CDCAN
CALIFORNIA DISABILITY
COMMUNITY ACTION NETWORK
DISABILITY RIGHTS
NEWS REPORT
#0026-2006 February 25, 2006 Saturday
morning
Advocacy Without Borders:
Connecting people with disabilities & seniors to rights and unified
action
1225 8th
Street Suite 480 - Sacramento, CA 95814 916/446-0013 Fax:
916/446-0026
Marty Omoto - director email: martyomoto@rcip.com
website: www.cdcan.us
CALIFORNIA STATE
BUDGET
* BOTH HOUSES SET HEARINGS ON
DEVELOPMENTAL SERVICES
* KEY BUDGET HEARING SET ON MARCH 29 FOR SSI/SSP
*
ADVOCATES WILL ISSUE MAJOR ALERT & ACTION FOR HEARINGS
* DDS PLANS
STAKEHOLDER MEETING ON ISSUE MARCH
15
SACRAMENTO - Both the Assembly and State Senate are
scheduled to hold budget hearings April 3 and April 17 on Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger's proposals impacting services and programs under the
Department of Developmental Services that impact over 200,000 children and
adults with developmental disabilities. The Governor's proposals include a
one time 3% increase in money for some programs that the State contracts with
the 21 non-profit regional centers, who in turn fund community-based
organizations and others to provide the actual services. Another new
proposal by the Governor include putting in place contract language between the
State and the regional centers that would have the impact of placing more
controls on regional center caseloads (people eligible for services) and
utilization (the use of services or supports), and reducing spending in
those areas - proposals sometimes referred to as "cost containment"
measures.
Other Issues Subcommittee Will Consider
* The
Governor's budget proposals to continue what disability advocates say are
"devastating" on-going reductions and freezes on reimbursements for those same
community-based services, and on-going freeze on start-ups of new programs that
are funded by the 21 non-profit regional centers under contract with the
Department of Developmental Services. State officials say these are
"temporary measures" that are needed to help control rising costs that they say
the State cannot "sustain".
* Both subcommittees will likely hear
updates and possibly take any additional action regarding the state owned and
operated developmental centers (once known as "state hospitals") and two other
smaller facilities, including the scheduled June 2007 closure of Agnews
Developmental Center in San Jose. The update will likely include a
progress report on the transition plan of moving about 350 people with
developmental disabilities from Agnews into community-based housing. State
officials say that a small number of Agnews residents, due to their age and
medical condition are likely to be relocated to other state owned and
operated facilities, including other developmental centers. There is
also some talk about pushing the actual final closure date of June 2007 back
several months or longer to ensure that specific housing needs are met for
residents of Agnews moving out., though this is likely a subject that will be
reviewed as part of the Governor's revisions to his proposed budget in
May.
* Updates and possible further action regarding the status of the
Department of Developmental Services' long delayed computerized system to track
services and expenditures and other critical information of children and adults
with developmental disabilities. That system, called the "California
Developmental Disabilities Information System" or CADDIS is critical to
continued compliance with federal Medicaid regulations, and also important to
the implementation of several new programs, including one that allows a person
with developmental disabilities the possibility of selecting and control of
their own services, called "self directed services".
Other
services critical to a large number of children and adults with developmental
disabilities, which includes autism, cerebral palsy, mental retardation and
other cognitive disabilities, include major proposals impacting Medi-Cal,
Medicare, In-Home Supportive Services, Supplemental Security Income/State
Supplemental Payments (SSI/SSP), other community-based accessible and
affordable housing and transportation, special education and higher education,
employment. Those issues are the subject of other budget hearings by both
the Senate and Assembly Budget Subcommittees on Health and Human Services
[see separate CDCAN Report #027-2006 for a full listing of all budget
hearings impacting people with disabilities and seniors]
Important
Assembly Budget Hearing On Governor's SSI/SSP Proposal
* Meanwhile the
Assembly Budget Subcommittee #1 on Health and Human Services, chaired by
Assemblymember Hector De La Torre (D-Southgate, 50th District) has also
scheduled a hearing on March 29, to consider the Governor's proposal to
withhold for 15 months starting in April 2007, federal funds meant for
cash grants - called SSI/SSP or "Supplemental Security Income/State Supplemental
Payment" for the lowest income seniors and people with disabilities, and to use
those federal funds for other purposes in the state budget. [CDCAN
Note: this is done by lowering the state funded only portion of the grant
(called "SSP") by the same amount of the federal money that is sent to
California by the federal government for the specific purpose of increasing the
SSI part of the grant. That means less money in the grant then what the low
income senior or person with disabilities would have received otherwise,
something that is already occurring this year for three months beginning January
2006, and again for three months beginning January 2007.]
* The
Governor's proposal would be in addition to what the Governor proposed -
and the Legislature passed last year as part of the July 2005-June 2006 State
Budget, that suspended for two years, (January 2006 and January 2007)
State funded cost of living increases for the SSP portion of the grant, and to
withhold for the first three months of both years, the federal funds meant to
provide cost of living increases for the SSI portion of the grant.
*
That proposal, in an unusual early action, was rejected by the full Senate
Budget Committee, chaired by Sen. Wes Chesbro (D-Arcata, 2nd District) in
January. Though nothing is final until a budget is passed by the
Legislature and signed by the Governor, if the Assembly also rejects the
Governor's SSI/SSP proposal, it is likely that action will be crucial in keeping
the proposal out of the budget. .
3/15 Meeting On "Cost
Containment" by Dept of Developmental Services
The Department of
Developmental Services (DDS) has scheduled a meeting on March 15, Wednesday
afternoon from 3:00 to 5:00 PM at the Department of Developmental Serves offices
at 1600 9th Street, Conference Room 360, Sacramento, so that "interested
stakeholders can provide feedback" on existing and proposed "cost containment"
proposals included in the Governor's proposed state budget for July 2006-June
2007.
* Meeting Format: The Department of Developmental
Services said that the meeting will be "simple and informal" with each of
the proposals presented, and comments and questions taken.
*
Proposals To Be Presented: The "cost containment" proposals (both new and
existing) and the Governor's proposal for a one time 3% increase in what the
state pays community-based providers for several types of services. Some
of the proposals simply extend the existing "cost containment" measures for
another year, or make special provisions about the one time increase.
These are the same proposals that both the Assembly and Senate Budget
Subcommittees will hear on April 3 and April 17 (see above).
The
proposals include those impacting intake assessment timeline, supported living
services, transportation and "Look-Alike Day Programs", residential
services, vouchered respite services (where the parent can hire their own
respite worker directly), supported employment, continued freeze of
start-ups of new community-based programs, and new proposals regarding
contract language impacting how regional centers fund and monitor
community-based services (purchase of services or "POS") and the individuals and
organizations who actually provide those services.
* Space Limitations for
March 15 Meeting: The Department of Developmental Services said in their
letter, dated February 17, announcing the meeting, that not more than two
individuals per "stakeholder group" (organization) can attend, due to space
limitations. [Note: CDCAN is urging the Department of Developmental Services
to change meeting location to allow for more people and to also permit people to
call-in toll free.to allow more people with developmental disabilities and
families and workers and other advocates who may not have resources to come to
Sacramento, to join in]
* RSVP - persons should send a
email message or call Mary Lee Pennington if they plan to attend. Her
email is marylee.pennigton@dds.ca.gov or
call 916/654-1884.
Advocates Plan Major Action Alert For Hearings & March 2
Townhall Telemeeting
* The
California Disability Community Action Network (CDCAN) is issuing a major action
alert on the Governor's SSI/SSP proposal, and also the impact of the Governor's
proposals to continue for at least another year on-going reductions impacting
services (called "cost containment measures") and freezes of reimbursements owed
to community-based organizations (called "rate freezes"), a freezes of the
start-up of new community programs that advocates say are critically
needed. The CDCAN Action Alert will urge rejection of the proposals and
restoration of the state and federal money owed to SSI/SSP recipients this year
and next year.
* Alert will also cover proposals impacting Medi-Cal
and the need to monitor changes to In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS). The
action alert, which will be issued Sunday (February 26), will include a
letter and phone campaign, and effort to bring people to the hearings.
* The
March 2 CDCAN Disability Rights Townhall Telemeeting (from 1 PM to 2:30 PM) will
focus on the issue of the Governor's proposed 3% one time increase for several
community-based programs serving people with developmental disabilities funded
by regional centers, and also the proposal to continue on-going reductions and
reimbursement freezes, and its impact on people with disabilities and their
families, workers and others. For more information go to the CDCAN website
at www.cdcan.us
BUDGET HEARINGS ON DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL
SERVICES
(SSI/SSP)
03/29/06 Wednesday
Assembly Budget Subcommittee #1 on Health and Human
Services
1:30 PM State Capitol - Room
444
* Department of Social Services
(Budget Item 5180)
- SSI/SSP and Food Stamps
Also:
* Department of
Community Services and Development (Budget Item 4700)
- LIHEAP (Low
Income Home Energy Assistance Program)
- Community Services Block Grant
(CSBG) funding)
* Department of Aging (Budget Item
4170)
PRIORITY: VERY HIGH
CDCAN
Action Alert: YES
Should
People Make Effort To Come To This Hearing:
Yes
BUDGET HEARINGS ON DEPARTMENT OF DEVELOPMENTAL
SERVICES
(REGIONAL CENTERS AND DEVELOPMENTAL CENTERS)
Note:
Separate from the budget hearings - but covering many of the same proposals is
the March 15 "stakeholder meeting" by the Department of Developmental Services
scheduled from 3 to 5 PM at the Department's offices at 1600 9th Street in
Conference Room 360, Sacramento. To RSVP or for more information, contact
Mary Lee Pennington at 916/654-1884 or email her at marylee.pennington@dds.ca.gov
04/03/06 Monday
Senate Budget Subcommittee #3 on
Health and Human Services
01:30 PM State Capitol - Room (to be
announced)
* Department of Developmental Services (Budget Item
4300)
- Community-based issues (regional centers) and
developmental centers
PRIORITY: VERY
HIGH
CDCAN Action Alert:
YES
Should People Make Effort To Come To This Hearing:
Yes
04/17/06
Monday
Assembly Budget Subcommittee #1 on Health and Human
Services
4:00 PMState Capitol - Room
127
* Department of Developmental
Services (Budget Item 4300)
- Community-based issues (regional centers) and
developmental centers
PRIORITY: VERY
HIGH
CDCAN Action Alert:
YES
Should People Make Effort To
Come To This Hearing: Yes
How To Receive CDCAN Capitol News Reports and Alerts
The California Disability Community Action
Network is a non-partisan link to thousands of Californians with developmental
and other disabilities, people with traumatic brain and other injures, seniors
and their families, community organizations and providers, direct care and other
workers, and other advocates. These action alerts and news reports is for all of
them. If you would like to get on this distribution (and conversely,
get off of it) please send an email with that request to: martyomoto@rcip.com OR sign up via the NEW
CDCAN website at www.cdcan.us Sharing information is part of
our organizing effort. Please feel free to forward or copy this
(attribution is nice but not necessary). We're all in this together!
MANY
THANKS to Training Toward Self Reliance, UCP, The University Affiliated
Programs, CHANCE Inc, Arriba, Strategies Toward Empowering People, Parents
Helping Parents, Asian American parents groups, Resources for Independent Living
and many other Independent Living Centers, several regional centers, People
First chapters, IHSS workers, other self advocacy and family support groups
California Disability Rights Inc , CA NAELA, developmental center families, and
hundreds of individuals like Maureen Fitzgerald, Terri Lantz, Christal Hopkins,
Lisa Brown, Anna Wang, Dennis Dishaw, Bob Benson, David Engberg, Connie Arnold,
and so many others who through their support and contributions, make the
non-partisan CDCAN reports and townhall telemeetings possible. Thanks also
to partnerships and the good people with the State Council on Developmental
Disabilities, and also the Department of Health Services, the Department of
Developmental Services, Department of Social Services and the CA Health and
Human Services Agency and other agencies, and the State Legislature and staff,
the Legislative Analyst Office. Good people who do good things can make a
difference together.