Disability Thrive Initiative

Solano County is moving ahead to participate in the Approved Relative Caregiver Funding Option Program, which provides county agencies with state funds for foster children who live with relatives.  Read More

Revisions and updates to the Lanterman Act have been posted in the new 2015 version. Keep up on all the legislation, rights and responsibilities: click here to get yours.

The Department of Rehabilitation, Department of Developmental Services, and the Department of Education state signed an agreement last month in collaboration with Disability Rights California that lays out an aggressive six month timeline for the development of a State blueprint for the employment of individuals with disabilities.   Moving toward models of “competitive integrated employment” that pay a “livable wage”, expanding capacity and number of supported employment providers, and phasing out programs that pay sub-minimum wages are key components. Read more about the Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act (WIOA) here.    Click on the Fact Sheet here.

President Barack Obama sent his fiscal year 2016 budget proposal to Congress on Monday. (Olivier Douiery/Abaca Press/TNS)
President Barack Obama wants Congress to halt planned cuts under sequestration and increase funding for special education and other programs for people with disabilities.
The proposals come in Obama’s $4 trillion budget plan which was released Monday. The budget highlights the president’s priorities for the government’s 2016 fiscal year starting Oct. 1. Read more.

ARCA is working hard with the other Lanterman Coalition members for a 10% across-the-board rate increase for developmental services providers and regional centers. And we’re working to end the “Annual Family Program Fee” (AFPF), sometimes called “the disability tax.” While it doesn’t affect everyone, it requires impacted families to pay an annual fee to the state because they have at least one child who requires regional center services.

Have you been assessed an Annual Family Program Fee, and has this fee made it harder for you to access regional center or Early Start services? We’re looking to share your stories with the Legislature, to put faces to the numbers. Tell us how this has hurt you! Contact Daniel (dsavino@arcanet.org) by February 17th and describe what this has meant for you. Send a message to our legislators: NO MORE AFPF!

The state is “woefully inefficient and inconsistent” in its oversight of parental fees for 24-hour, out-of-home care for disabled children in California, leaving hundreds of thousands of dollars unbilled and charging different amounts for some parents with similar discretionary incomes, the state auditor said Tuesday.

In a scathing report, state Auditor Elaine Howle wrote that the California Department of Developmental Services’ assessment of parental fees is “riddled with unnecessary delays, lack of documentation, incorrect calculations, and inconsistent staff interpretations.” Read more.

Change.Org petition urging reform nearing 4,000 signatures

The 19-member Lanterman Coalition, including ARCA, is urging the Brown administration to stop the current state of collapse of our system. This starts with a 10% reinvestment in developmental services as a stop-gap until rates for service providers, and regional center budget calculations, can be reformed. But while our organizations are working hard here at the Capitol, the most important element of this campaign isn’t here in Sacramento.

That element is you. Your calls. Your visits. Your advocacy. And there’s a simple reason why. Change comes from the ground up.

Key sources in the Legislature made it clear that this year legislative leaders will take their cues from the rank and file members of the Assembly and Senate. But how do individual legislators develop their priorities? By hearing what the people who got them elected have to say. Are you taking this critical opportunity to have your say? If you aren’t, this is the best time to start, by meeting with, and talking to, your elected representatives!

Does fixing our system’s funding matter to you? Then now is the time to tell your state Senator and Assemblymember! Tell them that developmental services is a priority!

The Lanterman Coalition’s Change.Org petition! Join the thousands of Californians signing on and telling their legislators “support the developmental disabilities community!” Click, sign, and share it on!