(a) Consistent with state and federal law, the Legislature finds and declares that children with developmental disabilities most often have greater opportunities for educational and social growth when they live with their families. The Legislature further finds and declares that the cost of providing necessary services and supports which enable a child with developmental disabilities to live at home is typically equal to or lower than the cost of providing out-of-home placement. The Legislature places a high priority on providing opportunities for children with developmental disabilities to live with their families, when living at home is the preferred objective in the child’s individual program plan.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature that regional centers provide or secure family support services that do all of the following:
(1) Respect and support the decisionmaking authority of the family.
(2) Be flexible and creative in meeting the unique and individual needs of families as they evolve over time.
(3) Recognize and build on family strengths, natural supports, and existing community resources.
(4) Be designed to meet the cultural preferences, values, and lifestyles of families.
(5) Focus on the entire family and promote the inclusion of children with disabilities in all aspects of school and community.
(c) In order to provide opportunities for children to live with their families, the following procedures shall be adopted:
(1) The department and regional centers shall give a very high priority to the development and expansion of services and supports designed to assist families that are caring for their children at home, when that is the preferred objective in the individual program plan. This assistance may include, but is not limited to specialized medical and dental care, special training for parents, infant stimulation programs, respite for parents, homemaker services, camping, day care, short-term out-of-home care, child care, counseling, mental health services, behavior modification programs, special adaptive equipment such as wheelchairs, hospital beds, communication devices, and other necessary appliances and supplies, and advocacy to assist persons in securing income maintenance, educational services, and other benefits to which they are entitled.
(2) When children with developmental disabilities live with their families, the individual program plan shall include a family plan component which describes those services and supports necessary to successfully maintain the child at home. Regional centers shall consider every possible way to assist families in maintaining their children at home, when living at home will be in the best interest of the child, before considering out-of-home placement alternatives. When the regional center first becomes aware that a family may consider an out-of-home placement, or is in need of additional specialized services to assist in caring for the child in the home, the regional center shall meet with the family to discuss the situation and the family’s current needs, solicit from the family what supports would be necessary to maintain the child in the home, and utilize creative and innovative ways of meeting the family’s needs and providing adequate supports to keep the family together, if possible.
(3) (A) To ensure that these services and supports are provided in the most cost-effective and beneficial manner, regional centers may utilize innovative service-delivery mechanisms, including, but not limited to, vouchers; alternative respite options such as foster families, vacant community facility beds, crisis child care facilities; group training for parents on behavioral intervention techniques in lieu of some or all of the in-home parent training component of the behavioral intervention services; purchase of neighborhood preschool services and needed qualified personnel in lieu of infant development programs; and alternative child care options such as supplemental support to generic child care facilities and parent child care cooperatives.
(B) Effective July 1, 2009, at the time of development, review, or modification of a child’s individualized family service plan or individual program plan, the regional center shall consider both of the following:
(i) The use of group training for parents on behavioral intervention techniques in lieu of some or all of the in-home parent training component of the behavioral intervention services.
(ii) The purchase of neighborhood preschool services and needed qualified personnel in lieu of infant development programs.
(4) If the parent of any child receiving services and supports from a regional center believes that the regional center is not offering adequate assistance to enable the family to keep the child at home, the parent may initiate a request for fair hearing as established in this division. A family shall not be required to start a placement process or to commit to placing a child in order to receive requested services.
(5) Nothing in this section shall be construed to encourage the continued residency of adult children in the home of their parents when that residency is not in the best interests of the person.
(6) When purchasing or providing a voucher for day care services for parents who are caring for children at home, the regional center may pay only the cost of the day care service that exceeds the cost of providing day care services to a child without disabilities. The regional center may pay in excess of this amount when a family can demonstrate a financial need and when doing so will enable the child to remain in the family home.
(7) A regional center may purchase or provide a voucher for diapers for children three years of age or older. A regional center may purchase or provide vouchers for diapers under three years of age when a family can demonstrate a financial need and when doing so will enable the child to remain in the family home.
(Amended by Stats. 2009, 4th Ex. Sess., Ch. 9, Sec. 17. Effective July 28, 2009.)