Bill Text: CA SB635 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Health care coverage: hearing aids.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 16-2)

Status: (Vetoed) 2024-01-25 - Veto sustained. [SB635 Detail]

Download: California-2023-SB635-Introduced.html

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CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill

No. 635

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Introduced by Senator Menjivar

February 16, 2023

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An act to add Section 8209.5 to the Education Code, to add Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 124255) to Part 2 of Division 106 to the Health and Safety Code, and to add Section 10271.1 to the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to early childhood.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 635, as introduced, Menjivar. Early education and childcare.

Existing law, the Early Education Act, among other things, requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to administer all California state preschool programs, including, but not limited to, part-day and full-day age and developmentally appropriate programs for 3- and 4-year-old children. Existing law, the Child Care and Development Services Act, administered by the State Department of Social Services, establishes a system of child care and development services for children up to 13 years of age.

This bill would require a California state preschool program and a child care and development program to, with consent from parents or legal guardians, screen each enrolled child who is 0 to 5 years of age, inclusive, with an Ages and Stages Questionnaire, and to report the information from the screening to the State Department of Education or State Department of Social Services, respectively. The bill would require the program to refer the child’s family to the appropriate regional center or other intervention service if the screening shows a need for services, and would, subject to an appropriation by the Legislature, provide specified funding for the programs in supporting the administration, referral, and coordination of families to services. The bill would require the State Department of Education and the State Department of Social Services to establish a centralized billing point to draw down federal funding to pay for the costs of providing the screening, and to work with the State Department of Developmental Services, the State Department of Health Care Services, and the Office of the Surgeon General to establish memoranda of understanding and referral pathways to ensure identified children are receiving any needed intervention services, as specified.

Existing law provides for various home visiting programs, including the Nurse-Family Partnership program, which is administered by the State Department of Public Health to provide grants for voluntary nurse home visiting programs for expectant first-time mothers, their children, and their families, and the CalWORKs Home Visiting Program, a voluntary program for the purpose of supporting positive health, development, and well-being outcomes for eligible CalWORKs assistance units with pregnant and parenting people, families, and infants born into poverty.

This bill would also require a home visiting program funded by state or local governmental moneys to, with consent from a parent or legal guardian, screen each enrolled child who is 0 to 5 years of age, inclusive, with an Ages and Stages Questionnaire.

Digest Key

Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

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Bill Text

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

 Section 8209.5 is added to the Education Code, to read:

8209.5.

 (a) (1) A California state preschool program shall, with consent from a parent or legal guardian, screen each enrolled child with an Ages and Stages Questionnaire and report the information from the screening to the department.

(2) If the screening for a child shows a need for services, the California state preschool program shall refer the child’s family to the appropriate regional center or other intervention service.

(3) Subject to an appropriation in the Budget Act or another statute for these purposes, each program shall receive a 1-percent increase to their administrative funds for purposes of supporting the administration, referral, and coordination of families to services, and reporting requirements for the screening, as required under this subdivision.

(b) The department shall collect information of the children screened pursuant to subdivision (a), and shall, in conjunction with the State Department of Social Services, establish a centralized billing point to draw down federal funding, including, but not limited to, federal Medicaid funding, to pay for the costs of providing the screening.

(c) The department, in conjunction with the State Department of Social Services, shall work with the State Department of Developmental Services, the State Department of Health Care Services, and the Office of the Surgeon General to establish memoranda of understanding and referral pathways to ensure that children who have been identified as needing prevention and intervention services are receiving those services in a timely manner and, to the extent possible, in their home language.

SEC. 2.

 Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 124255) is added to Part 2 of Division 106 of the Health and Safety Code, to read:

CHAPTER  7. Home Visiting Program Screening

124255.

 A home visiting program funded by state or local governmental moneys may, with consent from a parent or legal guardian, screen each enrolled child who is 0 to 5 years of age, inclusive, with an Ages and Stages Questionnaire.

SEC. 3.

 Section 10271.1 is added to the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:

10271.1.

 (a) (1) A child care and development program shall, with consent from a parent or legal guardian, screen each enrolled child who is 0 to 5 years of age, inclusive, with an Ages and Stages Questionnaire, and report the information from the screening to the department.

(2) If the screening for a child shows a need for services, the child care and development program shall refer the child’s family to the appropriate regional center or other intervention service.

(3) Subject to an appropriation in the Budget Act or another statute for these purposes, each program shall receive a 1-percent increase to their administrative and supportive services funds for purposes of supporting the administration, referral, and coordination of families to services, and reporting requirements for the screening, as required under this subdivision.

(b) The department shall collect information of the children screened pursuant to subdivision (a), and shall, in conjunction with the State Department of Education, establish a centralized billing point to draw down federal funding, including, but not limited to, federal Medicaid funding, to pay for the costs of providing the screening.

(c) The department, in conjunction with the State Department of Education, shall work with the State Department of Developmental Services, the State Department of Health Care Services, and the Office of the Surgeon General to establish memoranda of understanding and referral pathways to ensure that children who have been identified as needing prevention and intervention services are receiving those services in a timely manner and, to the extent possible, in their home language.