(a) Notwithstanding any other law, and provided that there shall be no reduction in direct service to persons eligible for services under this article, a regional center, with the approval of the State Department of Developmental Services, and in consultation with the state council, consumer and vendor advisory committees, and local advocacy organizations, may explore and implement any regional center service delivery alternative included in this section for consumers living in the community, as follows:
(1) Alternative service coordination for consumers.
(2) Technical and financial support to consumers, and where appropriate, their families, to provide or secure their own services in lieu of services that regional centers would otherwise provide, purchase, or secure. These programs shall be cost-effective in the aggregate, and shall be limited to consumers who are at imminent risk of moving to a more restrictive setting.
(3) Procedures whereby regional centers may negotiate levels of payment with providers for delivery of specific services to a group of consumers through a mutually agreed upon contract with a specific term and a guaranteed reimbursement amount. Contracted services may be for any specific service or combination of services across vendor categories.
(4) Procedures whereby consumers, regional center representatives, the state council, and local service providers may jointly examine and make recommendations to the department for reduced reporting and recording requirements of regional centers. The recommendations shall be made available upon request.
(5) Proposals to reduce reporting and recordkeeping requirements at a regional center.
(6) Procedures whereby a regional center may lease a facility and contract for the provision of services in that facility for regional center clients.
(7) Procedures that encourage innovative approaches to the sharing of administrative resources between regional centers and other public and private agencies serving persons with developmental disabilities.
(8) Proposals for a regional center to purchase a facility for its own office space if it can be shown to be cost-effective. Funds from a regional center’s purchase of services budget shall not be used for this purchase.
(b) Consultation pursuant to subdivision (a) shall occur during the development of the proposal prior to the public hearing conducted in accordance with Section 4669.75 and after the completion of the public hearing.
(c) The regional center shall annually submit to the State Department of Developmental Services a report on the implementation of the service delivery options approved by the department under this section. The report shall review the effects of the proposal, if applicable, upon the regional center purchase of service budget and the state budget, the impact on other regional center services, and the impact on consumers served under the proposal. This report shall be completed within 90 days of the end of each fiscal year.
(Amended by Stats. 2014, Ch. 409, Sec. 51. (AB 1595) Effective January 1, 2015.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018