On Thursday, June 27, the California State Legislature, and the Governor’s Office agreed to and approved the FY2024-25 state budget blueprint. The budget plan eliminates the $45 billion budget shortfall for the next fiscal year as well as the projected $28 billion deficit for FY 2025-26.

Disability advocates were disheartened to learn that, despite aggressive advocacy, the final budget agreement sets the date for the final phase of the developmental services rate reform implementation at January 1, 2025 – six months delayed from its original implementation date. However, this represents an improvement over the Administration’s proposed date of July 1, 2025, which was among the biggest cuts in the Governor’s original budget proposal.

Other budget provisions related to developmental services include:

• Codifies the Master Plan process for Developmental Services.
• Rejects the proposal to move the Employment First Office from the California Office of Health and Human Services (HHS) to the California Department of Rehabilitation (DOR).
• Makes permanent the option for remote Individualized Program Plan (IPP) and Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) meetings.
• Repeals the Family Cost Participation Program and Annual Family Program fee for respite, daycare, and camping programs.
• Cuts $20 million in state general funds from the Direct Support Professional Internship Program.
• Delays funding of $10 million annually until FY2026-27 for Preschool Inclusion Grants intended to expand access to preschool for children with exceptional needs.

To learn more about the budget and read a more detailed analysis of the proposed plan, you can access recently released summaries listed below:

• To access the California state Senate Budget Summary document click here.
• To read the Assembly Floor report on the state FY2024/25 State Budget click here.
• To read the Newsom Administration’s Budget Agreement Summary click here.
• To access AB-162, the developmental services portion of the budget, click here.

The California Department of Developmental Services (DDS) has announced the launch of a Direct Support Professional (DSP) workforce interactive dashboard that will track state DSP workforce data information, including languages spoken by DSPs, the types of supports they provided, vacancy rates, and more.

The DSP workforce dashboard provides valuable insights into various metrics and key performance indicators from the DSP workforce survey. The dashboard is comprised of data voluntarily submitted by participating agencies, including Momentum.

Starting in 2022, California began collecting data from agencies that employ DSPs who provide services and support, funded through a regional center, to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). The data collection effort establishes baseline information from which DDS, agencies and stakeholders may assess challenges, evaluate the impact of existing initiatives and shape future policies to improve workforce stability and is a valuable tool for advocacy efforts on the state and federal level.

To access the dashboard, click here and click “Interactive Dashboard” tab.

On June 12^th, the House Energy and Commerce Committee held a markup for H.R. 7213, reauthorization of the Autism CARES Act of 2024. The bill establishes research, training, and monitoring programs throughout the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to address the increasing prevalence of autism.

The bill will support and expand the research of the Institutes of Health, support the capacity of the existing Leadership in Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities programs, require a report on how to increase the number of Developmental Behavioral Pediatricians, and more. The bill passed through the Committee with a vote of 42-0.

The Autism CARES Act is the most comprehensive federal law addressing the urgent needs of children, adolescents, and adults with autism. Over its 17-year history, this law has resulted in a significant increase in our understanding of autism and related neurodevelopmental disabilities.

On June 5^th, Representative Thanedar (D-MI-13), and Representative LaLota (R-NY-1) introduced H.R. 8645, the Improved for Veterans and Passengers with Disabilities Act.

“Disabled Americans, especially those who served in our armed forces, often face unique challenges in living the life they deserve,” said Rep. Shri Thanedar. “As the Ranking Member of the Transportation and Maritime Security Subcommittee, I am committed to making our transportation system more accessible for all Americans. Over twenty-five million Americans have a disability that limits their ability to travel comfortably. By making airports more accessible for disabled passengers, we will create a stronger transportation industry and allow more Americans to travel to all parts of this great country.”

The bill will require the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to create annual training for TSA officers to improve how they serve passengers with disabilities. The training would be updated at least every two years in consultation with disability and veterans’ organizations. The legislation also requires TSA to enroll injured or disabled veterans in TSA Precheck at no cost.

State of the Workforce in 2022 Survey Report Released

The first National Core Indicators (NCI) Aging and Disabilities State of the Workforce in 2022 Survey Report has been released.

The NCI State of the Workforce Survey collects comprehensive data on provider agencies and the Direct Support Worker (DSW) workforce providing support to the Aging and Disability population. The goal of the survey and the resulting data is to help states describe their workforce, examine workforce challenges, identify areas for further investigation, benchmark their workforce data, measure improvements made through policy or programmatic changes, and compare their state data to those of other states.

The release of the NCI-AD State of the Workforce in 2022 Survey data marks a new opportunity for state aging and disabilities agencies, advocates, and researchers to work together to determine the best strategies to address the DSW workforce crisis.

You can access the report by clicking here.

U.S. Department of Justice Voting Rights and Elections Website

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) updated their website with voting rights and election information for voters as well as state and local elections officials to ensure that every eligible voter can participate in elections. As a part of the update, DOJ updated its guide on The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Other Federal Laws Protecting the Rights of Voters with Disabilities as well as numerous other guides and resources.

The website also includes a link for advocates to report federal voting rights violation and ADA voting rights violations. Advocates can access by the website at www.justice.gov/voting.