report spending their days primarily with people without disabilities who are not paid to be with them.
(B)The percentage of consumers who report they feel part of their communities, participate in community activities, know their neighbors, and have friends.
(C)The percentage of minor consumers living in licensed group homes or other institutional settings.
(D)The percentage of adult consumers living in licensed group homes, intermediate care facilities, or other institutional settings.
(E)The percentage of adult consumers living in their own homes with independent living services.
(F)The percentage of adult consumers living in their own homes with supported living services.
(G)The percentage of adult consumers seeking affordable and accessible housing.
(H)The percentage of adult consumers that have secured housing outside of their family home, if desired.
(2)Employment, including all of the following:
(A)The percentage of adult consumers in competitive, integrated employment and the length of time in the job.
(B)The percentage of employed adult consumers reporting increased wages and opportunities for advancement.
(C)The percentage of employed adult consumers reporting satisfaction with their jobs with the ability to learn new skills and interact with coworkers.
(D)The average per capita annual wages of employed adult consumers.
(E)The percentage of participants in the paid internship program that led to permanent employment.
(F)The average hourly wage for competitive, integrated employment.
(G)The average number of hours per week in competitive, integrated employment.
(H)The percentage of adult consumers in competitive, integrated employment, by race and ethnicity.
(3)Equity in service access, including all of the following:
(A)Per capita spending, by race and ethnicity.
(B)Per capita spending, by primary language.
(C)Timely eligibility determination, by race and ethnicity.
(D)Access to Early Start services, by race and ethnicity.
(E)Per capita spending on adult consumers, by residence type and by race and ethnicity.
(F)Per capita spending on adult consumers, by residence type and regional center.
(G)The percentage of consumers with no purchase of services, by regional center.
(H)The percentage of consumers with no purchase of services, by race and ethnicity.
(4)Case management, including all of the following:
(A)Timeliness of intake for eligibility.
(B)Timeliness of initiation of services for Early Start.
(C)Timeliness of development of IPPs.
(D)Timeliness of delivery of IPP services after authorization.
(E)Share of consumers reporting that the regional center service coordinator assisted them in attaining generic resources.
(F)Responsiveness of service coordinator.
(G)Consumer or family directs their own person-centered planning process.
(H)Timeliness of translated IPPs and other documents.
(5)Consumer and family choice, experience, and satisfaction, including all of the following:
(A)Overall satisfaction and happiness.
(B)Service coordinator cultural competency.
(C)Service coordinator who speaks consumer’s language.
(D)Access to approved services.
(E)Access to services provided by individuals who speak the consumer’s language.
(F)Consumers report they are treated with dignity and respect.
(G)Access to the Self-Determination Program.
(H)The ability to select their services and providers from among a range of choices.
(I)The ability to select the place where they live, with whom they live, and who supports them.
(J)The percentage of consumers who report having a way to communicate and express choices and decisions.
(K)The percentage of consumers or families who report that they understand the information provided to them by their regional center.
(L)The percentage of consumers or families reporting they feel comfortable in their interactions with the regional center, and if they are aware they can change their service coordinator.
(6)Human and civil rights, including all of the following:
(A)The number of special incident reports, and number of incidents of seclusion and restraint or other types of abuse by regional center.
(B)The percentage of consumers reporting they have a private space, if they live out of their family home.
(C)The percentage of adult consumers who vote in elections.
(D)The percentage of adult consumers who are conserved.
(7)Health and safety, including all of the following:
(A)Hospitalization and mortality rates among regional center consumers.
(B)The percentage of consumers receiving regular preventative care, vaccinations, and cancer screenings.
SEC. 10.
Section 4639.76 is added to the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:4639.76.
A regional center with which the department maintains a contract pursuant to Section 4629 shall be subject to the California Public Records Act (Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 7920.000) of Division 10 of Title 1 of the Government Code).SEC. 11.
Section 4642 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is amended to read:4642.
(a) (1) Any person believed to have a developmental disability, and any person believed to have a high risk of parenting an infant with a developmental disability shall be eligible for initial intake and assessment services in the regional centers. In addition, any infant having a high risk of becoming developmentally disabled may be eligible for initial intake and assessment services in the regional centers. For purposes of this section, “high-risk infant” means a child less than 36 months of age whose genetic, medical, or environmental history is predictive of a substantially greater risk for developmental disability than that for the general population. The department, in consultation with the State Department of Public Health, shall develop specific risk and service criteria for the high-risk infant program on or before July 1, 1983. These criteria may be modified in subsequent years based on analysis of actual clinical experience.(a)If assessment is needed, the regional center shall require the assessment to be completed within 60 days following initial intake. Assessment shall be
commenced as soon as possible, and in no event more than 30 days following initial intake when any delay would expose the client to unnecessary risk to their health and safety or to significant further delay in mental or physical development, or the client would be at imminent risk of placement in a more restrictive environment. Assessment may include collection and review of available historical diagnostic data, provision or procurement of necessary tests and evaluations, and summarization of developmental levels and service needs and is conditional upon receipt of the release of information specified in subdivision (b).
(b)In determining if an individual meets the definition of developmental disability contained in subdivision (a) of Section 4512, the regional center may consider evaluations and tests, including, but not limited to, intelligence tests, adaptive functioning tests, neurological and neuropsychological tests, diagnostic tests performed by a physician, psychiatric tests, and other tests or evaluations that have been performed by, and are available from, other sources.
(c)At the time of assessment, the individual, or, where appropriate, the parents, legal guardian, or conservator, shall provide copies of any health benefit cards under which the consumer is eligible to receive health benefits, including, but not limited to, private
health insurance, a health care service plan, Medi-Cal, Medicare, and TRICARE. If the individual, or where appropriate, the parents, legal guardians, or conservators, have no such benefits, the regional center shall not use that fact to negatively impact the services that the individual may or may not receive from the regional center.
(d)A regional center shall communicate with the consumer and the consumer’s family pursuant to this section in their preferred language, including providing alternative communication services, as required by Sections 11135 to 11139.7, inclusive, of the Government Code and implementing regulations.
SEC. 13.SEC. 12.
Section 4646 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is amended to read:4646.
(a) It is the intent of the Legislature to ensure that the individual program plan and provision of services and supports by the regional center system is centered on the individual and the family of the individual with developmental disabilities and takes into account the needs and preferences of the individual and the family, if appropriate, as well as promoting community integration, independent, productive, and normal lives, and stable and healthy environments. It is the further intent of the Legislature that individual program plans shall be developed consistent with the federal Affordable Care Act and the regulations and federal guidance adopted pursuant to the act requiring that community-based long-term services and supports be person-centered and self-directed. It is the further intent of the Legislature to ensure that goals in any plan allow for innovation and nontraditional service delivery and not be limited by the lack of easily identified services or supports, the provision of services to consumers and their families be effective in meeting the goals stated in the individual program plan, reflect the preferences and choices of the consumer, and reflect the cost-effective use of public resources.SEC. 14.SEC. 13.
Section 4646.4 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is amended to read:4646.4.
(a) Regional centers shall ensure, at the time of development, scheduled review, or modification of a consumer’s individual program plan developed pursuant to Sections 4646 and 4646.5, or of an individualized family service plan pursuant to Section 95020 of the Government Code, the establishment of an internal process. This internal process shall ensure adherence with federal and state law and regulation, and if purchasing services and supports, shall ensure all of the following:SEC. 15.SEC. 14.
Section 4646.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is amended to read:4646.5.
(a) The planning process for the individual program plan described in Section 4646 shall include all of the following:(a)If any services or supports that require an assessment are requested by a consumer at any time after an individual program plan is in place, and for as long as the individual remains eligible for services, the assessment shall be completed, at no cost to the consumer, within 30 days from the date of request.
(b)(1)If the assessment recommends services or supports, the services or supports shall be authorized by the regional center within seven days and the consumer shall be referred to a provider within seven days from the date of the authorization.
(2)If the services or supports are not commenced by the provider within 45 days of the referral, a referral shall be made to another provider within seven days for the specified services and supports.
(c)A consumer shall be entitled to an adequate notice of action and the appeal procedures in Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 4700) if the regional center does not comply with the deadlines specified in this section.
(a)Pursuant to Section 4640.7, service coordination shall include those activities necessary to implement an individual program plan, including, but not limited to, participation in the individual program plan process; assurance that the planning team considers all appropriate options for meeting each individual program plan objective; securing, through purchasing or by obtaining from generic agencies or other resources, services and supports specified in the person’s individual program plan; coordination
of service and support programs; collection and dissemination of information; and monitoring implementation of the plan to ascertain that objectives have been fulfilled and to assist in revising the plan as necessary, and ensuring service coordinators are accessible to consumers and their representatives by telephone and other electronic means, which shall include responding to consumer inquiries within two business days of the inquiry.
(b)The regional center shall ensure that every consumer has a service coordinator who shall be responsible for implementing, overseeing, and monitoring each individual program plan. The service coordinator may be an employee of the regional center or may be a qualified individual or employee of an agency with whom the regional center has contracted to provide service coordination services, or persons described in Section 4647.2. The regional center shall provide the consumer or, where appropriate, the consumer’s parents, legal guardian, or conservator or authorized representative, with written notification of any
temporary or permanent change in the assigned service coordinator within 10 business days. A person shall not continue to serve as a service coordinator for any individual program plan unless there is agreement by all parties that the person should continue to serve as service coordinator.
(c)Where appropriate, a consumer or the consumer’s parents or other family members, legal guardian, or conservator, may perform all or part of the duties of the service coordinator described in this section if the regional center director agrees and it is feasible.
(d)If a person described in subdivision (c) is designated as the service coordinator, that person shall not deviate from the agreed-upon program plan and shall provide any reasonable information and reports required
by the regional center director.
(e)If a person described in subdivision (c) is designated as the service coordinator, the regional center shall provide ongoing information and support as necessary, to assist the person to perform all or part of the duties of service coordinator.
SEC. 18.SEC. 15.
Section 4659 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is amended to read:4659.
(a) Except as otherwise provided in subdivision (b), (d), or (e), the regional center shall identify and pursue all possible sources of funding for consumers receiving regional center services. These sources shall include, but not be limited to, both of the following:(A)The entity denies the service.
(B)The entity does not provide the requested service within 45 days from the date of the request, or 15 days after the statutory or regulatory time limit, if any, for the entity to make an initial decision, whichever is shorter.
(a)No later than March 1, 2024, and on March 1 annually thereafter, the department shall submit a report to the Legislature and post on its internet website the following data, statewide and for each regional center, broken down by qualifying disability category, race or ethnicity, and age categories 0–21 years of age, 22–64 years of age, and 65 years of age and over:
(1)The number of consumers for whom health and safety waivers have been requested.
(2)The number of consumers for whom health and safety waivers have been granted.
(3)The number of days elapsed between the date on which the department received the health and safety waiver request worksheet from the service provider and the date the service provider was notified of the outcome.
(4)The percentage of health and safety waiver requests that are due to behavioral challenges.
(b)The department shall also post on its internet website brief summaries, with any individual identifying information redacted, of the health and safety risks and challenges, and the service changes that are necessary to protect the health and safety, of the affected consumer or consumers, contained in each health and safety waiver request worksheet received by the department.