(a) (1) Effective July 1, 2011, a regional center shall assess an annual family program fee, as described in subdivision (b), from parents whose adjusted gross family income is at or above 400 percent of the federal poverty level based upon family size and who have a child to whom all of the following apply:
(A) The child has a developmental disability or is eligible for services under the California Early Intervention Services Act (Title 14 (commencing with Section 95000) of the Government Code).
(B) The child is less than 18 years of age.
(C) The child lives with his or her parent.
(D) The child or family receives services beyond eligibility determination, needs assessment, and service coordination.
(E) The child does not receive services through the Medi-Cal program.
(2) An annual family program fee shall not be assessed or collected pursuant to this section if the child receives only respite, day care, or camping services from the regional center, and a cost for participation is assessed to the parents under the Family Cost Participation Program.
(3) The annual family program fee shall be initially assessed by a regional center at the time of the development, scheduled review, or modification of the individual program plan (IPP) pursuant to Sections 4646 and 4646.5, or the individualized family services plan (IFSP) pursuant to Section 95020 of the Government Code, but no later than June 30, 2012, and annually thereafter.
(4) Application of this section to children zero through two years of age, inclusive, shall be contingent upon necessary approval by the United States Department of Education.
(b) (1) The annual family program fee for parents described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) shall be two hundred dollars ($200) per family, regardless of the number of children in the family with developmental disabilities or who are eligible for services under the California Early Intervention Services Act.
(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), parents described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) who demonstrate to the regional center that their adjusted gross family income is less than 800 percent of the federal poverty level shall be required to pay an annual family program fee of one hundred fifty dollars ($150) per family, regardless of the number of children in the family with developmental disabilities or who are eligible for services under the California Early Intervention Services Act.
(c) At the time of intake or at the time of development, scheduled review, or modification of a consumer’s IPP or IFSP, but no later than June 30, 2012, the regional center shall provide to parents described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) a form and an envelope for the mailing of the annual family program fee to the department. The form, which shall include the name of the children in the family currently being served by a regional center and their unique client identifiers, shall be sent, with the family’s annual program fee, to the department.
(d) The department shall notify each regional center at least quarterly of the annual family program fees collected.
(e) The regional center shall, within 30 days after notification from the department pursuant to subdivision (d), provide a written notification to the parents from whom the department has not received the annual family program fees. Regional centers shall notify the department if a family receiving notification pursuant to this section has failed to pay its annual family program fees based on the subsequent notice pursuant to subdivision (d). For these families, the department shall pursue collection pursuant to the Accounts Receivable Management Act (Chapter 4.3 (commencing with Section 16580) of Part 2 of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code).
(f) A regional center may grant an exemption to the assessment of an annual family program fee if the parents demonstrate any of the following:
(1) That the exemption is necessary to maintain the child in the family home.
(2) The existence of an extraordinary event that impacts the parents’ ability to pay the fee or the parents’ ability to meet the care and supervision needs of the child.
(3) The existence of a catastrophic loss that temporarily limits the ability of the parents to pay and creates a direct economic impact on the family. For purposes of this paragraph, catastrophic loss may include, but is not limited to, natural disasters, accidents involving, or major injuries to, an immediate family member, and extraordinary medical expenses.
(g) Services shall not be delayed or denied for a consumer or child based upon the lack of payment of the annual family program fee.
(h) For purposes of this section, “parents” means the parents, whether natural, adoptive, or both, of a child with developmental disabilities under 18 years of age.
(i) Parents described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) shall be jointly and severally responsible for the annual family program fee, unless a court order directs otherwise.
(j) (1) “Total adjusted gross family income” means income acquired, earned, or received by parents as payment for labor or services, support, gift, or inheritance, or parents’ return on investments. It also includes the community property interest of a parent in the gross adjusted income of a stepparent.
(2) The total adjusted gross family income shall be determined by adding the gross income of both parents, regardless of whether they are divorced or legally separated, unless a court order directs otherwise, or unless the custodial parent certifies in writing that income information from the noncustodial parent cannot be obtained from the noncustodial parent and in this circumstance only the income of the custodial parent shall be used to determine the annual family program fee.
(Amended by Stats. 2013, Ch. 25, Sec. 8. (AB 89) Effective June 27, 2013.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018