Developmental services.

Existing law, the Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Services Act, requires the State Department of Developmental Services to enter into contracts with private nonprofit corporations to operate regional centers for the provision of community services and support for persons with developmental disabilities and their families. Existing law sets forth the duties of the regional centers, including, but not limited to, development of individual program plans, the purchase of needed services to implement the plan, and monitoring of the delivery of those services. This bill would require the department, in collaboration with stakeholders, to develop best practices for the administrative management of regional centers and for regional centers to use when purchasing services for consumers and families, as specified. The bill would require the department to submit the proposed best practices to the fiscal and applicable policy committees of the Legislature no later than May 15, 2011, and would make the best practices effective only upon subsequent legislative enactment. Existing law establishes minimum requirements relating to the composition of the governing board of a regional center. Existing law requires the department to adopt and enforce conflict-of-interest regulations to ensure that members of the governing board, program policy committee, and employees of the regional center make decisions with respect to the regional centers that are in the best interests of consumers and families. This bill would require the regional center to annually submit to the department documentation demonstrating that the composition of the board is in compliance with the statutory provisions. This bill would require a regional center governing board to adopt a written policy requiring any regional center contract of $250,000 or more to be approved by the regional center governing board, and would condition the validity of those contracts upon board approval in compliance with that policy. The bill would also require that the department adopt emergency and other regulations to establish standard conflict-of-interest reporting requirements to require regional center board members, directors, and identified employees to complete and file conflict-of-interest statements. The bill would make conforming changes and would delete provisions permitting persons who served on a board or program policy committee on January 1, 1982, to continue to serve. The bill would require each regional center to submit a conflict-of-interest policy to the department by July 1, 2011, and to post the policy on its Internet Web site by August 1, 2011. Existing law requires the 5-year contracts between the department and the regional center to contain prescribed provisions, including, but not limited to, the requirement that the contracts include annual performance objectives. This bill would, in addition, require that the contracts include provisions requiring the regional center to adopt, maintain, and post on its Internet Web site a transparency and public information policy containing prescribed components. The bill would require the department to establish a transparency portal on its Internet Web site to include, but not be limited to, a link to the regional center transparency and public information policy Internet Web sites, and other service monitoring and enforcement information. The bill would require, notwithstanding any other provision of law, all regional center contracts with the department, and all regional center contracts or agreements with service providers, to require that not more than 15% of regional center funds be spent on administrative costs, as defined. This bill would require service providers and contractors, upon request, to provide regional centers with access to specified information pertaining to the service providers' and contractors' negotiated rates. Existing law also requires the governing board of a regional center to annually contract with an independent accounting firm for an audited financial statement. This bill would prohibit the audit of a regional center from being completed by the same accounting firm more than 5 times in every 10 years. Under existing law, regional center contracts require certain specified staffing levels and expertise, which have been suspended from July 1, 2010, to June 30, 2011. This bill would suspend those staffing requirements through June 30, 2012. Under existing law, regional centers purchase needed services for individuals with developmental disabilities through approved service providers or arrange for their provision through other publicly funded agencies. Existing law provides for a vendorization process for service providers. This bill would make certain persons or entities that have been convicted of prescribed crimes or have been found liable for fraud or abuse in any civil proceeding, or that have entered into a settlement in lieu of conviction for fraud or abuse in any government program, within the previous 10 years, ineligible to be regional center vendors, and would require the department to adopt related emergency and nonemergency regulations. The bill would require the State Department of Social Services and the State Department of Public Health to notify the department of any administrative action, as defined, initiated against a licensee serving consumers with developmental disabilities. This bill would require an entity receiving payments from one or more regional centers, except for state and local governmental agencies, the University of California, or the California State University, to contract with an independent accounting firm for an audit or review of that entity's financial statements, as specified. The bill would require regional centers to review and require resolution by the entity for issues identified in the report that have a direct or indirect impact on regional center services and to take appropriate action, up to termination of vendorization, for lack of adequate resolution of issues. The bill would require a regional center to notify the department of all qualified opinion reports or reports noting significant issues that directly or indirectly impact regional center services within 30 days after receipt. Existing law, the California Early Intervention Services Act, provides various early intervention services for infants and toddlers who have disabilities to enhance their development and to minimize the potential for developmental delays. Existing law establishes procedures for the resolution of disputes between a regional center and a generic agency, as defined, over provision of, or payment for, services that are contained in an individualized family service plan or individual program plan for any child under 6 years of age. This bill would establish procedures authorizing the department or regional center to institute legal proceedings against a 3rd party or insurance carrier, as specified, when developmental services are provided or will be provided to a developmental services consumer, or a child under 36 months of age who is eligible for the California Early Intervention Program, as a result of an injury for which the 3rd party or carrier is liable. This bill would entitle the department or regional center to recover the reasonable value of services provided to the child or consumer from a person who has brought an action or claim against a 3rd party who may be liable for causing the death of the child or consumer. The bill would provide for a similar recovery provision when the action is brought by the child or consumer, but would provide for the deduction of a share of the child's or consumer's attorney's fees and litigation costs from the reasonable value of the services provided, as specified. The bill would set forth the powers and duties of the department in recouping these amounts, and would prohibit the department or regional center from recovering an amount greater than the child or consumer. This bill would establish procedures for the enforcement of a lien perfected by the department or regional center upon a judgment or award in favor of a child or consumer for a 3rd-party injury. This bill would require an insurer, as defined, to perform various duties relating to actions or claims brought pursuant to the bill, including a requirement to make requested information available to the department or regional center, pursuant to procedures set forth in a cooperative agreement entered into by the insurer and the department or regional center. Existing law requires regional centers, in order to implement changes in the level of funding for regional center purchase of services, to reduce certain payments for services delivered by 4.25% from July 1, 2010, to June 30, 2011, except as specified, and authorizes the temporary modification of personnel requirements, functions, or qualifications, or staff training requirements, and suspends prescribed annual review and reporting requirements for affected providers, until June 30, 2011. This bill would continue those provisions until June 30, 2012. This bill would appropriate $1,000 from the General Fund to the State Department of Developmental Services for administrative costs. The California Constitution authorizes the Governor to declare a fiscal emergency and to call the Legislature into special session for that purpose. Governor Schwarzenegger issued a proclamation declaring a fiscal emergency, and calling a special session for this purpose, on December 6, 2010. Governor Brown issued a proclamation on January 20, 2011, declaring and reaffirming that a fiscal emergency exists and stating that his proclamation supersedes the earlier proclamation for purposes of that constitutional provision. This bill would state that it addresses the fiscal emergency declared and reaffirmed by the Governor by proclamation issued on January 20, 2011, pursuant to the California Constitution. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute and a bill providing for appropriations related to the Budget Bill.