Brief Description: Providing for intensive behavior support services for children with developmental disabilities.

Sponsors: Senate Committee on Ways & Means (originally sponsored by Senators Marr, Zarelli, Keiser, Delvin, Kline, Brown, Brandland, Kohl-Welles, Fairley, Shin, Pflug, McAuliffe, Rasmussen and Kilmer).

Hearing Date: 2/28/08

Staff: Linda Merelle (786-7092).

Background:

This bill is the companion bill to HB 2863 which passed out of this committee on 1/29/08 as a substitute bill. The substitute bill incorporated two changes to the original bill. It clarified the type of out-of-home placement intended by the bill and raised the age of eligibility from age 17 to age 20.

Under the Department of Social and Human Services (Department), the Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD) offers several programs and services for children with developmental disabilities and their families. As an example, the Individual and Family Services Program supports families while they are caring for a family member with a developmental disability in their home. The program provides families with some of the support services necessary to keep eligible children at home with parents or relatives, including respite care, therapies, home and auto modifications, specialized nutrition and clothing, transportation, training, behavior management, education, and recreational opportunities. Residential services are insufficient for children with the most extreme behaviors. Families, who no longer have the ability to care for children with developmental disabilities and such behavior, increasingly seek to place such children in a facility outside of the home.

Summary of Bill:

The bill directs the Department to: (1) submit a federal waiver application through which services can be provided to a child with a developmental disability and intensive behaviors and (2) to implement a program for such services upon receipt of the waiver. The program would be developed through collaboration with appropriate stakeholders, and it would utilize best practices and evidence-based practices. Under this program, the Department would provide services either directly or by contract.

The eligibility criteria for such services would be: (1) the child is under the age of 18; (2) the child has a developmental disability and been determined eligible for services; (3) the child/family score on the behavior assessment conducted by the Department is high enough to indicate that the child's behavior puts the child or family at significant risk and/or is very likely to require an out-of-home placement; (4) the child meets the eligibility requirements for home and community-care waiver or waivers; (5) the child resides in the family home or is temporarily in an out-of-home placement with a plan to return home; (6) the family demonstrates a willingness to learn the skills necessary to participate in the services; and (7) the family is not subject to a pending child protective services referral.

The bill requires that the services be provided through a core team of highly-trained individuals either directly or by contract, which has the following characteristics: (1) expertise or access to expertise in behavior management, therapies, and children's crisis intervention; (2) ability to coordinate services and support needed to stabilize the family; (3) ability to conduct transition planning as the child and family leave the program; and (4) ability to authorize or coordinate the services in the family's home or school or neighborhood.

Appropriation: The sum of $2.8 million for the Fiscal Year ending June 30, 2009, from the State General Fund to the Department of Social and Health Services.

Fiscal Note: Available.

Effective Date: The bill takes effect 90 days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.