Amended in Assembly June 30, 2016

Amended in Assembly June 21, 2016

Amended in Senate March 28, 2016

Senate Bill No. 1427

Introduced by Senator Pavley

February 19, 2016

An act to add Section 4850.4 to the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to developmental services.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 1427, as amended, Pavley. Workforce development: developmentally disabled individuals.

Existing law, the Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Services Act, authorizes the State Department of Developmental Services to contract with regional centers to provide services and supports to individuals with developmental disabilities. Existing law governs the habilitation services provided for adult consumers of regional centers, including work activity programs, as described, and establishes an hourly rate for supported employment services provided to consumers receiving individualized services. Existing law requires the department, contingent upon receiving federal financial participation, to conduct a 4-year demonstration project to determine whether community-based vocational development services will increase employment outcomes for consumers and reduce purchase of service costs for working age adults.

This bill would require, on or before July 1, 2017, the department to establish a Work Transition Project with a process for regional centers to allow well coordinated forms of integrated services using allowable services under existing state and federal law and to assist in the state’s efforts to reach compliance with the federal Home and Community-Based Services Waiver regulations. The bill would authorize the department to waive certain regulations through the use of modifications that maintain the purpose of the regulation while allowing flexibility to expand activities and choices in service program settings. The bill would set a maximum rate of $40 per hour for vendors to provide needed job readiness and support services aimed at individualized transition services for consumers currently placed in work activity programs and other similar day services related to work experience and work opportunities who choose to move towards competitive integrated employment. The bill would require the department to assess the begin delete decrease in end delete begin insert change in the amount of end insert time that it takes a consumer under these provisions begin insert , as compared to previous modes of service delivery, end insert to become job ready and to transition into begin delete an integrated work end delete begin insert a competitive integrated employment end insert setting and to report that information to the budget begin delete committee end delete begin insert and appropriate policy committees end insert of each house of the Legislature during the annual budget process.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

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

SECTION 1.  

(a) It is the intent of the Legislature to ensure
that individuals with developmental disabilities who are earning
income do not lose their vocational opportunities and earning
power due to changes related to the home- and community-based
services settings begin delete rule due to the implementation of the Workforce
Innovation and Opportunity Act. end delete begin insert rule. end insert

(b) Individuals with developmental disabilities struggle to find
gainful employment. Unemployment among the people with
developmental disabilities has been estimated at more than 80
percent.

(c) California’s Employment First Policy and changes to the
federal home- and community-based services settings rule require
the state to increase opportunities for individuals with
developmental disabilities to achieve competitive integrated
employment.

(d) There are thousands of consumers today earning some
income in existing employment programs who are complying with
current rules and deserve specific attention during this transition
period to ensure they have the opportunity for, and access to, more
integrated work settings of their choice.

(e) In order to increase the self-sufficiency of adults with
developmental disabilities, including increased earning capacity
and reduced government benefit support, it is important that the
state implement a program to provide opportunities for individuals
to engage in job discovery and job readiness training to assist their
transition to more competitive integrated employment and to ensure
employment success.

(f) The Governor and the Legislature must address the growing
need for new models of assessment, career training, and expanding
employment opportunities and support options for adults with
developmental disabilities who currently work in less integrated
work activity programs and group supported employment earning
less than minimum wage. If this population is left without
purposefully designed pathways into more competitive integrated
employment, these adults will be at higher risk of public
dependency throughout the course of their lives.

SEC. 2.  

Section 4850.4 is added to the Welfare and Institutions
Code, to read:

4850.4.  

(a) (1) On or before July 1, 2017, the department shall
establish a Work Transition Project with a process for regional
centers to allow well coordinated forms of integrated services using
allowable services under existing state and federal law. The project
shall assist in the state’s efforts to reach compliance with the
federal Home and Community-Based Services Waiver regulations
by March 31, 2019.

(2) Well coordinated forms of integrated services approved
under the project shall be eligible to receive available funding
appropriated for transitioning programs toward compliance with
the federal Home and Community-Based Services Waiver
regulations.

(b) (1) The department shall allow regional centers to increase
opportunities for consumers by customizing skill development and
employability programs, as appropriate, by partnering with work
activity programs and other similar day services related to work
experience and work opportunities to support those consumers
who choose to move towards competitive integrated employment.

(2) The rate shall be no more than an equivalent of forty dollars
($40) per hour for vendors to provide needed job readiness and
support services aimed at individualized transition services for
consumers currently placed in work activity programs and other
similar day services related to work experience and work
opportunities who choose to move towards competitive integrated
employment. Hours of participation in job readiness and support
services may be provided in addition to, or in lieu of, the hours of
participation in existing work activity programs and other similar
day services, as determined by the consumer’s individual program
planning team.

(3) If necessary to provide flexibility from program requirements
that have the effect of social isolation and restricting community
integration activities, the department may waive certain regulations
through the use of modifications that maintain the purpose of the
regulation while allowing flexibility to expand activities and
choices in service program settings, including Sections 58820 and
58821 of Title 17, and Sections 82079 and 82087.2 of Title 22 of,
the California Code of Regulations.

(c) (1) The department shall allow regional centers to support
career pathway development by partnering with group supported
employment programs and other similar day services to support
those consumers who choose to move toward competitive
integrated employment.

(2) As determined by the consumer’s individual program
planning team, additional job coaching hours at the current
established rate may be authorized to provide career pathway
development to support those consumers who choose to move
toward competitive integrated employment.

(d) The department shall assess the begin delete decrease in end delete begin insert change in the
amount of end insert time that it takes a consumer under these begin delete provisions end delete
begin insert provisions, as compared to previous modes of service delivery, end insert to
become job ready and to transition into begin delete an integrated work end delete begin insert a
competitive integrated employment end insert setting. The department shall
report to the budget begin delete committee end delete begin insert and appropriate policy committees end insert
of each house of the Legislature during the annual budget process
regarding the begin delete use end delete begin insert implementation, use, and oversight end insert of these
provisions and the begin delete measurable outcomes. end delete begin insert assessed outcomes related
to job readiness and transition into competitive integrated
employment settings. end insert Any report submitted pursuant to this
subdivision shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795
of the Government Code.