2005 California Welfare and Institutions Code Sections 4775-4790 CHAPTER 9. BUDGETARY PROCESS AND FINANCIAL PROVISIONS

4775.  The Legislature finds that the method of appropriating funds
for numerous programs for the developmentally disabled affects the
availability and distribution of services and must be related to
statewide planning.  Therefore, the process for determining levels of
funding of programs must involve consideration of the state plan
established pursuant to Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 4560) of
this division and the participation of citizens who may be directly
affected by funding decisions.
4776.  On or before August 1 of each year, each regional center
shall submit to the department and the state council a program budget
plan for the subsequent budget year.  The budget plan shall include
all of the following:
   (a) An estimate of all developmentally disabled persons to be
served by the regional center.
   (b) An estimate of services to be provided by the regional center.
   (c) An estimate of cost, by type of service.
   (d) Estimated sources and amounts of all revenue, including funds
which are not administered by regional centers.
   (e) A detailed report of the resources required to implement
Section 4509.
4776.5.  (a) Regional centers shall not be subject to any provision
of law, regulation, or policy required of state agencies pertaining
to the planning and acquisition of information technology, including
personal computers, local area networks, information technology
consultation, and software.
   (b) The State Department of Developmental Services and the
Association of Regional Center Agencies shall jointly develop
guidelines for use by regional centers in the expenditure of funds
for those information system activities, including consultation and
software development, involving interface with the data bases of the
State Department of Developmental Services, including the Uniform
Fiscal System.
4777.  On or before September 1 of each year, the Superintendent of
Public Instruction shall submit to the state council:
   (a) An estimate of all developmentally disabled persons to be
served throughout the state.
   (b) Estimated total cost, by service or educational category.
   (c) Estimated sources of revenue.
4778.  To the extent feasible, all funds appropriated for
developmental disabilities programs under this part shall be
allocated to those programs by August 1 of each year.
4780.  When appropriated by the Legislature, the department may
receive and expend all funds made available by the federal
government, the state, its political subdivisions, and other sources,
and, within the limitation of the funds made available, shall act as
an agent for the transmittal of the funds for services through the
regional centers.  The department may use any funds received under
Article 5 (commencing with Section 123800) of Chapter 3 of Part 2 of
Division 106 of the Health and Safety Code for the purposes of this
division.
4780.5.  The State Department of Developmental Services is
responsible for the processing, audit, and payment of funds made
available to regional centers under this division.  The department
shall establish procedures for hearing objections to audit findings
and exceptions by regional centers.
4781.  The department may accept and expend grants, gifts, and
legacies of money and, with the consent of the Department of Finance,
may accept, manage, and expend grants, gifts and legacies of other
property, in furtherance of the purposes of this division.
   The secretary may enter into agreements with any person, agency,
corporation, foundation, or other legal entity to carry out the
purposes of this division.
4781.5.  For the 2005-06 fiscal year only, a regional center may not
expend any purchase of service funds for the startup of any new
program unless the expenditure is necessary to protect the consumer's
health or safety or because of other extraordinary circumstances,
and the department has granted prior written authorization for the
expenditure. This provision shall not apply to any of the following:
   (a) The purchase of services funds allocated as part of the
department's community placement plan process.
   (b) Expenditures for the startup of new programs made pursuant to
a contract entered into before July 1, 2002.
4782.  Parents of children under the age of 18 years who are
receiving 24-hour out-of-home care services through a regional center
or who are residents of a state hospital or on leave from the state
hospital shall be required to pay a fee depending upon their ability
to pay, but not to exceed (1) the cost of caring for a normal child
at home, as determined by the Director of Developmental Services, or
(2) the cost of services provided, whichever is less.  The State
Department of Developmental Services shall determine, assess, and
collect all parental fees in the manner as provided in Section
7513.2.  The method of determination of the amount of the fee shall
be the same, whether the child is placed in the state hospital or in
a public or private community facility.  In no event, however, shall
parents be charged for diagnosis or counseling services received
through the regional centers.
4783.  (a) (1) The Family Cost Participation Program is hereby
created in the State Department of Developmental Services for the
purpose of assessing a cost participation to parents, as defined in
Section 50215 of Title 17 of the California Code of Regulations, who
have a child to whom all of the following applies:
   (A) The child has a developmental disability.
   (B) The child is three years of age through 17 years of age.
   (C) The child lives in the parents' home.
   (D) The child receives services and supports purchased through the
regional center.
   (E) The child is not eligible for Medi-Cal.
   (2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a parent described
in subdivision (a) shall participate in the Family Cost
Participation Program established pursuant to this section.
   (b) (1) The department shall develop and establish a Family Cost
Participation Schedule that shall be used by regional centers to
assess the parents' cost participation.  The schedule shall consist
of a sliding scale for families with an annual gross income not less
than 400 percent of the federal poverty guideline, and be adjusted
for the level of annual gross income and the number of persons living
in the family home.
   (2) The schedule established pursuant to this section shall be
exempt from the rulemaking provisions of Chapter 3.5 (commencing with
Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government
Code.
   (c) Family cost participation assessments shall only be applied to
respite, day care, and camping services that are included in the
child's individual program plan.
   (d) If there is more than one minor child living in the parents'
home and receiving services or supports paid for by the regional
center, or living in a 24-hour out-of-home facility, including a
developmental center, the assessed amount shall be adjusted as
follows:
   (1) A parent that meets the criteria specified in subdivision (b)
with two children shall be assessed at 75 percent of the respite, day
care, and camping services in each child's individual program plan
for each child living at home.
   (2) A parent that meets the criteria specified in subdivision (b)
with three children shall be assessed at 50 percent of the respite,
day care, and camping services included in each child's individual
program plan for each child living at home.
   (3) A parent that meets the criteria specified in subdivision (b)
with four children shall be assessed 25 percent of the respite, day
care, and camping services included in each child's individual
program plan for each child living at home.
   (4) A parent that meets the criteria specified in subdivision (b)
with more than four children shall be exempt from participation in
the Family Cost Participation Program.
   (e) For each child, the amount of cost participation shall be less
than the amount of the parental fee that the parent would pay if the
child lived in a 24-hour, out-of-home facility.
   (f) Commencing January 1, 2005, each regional center shall be
responsible for administering the Family Cost Participation Program.
   (g) Family cost participation assessments or reassessments shall
be conducted as follows:
   (1) (A) By December 31, 2005, a regional center shall assess the
cost participation for all parents of current consumers who meet the
criteria specified in this section.  A regional center shall use the
most recent individual program plan for this purpose.
   (B) A regional center shall assess the cost participation for
parents of newly identified consumers at the time of the initial
individual program plan.
   (C) Reassessments for cost participation shall be conducted as
part of the individual program plan review pursuant to subdivision
(b) of Section 4646.
   (D) The parents are responsible for notifying the regional center
when a change in family income occurs that would result in a change
in the assessed amount of cost participation.
   (2) Parents shall self-certify their gross annual income to the
regional center by providing copies of W-2 Wage Earners Statements,
payroll stubs, a copy of the prior year's state income tax return, or
other documents and proof of other income.
   (3) A regional center shall notify parents of the parents'
assessed cost participation within 10 working days of receipt of the
parents' complete income documentation.
   (4) Parents who have not provided copies of income documentation
pursuant to paragraph (2) shall be assessed the maximum cost
participation based on the highest income level adjusted for family
size until such time as the appropriate income documentation is
provided.  Parents who subsequently provide income documentation that
results in a reduction in their cost participation shall be
reimbursed for the actual cost difference incurred for services
identified in the individual program plan for respite, day care, and
camping services, for 90 calendar days preceding the reassessment.
The actual cost difference is the difference between the maximum cost
participation originally assessed and the reassessed amount using
the parents' complete income documentation, that is substantiated
with receipts showing that the services have been purchased by the
parents.
   (5) The executive director of the regional center may grant a cost
participation adjustment for parents who incur an unavoidable and
uninsured catastrophic loss with direct economic impact on the family
or who substantiate, with receipts, significant unreimbursed medical
costs associated with care for a child who is a regional center
consumer.  A redetermination of the cost participation adjustment
shall be made at least annually.
   (h) A provider of respite, day care, or camping services shall not
charge a rate for the parents' share of cost that is higher than the
rate paid by the regional center for its share of cost.
   (i) The department shall develop, and regional centers shall use,
all forms and documents necessary to administer the program
established pursuant to this section.  The forms and documents shall
be posted on the department's Web site.  A regional center shall
provide appropriate materials to parents at the initial individual
program plan meeting and subsequent individual program plan review
meetings.  These materials shall include a description of the Family
Cost Participation Program.
   (j) The department shall include an audit of the Family Cost
Participation Program during its audit of a regional center.
   (k) (1) Parents may appeal an error in the amount of the parents'
cost participation to the executive director of the regional center
within 30 days of notification of the amount of the assessed cost
participation.  The parents may appeal to the Director of
Developmental Services, or his or her designee, any decision by the
executive director made pursuant to this subdivision within 15 days
of receipt of the written decision of the executive director.
   (2) Parents who dispute the decision of the executive director
pursuant to paragraph (5) of subdivision (g) shall have a right to a
fair hearing as described in, and the regional center shall provide
notice pursuant to, Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 4700).  This
paragraph shall become inoperative on July 1, 2006.
   (3) On and after July 1, 2006, a parent described in paragraph (2)
shall have the right to appeal the decision of the executive
director to the Director of Developmental Services, or his or her
designee, within 15 days of receipt of the written decision of the
executive director.
   (l) The department may adopt emergency regulations to implement
this section.  The adoption, amendment, repeal, or readoption of a
regulation authorized by this section is deemed to be necessary for
the immediate preservation of the public peace, health and safety, or
general welfare, for purposes of Sections 11346.1 and 11349.6 of the
Government Code, and the department is hereby exempted from the
requirement that it describe specific facts showing the need for
immediate action.  A certificate of compliance for these implementing
regulations shall be filed within 24 months following the adoption
of the first emergency regulations filed pursuant to this
subdivision.
   (m) By April 1, 2005, and annually thereafter, the department
shall report to the appropriate fiscal and policy committees of the
Legislature on the status of the implementation of the Family Cost
Participation Program established under this section.  On and after
April 1, 2006, the report shall contain all of the following:
   (1) The annual total purchase of services savings attributable to
the program per regional center.
   (2) The annual costs to the department and each regional center to
administer the program.
   (3) The number of families assessed a cost participation per
regional center.
   (4) The number of cost participation adjustments granted pursuant
to paragraph (5) of subdivision (g) per regional center.
   (5) The number of appeals filed pursuant to subdivision (k) and
the number of those appeals granted, modified, or denied.
   (n) This section shall become inoperative on July 1, 2009, and, as
of January 1, 2010, is repealed, unless a later enacted statute,
that becomes operative on or before January 1, 2010, deletes or
extends the dates on which it becomes inoperative and is repealed.
4784.  (a) The Director of Developmental Services shall establish,
annually review, and adjust as needed, a schedule of parental fees
for services received through the regional centers.   This schedule
shall be revised to reflect changes in economic conditions that
affect parents' ability to pay the fee, but not to exceed an
inflationary factor as determined by the department.
   (b) The parental fee schedule established pursuant to this section
shall be exempt from Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of
Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
   (c) In establishing the amount parents shall pay, the director
shall take into account all of the following factors:
   (1) Medical expenses incurred prior to regional center care.
   (2) Whether the child is living at home.
   (3) Parental payments for medical expenses, clothing, incidentals,
and other items considered necessary to the normal rearing of a
child.
   (4) Transportation expenses incurred in visiting a child.
   (d) All parental payments shall be deposited in the Program
Development Fund established in Chapter 6 (commencing with Section
4670) to provide resources needed to initiate new programs,
consistent with approved priorities for program development in the
state plan.
4786.  The director shall develop, establish, and maintain an
equitable system of rates of state payment for care and services
purchased by the department from community care facilities.  Such
rate system shall be flexible and reflect the differing costs
associated with the differing types and levels of care and services
provided.
4787.  (a) The department shall, in developing the annual budget for
regional center-funded services and supports for residents of
developmental centers who are projected to move into the community in
the budget year, estimate the costs of these services and supports.
Budgeted funding shall be allocated to each regional center based on
each regional center's share of the projected placements to be made
within the budget year.
   (b) When a resident of a developmental center moves into a
community placement outside of their regional catchment area, the
department shall transfer from the regional center an appropriate
amount of the funding allocated for that consumer to the regional
center that will provide services.
   (c) A regional center able to exceed its projected placements
within the fiscal year shall be allocated additional funding for that
purpose in that fiscal year, if sufficient funding is available, and
to the extent that additional funding is necessary to make those
placements.
   (d) If the department determines that a regional center will not
make all of the projected placements during the fiscal year for which
it has received funding, those funds shall be made available to
regional centers who have exceeded their projected placements, to the
extent that additional funding is necessary to make those
placements.
   (e) With the approval of the Department of Finance, savings that
result from population reductions in the developmental centers may be
transferred to regional centers for the purpose of providing
services and supports to residents of developmental centers who have
moved into a community placement pursuant to their individual program
plan.
   (f) This section shall not expand or limit the entitlement to
services for a person with developmental disabilities set forth in
this division.
4790.  (a) It is the intent of the Legislature to provide an
incentive for regional centers to select out-of-home placements that
are most appropriate for each person with a developmental disability
requiring out-of-home care and to provide a disincentive for
inappropriate placement in or delayed discharge from state hospitals.
   (b) By March 1, 1982, the Health and Welfare Agency shall submit
to the Legislature a detailed implementation plan for a pilot project
involving four regional centers.  These regional centers shall
receive allocations of funds equivalent to the cost of state hospital
care for the clients of the individual regional center from which
they shall purchase services from state hospitals or other providers.
   (c) Funds so allocated shall cover costs of care of all clients of
the pilot project regional centers in state hospitals and, in
addition, shall be used to pay costs of (1) community care, including
but not limited to, out-of-home care for clients currently residing
in state hospitals who have been deemed more appropriately served in
the community, and (2) out-of-home costs for persons placed after
receipt of the allocation.
   (d) Regional centers shall be selected on the basis of their
willingness to participate in the project, their demonstrated ability
to provide necessary community care resources, and their relative
standing in the provision of high quality programmatic and
administrative services in accordance with the systems evaluation
package review of regional centers by the State Department of
Developmental Services.   In order to ensure the most efficient use
of these provisions, one of the four selected regional centers shall
have the highest ratio of nonstate hospital out-of-home residential
placements in its total active caseload.