Bill Text: CA AB438 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Amended

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Bill Title: Medi-Cal: treatment authorization requests.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2010-05-06 - Withdrawn from committee. Re-referred to Com. on RLS. [AB438 Detail]

Download: California-2009-AB438-Amended.html

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BILL NUMBER: AB 438	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  MAY 5, 2010
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 21, 2009

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Beall
    (   Coauthors:  
Assembly Members   Chesbro  
  and Fuentes   ) 
    (   Coauthor:   Senator
  DeSaulnier   ) 

                        FEBRUARY 24, 2009

    An act to amend Section 1001.21 of the Penal Code, and to
add and repeal Section 4418.8 of the Welfare and Institutions Code,
relating to developmental services.   An act relating to
Medi-Cal. 



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 438, as amended, Beall.  Persons with developmental
disabilities: criminal proceedings: diversion.  
Medi-Cal: treatment authorization requests. 
   Existing law provides for the Medi-Cal program, which is
administered by the State Department of Health Care Services, and
pursuant to which, health care services are provided to qualified
low-income persons.  
   Under existing law, one of the utilization controls to which
services are subject under the Medi-Cal program is the treatment
authorization request (TAR) process, under which approval is required
by a department consultant in advance of the rendering of that
service, based upon a determination of medical necessity. Existing
law requires the department to pursue means to improve and streamline
the TAR process.  
   This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact
legislation that would implement reforms to the Medi-Cal TAR process,
as specified.  
   Existing law, the Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Services
Act, grants persons with developmental disabilities the right to
receive treatment and services to meet their needs, regardless of age
or degree of disability, at each stage of life. Existing law
requires that the state pay for these services through contracts with
various private nonprofit corporations for the operation of regional
centers for the developmentally disabled, and requires regional
centers to develop an individual program plan for each consumer that
sets forth the treatment and services to be provided for the
consumer.  
   Existing law establishes a process for diversion of defendants
with cognitive developmental disabilities in criminal proceedings for
an offense which is charged as, or reduced to, a misdemeanor, but
excludes persons who have been previously diverted. 

   This bill would make these procedures also applicable for an
offense that is charged or reduced to a nonviolent felony, as
defined, or a serious felony, as defined, and would delete the
exclusion for those previously diverted.  
   This bill would also require the department, by July 1, 2010, to
convene a task force to identify strategies and best practices for
local interagency coordination and cooperation in addressing the
needs of adults and juveniles with developmental disabilities in the
criminal and juvenile justice systems. The bill would require the
task force to issue its interim reports to the Legislature on the
progress of its work by July 1, 2011, and July 1, 2012, and to issue
its final report to the Legislature by July 1, 2013. 
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee:  yes
  no  . State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   SECTION 1.    It is the intent of the Legislature to
enact legislation that would implement reforms to the Medi-Cal
treatment authorization request process administered by the State
Department of Health Care Services in the manner suggested in report
number 2009-112 by the Bureau of State Audits, that is due to be
released in May 2010.  
  SECTION 1.    Section 1001.21 of the Penal Code is
amended to read:
   1001.21.  (a) This chapter shall apply whenever a case is before a
court upon an accusatory pleading at any stage of the criminal
proceedings, for any person who has been evaluated by a regional
center for the developmentally disabled and who is determined to be a
person with a cognitive developmental disability by the regional
center, and who therefore is eligible for its services.
   (b) This chapter applies to any offense that is charged as or
reduced to a misdemeanor or nonviolent felony. For the purposes of
this section, "nonviolent felony" is any felony that is not a
"violent felony" as that term is defined in subdivision (c) of
Section 667.5 or a "serious felony," as that term is defined in
subdivision (c) of Section 1192.7 or Section 1192.8. 

  SEC. 2.    Section 4418.8 is added to the Welfare
and Institutions Code, to read:
   4418.8.  (a) By July 1, 2010, the department shall convene a task
force to identify strategies and best practices for local interagency
coordination and cooperation in addressing the needs of adults and
juveniles with developmental disabilities in the criminal and
juvenile justice systems. The task force shall include representation
from regional centers, the Judicial Council, probation offices,
public defenders, district attorneys, school districts, local law
enforcement, county mental health, community service providers,
regional center clients and their families, and disability and
juvenile justice advocacy organizations. The task force, overall,
shall include geographically diverse participation from both large
and small counties. The task force may form separate subcommittees,
focusing on adults and juveniles. The task force shall meet in a
manner and as often as the department determines to be appropriate,
consistent with the goals of the task force and the availability of
funds.
   (b) The task force shall address issues including, but not limited
to, strategies and best practices related to the accomplishment of
all of the following:
   (1) Early identification and assessment of people with
developmental disabilities in the criminal and juvenile justice
process.
   (2) Development of protocols and procedures for ongoing
communication and cooperation between regional centers and other
local agencies, including law enforcement and the courts.
   (3) Training of jail and court personnel, including judges, public
defenders, district attorneys, and probation officers, on issues
related to people with developmental disabilities and available
community resources.
   (c) The task force shall also identify systemic barriers to
serving people with developmental disabilities in community-based
settings instead of jails and prisons, including licensing barriers
and community resource and service needs, and recommendations for
addressing identified systemic barriers.
   (d) The task force shall identify barriers to, and needed services
for, serving, in community settings, individuals who have been
determined to be incompetent to stand trial. This shall include
exploring approaches used in other states, assessing the need for new
licensing categories, and recommending, as appropriate, alternative
and innovative service delivery models, including, but not limited
to, secure community treatment options, for individuals arrested for
serious or violent felonies.
   (e) As appropriate, the task force shall develop model training
curricula and model memoranda of understanding between regional
centers and the courts and other local agencies.
   (f) The task force shall issue interim reports to the Legislature
on the progress of its work by July 1, 2011, and July 1, 2012. The
task force shall complete its work and issue a final report to the
Legislature by June 30, 2013. The final report shall include a
description of best practices and strategies identified by the task
force, any sample training curricula, materials, and memoranda of
understanding developed by the task force, and recommendations for
future action, including legislative recommendations related to
adults and youth in the criminal and juvenile justice systems.
   (g) This section shall become inoperative on July 1, 2013, and, as
of January 1, 2014, is repealed, unless a later enacted statute,
that becomes operative on or before January 1, 2014, deletes or
extends the dates on which it becomes inoperative and is repealed.