AB 925 AS PASSED AND ENROLLED IN THE CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE AUGUST 30, 2002

Governor Gray Davis signed AB 925 into law September 29, 2002

CONTENT SUMMARY

BILL NUMBER: AB 925 AMENDED

AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 29, 2002

AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 26, 2002

AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 19, 2002

AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 29, 2002

AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 28, 2001

AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 4, 2001

AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 23, 2001

AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 3, 2001

INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Aroner

Coauthors: Assembly Members Havice, Negrete McLeod, Pavley, and Strom-Martin

Coauthors: Senators Romero and Vasconcellos

SUMMARY

This law, referred to as the Workforce Inclusion Act, requires the California Health and Human Services Agency and the Labor and Workforce Development Agency, using existing resources, to create a sustainable, comprehensive strategy to accomplish various goals aimed at bringing persons with disabilities into gainful employment at a rate that is as close as possible to that of the general adult population; and,

Support the goals of equality of opportunity, full participation, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency for these individuals;

Ensure that state government is a model employer of individuals with disabilities; and,

Support state coordination with, and participation in, benefits planning training and information dissemination projects supported by private foundations and federal grants.

THE LABOR AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AGENCY

The law requires that the Labor and Workforce Development Agency shall monitor and enforce implementation of the non-discrimination provisions in Section 188 of the federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. Sec. 2938), and shall require local workforce investment boards to report as follows:

By July 1, 2003, each local workforce investment board shall report to the Labor and Workforce Development Agency or its designated department on the steps it has taken to ensure compliance with Section 188 of the federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. Sec. 2938), in regard to the provisions as they apply to
persons with disabilities.

By October 31, 2003, each local workforce investment board that chooses to participate in the federal Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency program shall report to the California Workforce Investment Board on its readiness to meet the eligibility standards to serve as an employment network under the federal Ticket to Work and self-Sufficiency program (Section 1148(f), Part A, Title XI of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. Section 1320b-19).

The Labor and Workforce Development Agency shall report its findings, based on these reports to the Governor and the Legislature.

THE NEW GOVERNOR’S COMMITTEE ON EMPLOYMENT OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

The law requires the Governor to rename and authorize the existing California Governor's Committee on Employment of Disabled Persons, as the "California Governor's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities," would require the committee to be established in the Labor and Workforce Development Agency, and would specify the membership and duties of the committee, to include four people with disabilities representing people with disabilities.

The law also requires the committee, to the extent that funds are available, to make grants to counties and local workforce investment boards in order to develop local strategies for enhancing employment opportunities for people with disabilities, and to fund comprehensive local and regional benefits planning and outreach programs to assist persons with disabilities in removing barriers to work.

Specific Provisions

The California Governor's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities shall:

Consult with and advise the Labor and Workforce Development Agency and the California Health and Human Services Agency on all issues related to full inclusion in the workforce of persons with disabilities, including development of the comprehensive strategy in the summary above and implementation of local grant programs for such activities as cross agency training and benefit planning training.

Coordinate and provide leadership, as necessary, to increase inclusion in the workforce of persons with disabilities, report annually to the Legislature and the Governor on the employment status of Californians with disabilities.

Provide support to the State Workforce Investment Board and the local one-stop centers in their efforts to achieve full compliance with Sections 18002, 18004, 18006, and 18008 of the Unemployment Insurance Code, as found in AB 925, and shall identify the extent to which any one-stops are not in full compliance with those sections and the reasons for the lack of compliance, including the need for additional resources.

Meet quarterly with the California Health Incentive Improvement Project, administered by the State Department of Health Services, and the project's steering committee. Using existing funding, the California Governor's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities shall facilitate, promote, and coordinate collaborative dissemination of information on employment supports and benefits, which shall include the Ticket to Work program and health benefits, to individuals with disabilities, consumers of public services, employers, service providers, and state and local agency staff.

The Governor's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities shall receive primary administrative and staff support from the State Employment Development Department.

The Governor's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities, in conjunction with the Department of Rehabilitation, to the extent that funds are available, shall make grants available to counties and local workforce investment boards, through collaborative efforts of public agencies and private organizations, including organizations that serve people with disabilities, to accomplish both of the following purposes:

1. To develop local strategies, including, but not limited to, regular cross-agency staff training, for enhancing employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities.
2. To fund comprehensive local or regional benefits planning and outreach programs to assist individuals with disabilities in removing barriers to work.

PERSONAL CARE SERVICES AND CALIFORNIA WORKERS WITH DISABILITIES

This law requires personal care services to include services in the recipient's place of employment, under specified conditions. By expanding the scope of personal care services, the law creates a state-mandated local program.

Existing law provides for the county-administered In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program, under which qualified aged, blind, and disabled persons are provided with services in order to permit them to remain in their own homes and avoid institutionalization. Services known as personal care option services, and that are similar to those provided under the IHSS program, are provided under the Medi-Cal program to certain Medi-Cal recipients. These Medi-Cal personal care option services provisions are inoperative on July 1, 2002, and will be repealed on January 1, 2003. This law would extend the inoperative and repeal dates of these provisions to July 1, 2003, and January 1, 2004.

This law provides that personal care services under both the IHSS and Medi-Cal programs shall be available if the services are provided in the beneficiary's home or other locations as may be authorized by the Director of Social Services for the IHSS program and the Director of Health Services for the Medi-Cal program, including the recipient's place of employment if certain conditions are met.

Existing law specifies procedures under which personal care services meeting certain conditions, when provided to a categorically needy person, as defined, are a covered Medi-Cal benefit to the extent federal financial participation is available. Under existing law, these provisions become inoperative on July 1, 2002, and as of January 1, 2003, are repealed. The law also deletes the inoperative and repeal dates described above, thereby extending these Medi-Cal benefit coverage provisions indefinitely.

CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH SERVICES AND WORKERS WITH DISABILITIES

The department shall report to the Governor and the Legislature any information the department gathers from the California Health Improvement Project, or from any other public or private sources, that may explain the low participation rates in the optional 250% Working Disabled Program and any recommendations from the department on actions the state may take to increase participation by eligible persons in a manner that is cost effective for the state and beneficial for the participants.

CALIFORNIA WORKFORCE INVESTMENT BOAD, LOCAL BOARDS AND ONE STOP CENTERS

The law requires that, if permitted by federal law, the California Workforce Investment Board and local workforce investment boards include persons with disabilities.

CALIFORNIA ONE STOP CENTERS AND WORKERS WITH DISABILITIES

This law requires each local workforce investment board to establish at least one comprehensive one-stop career center and imposes various requirements related to ensuring that those one-stop centers provide access to services pursuant to the federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998 for persons with disabilities.

Specific Provisions

Workforce preparation services provided through California's one-stop centers, including information and services provided electronically, are accessible to employers and jobseekers with disabilities, and one-stop centers provide appropriate services to individuals with disabilities to enhance their employability.

Local workforce investment boards plan for and report on services to jobseekers and employers with disabilities, including the implementation of the federal Ticket to Work program for those local workforce investment boards and one-stop centers that choose to implement the Ticket to Work program in their local workforce investment areas.

One-stop center counselor staff shall provide accurate information to beneficiaries of Supplemental Security Income and the State Supplemental Program and Social Security Disability Insurance on the implications of work for these individuals. The information

shall include, but not be limited to, referrals to appropriate benefits' planners. One-stop center counselor staff shall also provide accurate information to individuals with disabilities on how they may gain access to Medi-Cal benefits in the California 250% Working Disabled Program.

The California Workforce Investment Board shall report to the Governor and the Legislature by September 30, 2004, on the status of one-stop services to individuals with disabilities and implementation of the federal Ticket-to-Work program in California.

If permitted by federal law, the California Workforce Investment Board and local workforce investment boards shall include persons with disabilities or their representatives, with a particular effort to include such persons who are not employees of state or local government.

SUMMARY ADAPTED FROM LEGISLATIVE TEXT BY:

Bryon R. MacDonald
Project and Policy Development Manager
California Work Incentives Initiative
A Community Based Collaboration
World Institute on Disability
www.wid.org
www.disabilitybenefits101.org
510 16th Street, Suite 100
Oakland, CA 94612
Phone 510-251-4304
Cell 510-910-9726
Fax 510- 763-4109
TTY 510-208-9493
bryon@WID.org