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ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
ACR 77 (Mark Stone)
As Amended June 24, 2015
Majority vote
Committee
Human Services
Votes
7-0
Ayes
Chu, Mayes, Calderon, Lopez,
Maienschein, Mark Stone,
Thurmond
Noes
SUMMARY: Specifically, this bill:
1) Makes a number of findings and declarations related to children's development, including the
following:
a) The period between a child's birth and third birthday is a time of intense and ongoing
development;
b) Adversity during a child's early years can impair development, and children exposed to
maltreatment and additional risk factors face an increased likelihood of one or more
delays in their cognitive, language, or emotional development;
c) Unaddressed developmental delays and disabilities result in persistently impaired
learning and health outcomes for children;
d) Nationally, one in every 68 children was affected by autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in
2014, and one in four children in California has a moderate or higher risk for a
developmental delay;
e) Latino and African American children are more likely to experience barriers in accessing
early identification and intervention services;
f) The American Academy of Pediatrics and other experts recommend routine, regular, and
formalized developmental and behavioral screening for all infants and toddlers in order to
identify children in need of supports and services;
g) Nearly 75% of children in California with special health care needs under three years of
age do not receive early intervention services they could benefit from; and
h) A system of universal development and behavioral screenings should work hand in hand
with a robust early intervention system.
2) Resolves that every child in California deserves periodic formal assessment of his or her
development for the purposes of introducing supports and services if needed, and that those
supports and services should be easily accessible and responsive to a child’s needs.
3) Resolves that the Legislature leverage existing efforts and statutes to ensure an accountable,
results-oriented, and coordinated statewide network of resources, services, systems, and
strong local infrastructures, and that the Legislature invest sufficiently in comprehensive
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health and early intervention services and supports, built upon existing efforts, in order to
ensure that they meet the health and learning needs of California's diverse child population.
EXISTING LAW:
1) Enacts, through federal law, Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
(IDEA), to provide funding to and encourage states to expand opportunities and provide
intervention services to children under three years of age with developmental delays. (20
United States Code Section 1431 et seq.)
2) Establishes the Early Intervention Services Act (Early Start Program), under which the
Department of Developmental Services (DDS) and regional centers, in collaboration with the
Department of Education and local education agencies, provide services for infants and
toddlers who have disabilities or who are at risk of having disabilities, including ASD, in
order to enhance their development and to minimize the potential for developmental delays.
(Government Code Section 95000 et seq.)
3) Establishes that an infant or toddler under age three who is eligible for early intervention
services shall have an individualized family service plan (IFSP) to direct services, as
specified, and defines the types of services, supports and staffing that should be considered
when creating the plan. (Government Code Section 95020)
4) Establishes an entitlement to services for individuals with developmental disabilities under
the Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Services Act (Lanterman Act). (Welfare and
Institutions Code (WIC) Section 4500 et seq.)
5) Establishes a system of 21 nonprofit regional centers throughout the state to identify needs
and coordinate services for eligible individuals with developmental disabilities and requires
DDS to contract with regional centers to provide case management services and arrange for
or purchase services that meet the needs of individuals with developmental disabilities, as
defined. (WIC Section 4620 et seq.)
6) Requires a regional center to provide initial intake and assessment services to any person
believed to have a developmental disability and any person believed to have a high risk of
parenting an infant with a developmental disability, as specified, and identifies guidelines
and timelines for the intake and assessment process. (WIC Section 4642 et seq.)
7) Creates the First 5 Commission through the voter-approved California Children and Families
First Act of 1998 (Proposition 10) and authorizes the creation of First 5 county commissions
to promote and develop early childhood development programs funded by revenues from a
tax on tobacco products. (Health and Safety Code Section 130100 et seq.)
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown. This resolution is keyed non-fiscal by the Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS:
Child development: There are a number of factors that can contribute to health risks and
developmental delays for children. These factors often include:
1) Prematurity or low birth weight;
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2) Difficulties seeing or hearing;
3) Prenatal exposure or other types of exposure to drugs, alcohol, or tobacco;
4) Poor nutrition or difficulties eating (a lack of nutritious foods, proteins, vitamins, or iron in a
child's diet);
5) Exposure to lead-based paint (through eating, licking, or sucking on lead-base painted doors,
floors, furniture, toys, or other objects); and
6) Abuse or neglect.
Services: The Lanterman Act guides the provision of services and supports for Californians with
developmental disabilities. The term "developmental disability" means a disability that
originates before an individual attains 18 years of age, is expected to continue indefinitely, and
constitutes a substantial disability for that individual. It includes intellectual disability, cerebral
palsy, epilepsy, and ASD. Other developmental disabilities are those disabling conditions
similar to an intellectual disability that require treatment (i.e., care and management) similar to
that required by individuals with intellectual disability.
Regional centers are responsible for conducting intake and assessment, individualized program
plan development, case management, and securing services through generic agencies or
purchasing services provided by vendors. Regional centers also share primary responsibility
with local education agencies (LEAs) for the provision of early intervention services through
Early Start. In this shared role, LEAs provide services for children with low-incidence
disabilities (e.g.: blindness, deafness, hard of hearing, orthopedic impairments), and regional
centers are required to provide or purchase appropriate early intervention services that are
required under the federal IDEA but are beyond the mandated scope of responsibilities of LEAs.
While some delays that present themselves during infancy are indicative of a developmental
disability and trigger eligibility for lifelong regional center services under the Lanterman Act,
other developmental delays that do not fit within the definition of developmental disability can
still lead to services and supports for children and their families under the California Early
Intervention Services Act. Children from birth to three years of age are eligible for early
intervention services provided they have been screened and meet at least one of the following
criteria:
1) They have a developmental delay of at least 33% in one or more areas of either physical and
motor, adaptive, communication, social or emotional, or cognitive development (including
vision and hearing);
2) They have an established risk condition of known etiology, with a high probability of
resulting in a developmental delay; or
3) They can be considered to be at high risk of having a substantial developmental disability
due to a combination of diagnosed biomedical risk factors.
Regional centers serve roughly 280,000 individuals, which includes over 34,000 children in
Early Start according to May 2015 DDS caseload data. Another 4,943 children are receiving
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diagnostic and evaluation services, and 1,151 children are considered active consumers and
receive services outside of Early Start.
The early intervention services a child receives through Early Start are based on the
developmental needs identified in his or her individualized family service plan (IFSP). Early
Start services include: case management; family training, counseling, and home visits; social
work services; assistive technology; audiology; health services; medical services (related to
evaluation and diagnosis); nursing services; nutrition services; occupational therapy; physical
therapy; psychological services; special instruction; speech and language services; transportation
and related costs; and vision services.
Need for this bill: This concurrent resolution calls for a comprehensive approach that builds on
existing programs and processes to ensure all children have access to the early developmental
interventions they need. By emphasizing the need for timely developmental screenings, this
concurrent resolution seeks to help families address any developmental delays their children
might have as early as possible in order to avoid the compounding effects of unaddressed needs
later in their lives.
According to the author, "Children need access to developmental screening tools to ensure they
can access appropriate resources and care. While most experts in the health field agree early
screening is important for the future development of children, many children are not being
properly screened. Seventy-two percent or 1.7 million Californian children are not being
screened with recommended tools, putting them at risk for late or no identification of
developmental or behavioral delays1. The problem is especially pronounced for children of
color; for instance, Latino children are diagnosed with autism an average of 2.5 years later than
white children1…. When children are not diagnosed with developmental delays or other
problems, they may not receive the care they need and may fall further behind. When delays are
not early identified during children's first years of life, they must wait to get the help they need
when they enroll in school. Since development is often sequential, a developmental or
behavioral delay can often cause more problems if it is not identified and if the child does not
access the appropriate care. Without proper intervention treatment, developmentally delayed
children may experience academic and social hardships… It has been shown that the earlier the
identification and intervention, the more beneficial to children and families because it
strengthens families' ability to support their child’s growth and development while maintaining
the greatest cost effectiveness."
Analysis Prepared by: Myesha Jackson / HUM. S. / (916) 319-2089
1
"Building an Early Identification System in CA: The Need for Action" First 5 Association of California;
www.first5association.org
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