California
I. Overview of a State's Comprehensive Person-Centered
Employment Initiatives
In August 2002, A.B. 925.
the “California Workforce Inclusion Act” was enacted. It is
the first state-level, legislative initiative of such broad scope. The
law, aimed at building a more comprehensive employment supports network,includes:
a) state-level requirements for One-Stop service provision to persons
with disabilities;
b) expansion of personal assistance services to the workplace;
c) expansion, as possible, of benefits planning assistance and outreach
services, and
d) an evaluation component of the state’s Medicaid Buy-In program
for working individuals with disabilities.
A.B. 925 will require the California Department of Health, the Department
of Social Services, and the Labor and Workforce Development Agency,
using existing resources “to create a sustainable, comprehensive
strategy to bring persons with disabilities into gainful employment
at a rate that is as close as possible to that of the general adult
population.”
New
- Download file of two summary
charts
Chart contents:
State's Medicaid Buy-In Program Design Features
- Income Eligibility Criteria
- Resource Limits and Exclusions
- Cost Sharing - Minimum Income Level and Premium or Cost Share Methods
- Work Related Policies and Protections
State's SSI and Other Medicaid Income Standards for Adults with
Disabilities
Medicaid
Buy In Legislation was enacted in 1999 and was implemented effective
April 2000.
II. What's New and Persons to Contact
746 Medicaid Buy-In enrollees as of June 30, 2003
New-
The Medi-Cal Policy Institute of the California Health Care Foundation
funded a study of the California Medicaid Buy-In program and conducted
by The Lewin Group. The report , “The California Working Disabled
Program: Lessons Learned , Looking Ahead” was released in April
2003.
Link to download a copy of the report
http://www.medi-cal.org/topics/view.cfm?itemID=20684
New-
On September 29, 2002, Governor Gray Davis signed into law AB 925
a Comprehensive Employment Initiative
Go to IV to download a copy of the law
New-
For a complete description of the law download
a reprint from the December 2002 newsletter of the Center for Workers
with Disabilities at APHSA
File:
Download an analysis of AB 925
as amended by the Senate on August 26, 2002 as prepared by the Office
of State Floor Analyses.
Persons to Contact:
Curtis Richards
The Advocat Group
1331 H Street, NW, Suite 301
Washington, DC 20005
Phone (voice): 202-393-4446
Fax: 202-363-1607
E-mail : Advocrat@aol.com
Marlene Ratner
Manager. Policy
Calfornia Department of Health Services
Medi-Cal Eligibility Branch
714 P Street, Room 1650
Sacremento, CA 95814
Phone (voice): 916-657-0715
Fax: 916-657-3224
E-mail : Mratner@dhs.ca.gov
Bryon R. MacDonald
Public Policy Advocate
World Institute on Disability
510 16th Street, Suite 100
Oakland, CA 94612
Phone: 510-251-4304
Fax: 510-763-4109
TTY/TDD: 510-208-9493
E-mail: bryosemite@aol.com
Mitch Jeserich
World Institute on Disability
510 16th Street, Suite 100
Oakland, CA 94612
Phone: 510-251-4350
Fax: 510-763-4109
TTY: 510-208-9493
E-mail: mitch@wid.org
III. Program Development - Past and Present
- Executive Branch Leadership, Cross Disability Coalition Leadership
and Interagency Working Groups
Cross Disability Coalition Active in California
Link to Web Site of the California Work Incentive Initiative at the
World Institute on Disability (WID)
http://www.wid.org/pages/eped/California
Work Incentives Initiatives.htm
From the website:
"The nerve center for the community-based initiative is the California
Work Group on Work Incentives and Health Care (the CWG). CWG participants
meet twice monthly, developing a consensus-based California agenda
for implementation of new state and federal employment and health
care law for workers with disabilities. The CWG is an open and accessible
cross-disability network of ethnically and culturally diverse consumers,
advocates and interested stakeholder groups."
- Initial Planning, Information Gathering and Program and Fiscal
Estimates
IV. State Legislation - Adopted and Pending
New-
On September 29, 2002, Governor Gray Davis signed into law AB 925
a Comprehensive Employment Initiative
Download a copy of the law
New-
For a complete description of the law download
a reprint from the December 2002 newsletter of the Center for Workers
with Disabilities at APHSA
File: Q & A on
the current California Medicaid Buy In program prepared by the World
Institute on Disability.
V. Current State Policies and Program Descriptions
- State Policies: State Plans, Regulations and Waiver Requests
to Federal Agencies - Pending and Adopted Programs
- Ensuring Informed Choice and Person - Centered Programs: Benefits
Counseling, Work Force Investment Act Implementation and Related Educational
Services
New-
The World Institute on Disability is developing a Web site called
“Disability Benefits 101”, a California-specfic website
on health coverage and benefit programs for workers and job seekers
with disabilities, and for benefits planners and service providers.
A preview of the site can be seen at http://www.preview.disabilitybenefits101.org/about.htm
- Descriptions for Consumers and Staff Training Activities
File: Q & A on the
current California Medicaid Buy In program prepared by the World Institute
on Disability.
VI. Program Data and Impact
VII. Comprehensive Employment Initiatives
Workforce Investment Act (WIA) and Services in One Stop Centers
and Persons with Disabilities- State Legislative Mandates
Provisions in AB 925 – Download
explanation of requirements of related to role of One-Stop Centers
and person with disabilities and specific provisions in state legislation.
Personal Assistance Services and Work – State Legislative
Mandates
Provisions in AB 925 – Download
explanation of requirements of related to Personal Assistance
Services and California’s In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS)
program and person with disabilities who work and specific provisions
in state legislation.
Benefits planning assistance and outreach services –
State Legislative Mandates
Provisions in AB 925 – Download
explanation of requirements of related benefits planning assistance
and outreach services and person with disabilities who work and specific
provisions in state legislation
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