AB 1595

Bill Subjects

Abstract

Existing federal law, the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 2000, provides federal funds to assist the state in planning, coordinating, monitoring, and evaluating services for persons with developmental disabilities and in establishing a system to protect and advocate the legal and civil rights of persons with developmental disabilities. Existing law establishes the State Council on Developmental Disabilities to, among other things, serve as the state planning council responsible for developing the California Developmental Disabilities State Plan and monitoring and evaluating the implementation of the plan. Existing law requires the council to conduct activities related to meeting the objectives of the state plan. Existing law requires these activities to include, among other things, supporting and conducting technical assistance activities to assist public and private entities to contribute to the objectives of the state plan, and authorizes the activities to include, among other things, supporting and conducting activities to assist neighborhoods and communities to respond positively to individuals with disabilities and their families. This bill would revise the activities the council is authorized to conduct to include, among other things, encouraging and assisting in the establishment or strengthening of self-advocacy organizations led by individuals with developmental disabilities and appoint an authorized representative for persons with developmental disabilities, as specified. The bill would make additional changes relating to the activities of the council. Existing law requires the Governor to appoint 31 voting members to the council, including 13 members from the area boards and 7 members at large. Existing law requires the Governor, prior to appointing specified council members, to request and consider recommendations from organizations representing, or providing services to, or both, persons with developmental disabilities. Existing law also limits the term of those members to 3 years. This bill would instead require those 20 members of the council to be nonagency members who reflect the socioeconomic, geographic, disability, racial, ethnic, and language diversity of the state, and who shall be individuals with a developmental disability, or their parents, immediate relatives, guardians, or conservators residing in California, as specified. The bill would additionally require the Governor to consult with the current members, including the nonagency members, of the council prior to appointing specified members and would require those specified members to serve no more than 2 terms. Existing law also establishes the area boards on developmental disabilities to, among other things, conduct the local advocacy, capacity building, and systemic change activities required by the federal Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 2000, and to assist the council on implementing provisions of the act. Existing law requires area boards to locally assist the state council with the implementation of specified federal provisions and provides for the composition of area boards. This bill would revise and recast the area boards as regional offices or as regional advisory committees and would make the establishment of the regional offices and the regional advisory committees discretionary. The bill would require any regional offices and regional advisory committees established to be constituted and operated according to policies and procedures set by the state council. The bill would require the regional advisory committees to, upon the request of the state council, among other things, advise the state council and its regional office on local issues and to identify and provide input regarding local systemic needs within its community. The bill would make conforming changes. Existing law requires the state council chairperson to appoint an executive director and to appoint an executive director for each area board, as specified. Existing law requires the state council to have responsibility for the selection, hiring, and supervision of all state council personnel. This bill would instead require the state council to appoint an executive director and would instead require the state council, through its executive director, to have responsibility for the selection, hiring, and supervision of all state council personnel. Existing law establishes the State Department of Developmental Services and sets forth its powers and duties, including, but not limited to, the administration of state developmental centers and the administration and oversight of community programs providing services to consumers with developmental disabilities and their families. Existing law authorizes the department to contract with the council for the purpose of utilizing area boards to provide clients' rights advocacy services to individuals with developmental disabilities who reside in state developmental centers and state hospitals. This bill would instead authorize the department to contract with the council to provide clients' rights advocacy services to individuals with developmental disabilities who reside in developmental centers. The bill would make other conforming changes. This bill would incorporate changes to Section 4629 of the Welfare and Institutions Code proposed by both this bill and SB 1093, which would become operative only if both bills are enacted and become effective on or before January 1, 2015, and this bill is chaptered last.