CDCAN
CALIFORNIA DISABILITY COMMUNITY ACTION NETWORK
DISABILITY RIGHTS NEWS REPORT
#042-2006  April 24, 2006 Monday 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
*  ASSEMBLY SUBCOMMITTEE MEETS TODAY ON REGIONAL CENTER ISSUES
*  MAY TAKE ACTION TO REJECT CONTINUING MANY ON-GOING REDUCTIONS
*  SENATE STILL NEEDS TO ALSO APPROVE ANY ACTION

SACRAMENTO -  The Assembly Budget Subcommittee #1 on Health and Human Services may take action later today (April 24) to reject  several of the Governor's proposals that would continue for at least another year, on-going budget reductions and rate freezes  - called "cost containment measures" totaling cuts of hundreds of millions of dollars since 2002-2003,  impacting  regional center budgets (called "purchase of services" or POS) that fund community based services and supports for children and adults with developmental disabilities.  The Assembly Budget Subcommittee #1 on Health and Human Services, chaired by Assemblymember Hector De La Torre (D-Southgate, 50th District) is meeting Monday late afternoon (April 24) at 4:00 PM in the State Capitol, Room 126 (changed from Room 127).   It is not clear what specific programs and services would be impacted if the Assembly Subcommittee takes the action this afternoon. 

The Assembly Budget Subcommittee is also likely today to firmly reject - as did the Senate on April 3, the Governor's new proposal to control spending of the regional center budget that funds community-based services (purchase of services) by changing and adding contract language between the State and the 21 non-profit regional centers.

Advocates Say On-going Reductions and Freezes "Devastating"
Lifting the on-going rate freezes and reductions - the amount of funds the State pays community-based organizations and others to provide services and supports, has been a huge issue for disability advocates who say continuing the "cost containment measures" is "devastating" to children and adults with developmental disabilities, their families, and workers and their rights to live in the community.  The Schwarzenegger Administration - and previously the Davis Administration, defended the "cost containment measures" as necessary to rein in dramatically rising spending when the State was facing growing budget shortfalls. 

The Department of Developmental Services, which contracts with 21 non-profit regional centers who in turn fund community-based organizations and and individuals to provide community-based services to nearly 200,00 children and adults with developmental disabilities across the State, estimates that continuing the on-going budget reductions and rate freezes into 2006-2007 would reduce spending by over $155 million, totaling near $500 million since the 2002-2003 State Budget.  Some of the reductions and rate freezes - the amount of money the States pays community-based organizations and individuals to provide services and supports, were first proposed by then Gov. Gray Davis and passed by the Legislature in 2002, followed by other similar measures in 2003 .

Assembly Budget Subcommittee May Reject Continuing Eligibility Revision
The Assembly Budget Subcommittee may also reject later today continuing the revision of eligibility for regional center funded services that were put in place in the 2003-2004 State Budget, which advocates say "narrowed" eligibility by adopting only a part of the federal standard. That standard requires a person with disabilities unable to perform or with substantial difficulty in at least three of the seven "life activity" domains or areas (communication skills, leering, self-care, mobility, self-direction, capacity to live independently and economic self-sufficiency) . 
The State however did not adopt other parts of the federal standard which would have increased the age from 18 to 22 years when a person acquired their disability, and also included many other disabilities besides developmental.  Since it was put in place, the State estimates that hundreds of persons each year are denied eligibility based on the revised standard, who previously would have been eligible for regional center funded services. 

The other freezes or on-going reductions, which with some exceptions, expire by June 30, 2006,  that the Assembly may vote not to continue into the 2006-2007 State Budget could include:
* Day Program Rate Freeze
* Contract Services Rate Freeze
* Community Care Facility Rate Freeze
* Habilitation Services Rate Freeze (work activity and supported employment programs)
* In-home respite
* Intake and assessment delay (from 60 to 120 days)
* Elimination of the SSI/SSP Pass Through to Community Care Facilities
* Suspension of Start-ups of new non-community placement programs (for people other than those leaving developmental centers)
* Revision of eligibility definition
* On-going "unallocated" or unspecified reductions to regional center budget that funds community-based services (purchase of services) passed as part of the 2003-2004, and 2004-2005 State Budgets

Approval From Senate Needed
However any such action by the Assembly Budget Subcommittee would still needed approval from the Senate. 
The Senate Budget Subcommittee #3 on Health and Human Services voted April 3 to continue, with the exception of start-ups of new non-community placement programs,  nearly all of those on-going reductions and freezes, pending further information from the Governor in early May when he releases his revisions to his proposed budget for 2006-2007.  The Senate subcommittee however did reject the Governor's new proposal regarding adding or changing contract language between regional centers and the State, that would have added additional controls to reduce spending for community-based services.

Other Issues Assembly Budget Subcommittee Will Hear
The Assembly Budget Subcommittee, like the Senate on April 3, will likely hear the following other budget issues impacting regional centers and developmental centers:
* Update and report on the status of the long delayed statewide computer system to track services and expenditures and other information of people with developmental disabilities, called CADDIS (California Developmental Disabilities Information System). The Senate Budget Subcommittee #3 on Health and Human Services is also hearing a report from the Schwarzenegger Administration - the Department of Developmental Services and possibly the Department of Finance - on the progress of the system, Monday morning (April 24) at 10:00 AM (or upon adjournment of the Senate floor session) at the State Capitol, Room 4203. 
* Autism Spectrum Disorder Initiative proposed by the Governor (Senate approved this proposal in April and Assembly approval is likely today)
* 3% provider rate increase for several programs (many impacted by the on-going rate freezes still in place) proposed by the Governor (the Senate approved this proposal in April and the Assembly approval is likely today). 
* Update on closure and transition plan of Agnews Developmental Center.  The Department of Developmental Services previously announced on April 3 that closure - slated for June 2007, will be delayed until June 2008.
* Certification of Intermediate Care Facilities and State funding needed until certification is made (Senate Budget Subcommittee approved this action April 3)
* Update on Habilitation Services (supported employment and work activity programs for persons with developmental disabilities)
* Proposal by Governor for a Intensive Behavioral Treatment Residence at Porterville Developmental Center (Senate Budget Subcommittee took action on this issue in April)

Members of the Assembly Budget Subcommittee #1 on Health & Human Services
* Hector De La Torre, Chair  (D-Southgate, 50th District) 
Capitol Office Phone: (916) 319-2050   - Room 4162
* Sam Blakeslee (R-San Luis Obispo, 33rd District)  
Capitol Office Phone: (916) 319-2033  -  Room 5126
* Loni Hancock  (D-Berkekley, 14th District)
Capitol Office Phone: (916) 319-2014 - Room 4126
* Gene Mullin (D-South San Francisco, 19th District) 
Capitol Office Phone: (916) 319-2019 - Room 2136
* Roger Niello  (R-Fair Oaks, 5th District)
Capitol Office Phone: (916) 319-2005  - Room 2016
* Democratic Alternate: John Laird, (D-Santa Cruz, 27th District)
Capitol Office Phone: (916) 319-2027 - Rom 6026 (Assembly Budget  Committee office)

CDCAN Capitol News Reports and Alerts
These CDCAN Reports are partially funded by a small grant from the USC UCEDD, Grant #90DD0540 from the Administration on Developmental Disabilities.  The opinions expressed or content in these reports do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the USC UCEDD.
The California Disability Community Action Network is a non-partisan link to tens of thousands of Californians in every community, including people of color, people of every type of disability, including people with physical disabilities, people with developmental and other disabilities, people with traumatic brain and other injures, people with mental health needs, seniors, people with MS, Alzheimer's and others, and all of 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, California NAELA, Californians for Disability Rights, Inc (CDR), CHANCE Inc, Parents Helping Parents, 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, developmental center families, and hundreds of individuals including Bob Scrivano, 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.