AB 1147, the Disability Equity and Accountability Act, introduced by Assemblymember Dawn Addis (Central Coast), has been approved unanimously by the California Senate Human Services Committee. AB 1147 is intended to strengthen the ability of the California Department of Developmental Services (DDS) to provide effective oversight of the twenty-one regional centers (RCs).
AB 1147 focuses on three fundamental areas for people served by RCs:
1. Equity – People served by regional centers receive equal and timely access to services regardless of their race, ethnicity, disability, or location by requiring DDS to establish a minimum set of specific services that all RCs must provide;
2. Accountability – The state looks more closely at how RCs are serving their clients and holds them responsible for how clients are treated and served by requiring DDS to establish targets/standards above which an RC may receive rewards for good performance, and a separate set of standards below which the regional center is subject to levels of probation and required corrective action;
3. Transparency – Clients and families have more opportunities to see how they are individually served and how their RCs are serving all clients through a modern technology system and added transparency.
AB 1147 now moves to the Senate Appropriations Committee before moving to the floor. Your voice is still needed to pass this important initiative. All advocates are urged to take action today by visiting Momentum’s VoterVoice online advocacy center.
The California Legislature and Governor Gavin Newsom have reached agreement on the FY2023-24 state budget which was finalized and signed on June 27.
The budget addresses a $32 billion state budget deficit, with projected multiyear deficits, through selected spending cuts and delays. The final budget agreement does not touch state reserves, and, for the most part, spares disability services and supports from spending cuts.
Developmental disability advocates are heartened to learn that two priority issues have been addressed in the FY 2023-24 budget. The approved budget fixes a flaw in the current provider reimbursement rate models for independent living services by providing $15 million beginning January 2024 to increase the rate to ensure proper access to the services.
The budget also fixes a fundamental problem in the implementation of quality measures incentives in the rate study implementation. When implementation of the rate model study is complete, providers will receive a 90% “base rate” and a 10% quality incentive payment. However, quality incentive benchmarks have not been established for many services meaning those supports will not be eligible for the recommended rate. The FY 2023-24 addresses that concern:
- Requires Department of Developmental Service (DDS) to implement a hold harmless policy for providers whose rates in effect on January 1, 2023, exceed 90 percent of the rate model, until June 30, 2026.
- Requires that a provider be eligible for a quality incentive payment that, when added to their base rate, allows them to earn the fully funded rate model.
- Allows the department to establish quality measures or benchmarks in the initial years of the quality incentive program that focus on building capacity, developing reporting systems, gathering baseline data, and similar activities while working towards meaningful outcome measures at the individual consumer level for all services.
- Specifies that beginning in 2024-25, there will be an opportunity for eligible providers to earn full quality incentive payments through one or more measures.
- Requires the department to determine each provider’s quality incentive payment percentage prior to the start of the fiscal year by measuring the provider’s performance against the quality measure or benchmarks for the most recently available reporting period.
The budget for the DDS remained largely untouched during budget negotiations with most spending reductions reflected in downward projections of utilization of services.
