BILL REQ. #:  H-1923.1 

Read first time 02/22/2005.   Referred to Committee on Children & Family Services.

     AN ACT Relating to planning for the residential care needs of individuals with developmental disabilities; and creating new sections.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The legislature finds that the staff and volunteers at the state's residential habilitation centers and in community residential settings provide compassionate, skilled care to persons with developmental disabilities. The legislature also finds that nationally there has been a decline in the number of residents in states' institutions for individuals with developmental disabilities as the demand for services has shifted from institutions to community settings. In Washington state, just over one thousand one hundred residents currently live in the state's residential habilitation centers, down from a high of four thousand residents in 1967.
     The legislature recognizes that the continuing decline in the number of residents and the capital investments required by aging facilities has resulted in increased costs to serve the residents remaining at the state's residential habilitation centers. In order to address this situation, the legislature intends to establish a mechanism for determining how best to meet the residential care needs of citizens of this state with developmental disabilities.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A commission is hereby created in the governor's office to review the need for and existing capacity of residential services, including residential habilitation centers and community residential settings, that serve individuals with developmental disabilities in Washington state. The commission shall develop a plan for meeting the residential care needs of these individuals. The commission shall take into consideration the research conducted by the joint legislative audit and review committee relating to the state's residential habilitation centers.
     (1) In developing the residential plan, the commission shall consider, at a minimum, the following factors:
     (a) The needs of the current residents of the existing facilities;
     (b) Staff expertise and specialization of care at existing facilities;
     (c) Utilization level of existing residential habilitation centers;
     (d) Capacity for growth of each of the existing residential habilitation centers and community residential facilities;
     (e) The relative costs and benefits of serving individuals in residential habilitation centers and community residential facilities;
     (f) The geographic factors associated with each residential habilitation center and its proximity to dense populations as well as other similar facilities; and
     (g) Costs and savings related to the consolidation or closure, or both, of residential habilitation centers.
     (2) The commission shall consist of eleven members as follows:
     (a) One representative each of the governor's office, the office of financial management, the department of social and health services, and the Washington state developmental disabilities council, appointed by the governor;
     (b) One representative of organized labor;
     (c) One representative of an advocacy organization for residents of residential habilitation centers and their families, and one representative of community residential care providers, appointed by the governor; and
     (d) Two members of the house of representatives appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives, one of whom shall be a member of the majority caucus and one of whom shall be a member of the minority caucus, and two members of the senate appointed by the president of the senate, one of whom shall be a member of the majority caucus and one of whom shall be a member of the minority caucus. The legislative members of the commission shall be ex officio, nonvoting members.
     (3) The commission shall select a chairperson from among its members.
     (4) Legislative members of the commission shall be reimbursed for travel expenses in accordance with RCW 44.04.120. Nonlegislative members, except those representing an employer or organization, are entitled to be reimbursed for travel expenses in accordance with RCW 43.03.050 and 43.03.060.
     (5) The commission shall provide its residential plan to the governor and the appropriate committees of the legislature by January 1, 2006.