SECTIONS 19800-19806 - California Statutes

WELFARE AND INSTITUTIONS CODE

SECTION 19800-19806

19800. The Legislature hereby finds and declares that individuals
with disabilities comprise a large percentage of California's total
population and that action is necessary to assist these individuals
in their attempts to live fuller and freer lives outside
institutions. To achieve this, it is necessary to:
(a) Provide state funding to maintain the services provided by
existing independent living centers and, where feasible, encourage
the establishment of new centers which provide services to
individuals with disabilities; and
(b) Vest in the Department of Rehabilitation the responsibility
and authority for the encouragement of the planning, developing, and
funding of independent living centers. The Department of
Rehabilitation shall consult with existing independent living centers
and the State Independent Living Council in this state regarding
funding procedures and decisions.

19801. An independent living center shall:
(a) Be a private, nonprofit organization controlled by a board of
directors. A majority of the board shall be comprised of individuals
with disabilities.
(b) Be staffed by persons trained to assist persons with
disabilities in achieving social and economic independence. The staff
shall include as large a proportion as is practicable of individuals
with disabilities.
(c) Provide, but not be limited to, the following services to
individuals with disabilities:
(1) Peer counseling.
(2) Advocacy.
(3) Attendant referral.
(4) Housing assistance.
(5) Information and referral.
(d) Provide other services and referrals as may be deemed
necessary, such as transportation, job development, equipment
maintenance and evaluation, training in independent living skills,
mobility assistance, assistive technology, and communication
assistance. Assistive technology may include information and outreach
about appropriate assistive technology devices or services and
referrals that will enable individuals to gain access to assistive
technology in order to meet their needs and expand options for
independence and productivity. Assistive technology activities shall
involve collaboration with the Department of Rehabilitation and the
nonprofit contractor selected to implement the federal Assistive
Technology Act of 1998 (P.L. 105-394), which shall serve as the
framework for offering assistance to individuals with disabilities.
(e) Promote and practice the independent living philosophy of:
(1) Consumer control of the center regarding decisionmaking,
service delivery, management, and establishment of the policy and
direction of the center.
(2) Self-help and self-advocacy.
(3) Development of peer relationships and peer role models.
(4) Equal access of individuals with disabilities to society and
to all services, programs activities, resources, and facilities,
whether public or private and regardless of the funding source.

19802. For the purposes of this chapter, an "individual with a
disability" is as defined pursuant to the Federal Vocational
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 706 of Title 29 of the United
States Code), as amended in 1992.

19803. Services provided to individuals with disabilities shall be
tailored to suit the individual needs and shall be available to
individuals with all types of disabilities.

19804. An independent living center shall not operate in
conjunction with or be affiliated with a residential living center.

19805. (a) The Department of Rehabilitation may advance to an
independent living center an amount, each month, not in excess of
one-twelfth of the annual allocation for the independent living
center.
(b) The Department of Rehabilitation may advance to any contractor
or grantee receiving funds pursuant to this chapter an amount, each
month, not in excess of one-twelfth of the annual allocation for the
contractor or grantee.
(c) To obtain approval by the department for a funding advance
pursuant to this section, a grantee of a funding advance shall meet
accounting and reporting criteria established by the Department of
Rehabilitation.

19806. (a) An independent living center shall not be required to
provide any matching funds through private contributions as a
condition of receiving state funds except to acquire state incentive
funds.
(b) Each independent living center, except those centers which
have been both established and maintained using federal funding under
Title VII(c) of the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended as
their primary base grant, as determined by the department, shall
receive to the extent funds are appropriated by the Legislature, at
least two hundred thirty-five thousand dollars ($235,000) in base
grant funds allocated by the department. The department shall
allocate to those centers with Title VII(c) base grant funds of less
than two hundred thirty-five thousand dollars ($235,000) an amount
that, when combined with the Title VII(c) grant, equals two hundred
thirty-five thousand dollars ($235,000).
(c) State funds described in subdivision (b) may be replaced by
reimbursements under the Supplemental Security Disability Insurance
and the Supplemental Security Income programs provided for under
Titles II and XVII of the Federal Social Security Act, Subchapter II
(commencing with Section 401) and Subchapter XVII (commencing with
Section 1381) of Chapter 7 of Title 42 of the United States Code to
the extent appropriated by the Legislature and allocated by the
department to independent living centers under this chapter.
Beginning with the 1998-99 fiscal year, and each year thereafter, to
the extent these funds from the Social Security Act are not
appropriated by the Legislature as were appropriated in the 1997-98
fiscal year, an amount equal to the combined state and federal fund
allocation to independent living centers in the Budget Act of 1997
shall be appropriated to, and allocated by, the department to
independent living centers under this chapter.
(d) (1) Available state incentive funds shall be allocated at the
beginning of each fiscal year based upon the average amount of
private contributions received by the independent living center in
the second and third preceding fiscal years.
(2) The maximum amount of incentive funds that may be allocated to
any independent living center in any single fiscal year shall be
computed as follows:
(A) "Pool One" is defined as 60 percent of all state incentive
funds. "Pool Two" is defined as 40 percent of all state incentive
funds. Each independent living center shall be entitled to an equal
portion of Pool One, not to exceed the amounts raised pursuant to
paragraph (1).
(B) Incentive funds from Pool One not used after the initial
allocation pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall be added to Pool Two
for allocation among all centers that had unmatched private
contributions after distribution of Pool One funds. Pool Two funds
shall be awarded in direct proportion to each center's percentage of
the total remaining unmatched private contributions raised by those
independent living centers.
(3) For the purpose of determining eligibility for state incentive
funds, any independent living center that uses a fiscal year other
than the state fiscal year may elect to use a different fiscal year
so long as the closing date of the fiscal year so elected does not
precede the closing date of the equivalent state fiscal year by more
than 11 months.
(4) The amount of private contributions claimed by an independent
living center for each fiscal year shall be verified by the
department by utilizing appropriate financial records including, but
not limited to, independent audits. Audits may be performed by the
department up to three years from the close of the fiscal year during
which state incentive funds were received by the independent living
center being audited.
(5) State incentive funds that are not distributed to independent
living centers shall not be allocated or retained by the department
for distribution as state incentive funds in later fiscal years.
(e) For purposes of this section:
(1) "Private funds" does not include any funds originating from
any entity of the federal, state, city, or county government or any
political subdivision thereof. Notwithstanding the provisions of this
section, fees from any source for services provided may be included
as private contributions by an independent living center for purposes
of determining its allocation of incentive funds.
(2) "State incentive funds" means state funds appropriated by the
Legislature for purposes of this chapter, except those funds
allocated by the department pursuant to subdivisions (b) and (g) of
this section.
(f) Any funds allocated under this chapter to any independent
living center, other than as part of the initial allocation for each
fiscal year, shall be made by contract amendment. Any contract
amendment shall require the provision of services in addition to
those required by the contract being amended. All those services
required by contract amendment shall not be performed prior to the
date the contract amendment is approved by the state.
(g) To the extent funds are appropriated by the Legislature for
the purpose of providing assistive technology services described in
subdivision (d) of Section 19801, two hundred ten thousand dollars
($210,000) of those funds shall be allocated to the nonprofit
contractor selected by the Department of Rehabilitation to coordinate
delivery of assistive technology services and the remainder shall be
allocated equally among independent living centers. The nonprofit
contractor shall provide statewide assistive technology information
and referral and serve as a resource to the independent living
centers' assistive technology service programs.
(h) To the extent funds are appropriated by the Legislature, after
allocation of base grant and incentive funds and assistive
technology funds, remaining funds shall be allocated by the
department among independent living centers on the basis of the ratio
of the total of the general population in an independent living
center's geographic service areas as compared to the total of the
general population in all independent living centers geographic
services area statewide. The department shall adopt regulations for
the distribution of population funds by June 30, 1999.