4519.2. (Amended by Stats. 2026, Ch. 80, Sec. 20.)

(a) The department shall identify key indicators to track the regional center system’s delivery of services. These indicators shall include both local and statewide measures and shall include a recommendation for analysis and follow up of any concerning trends, as well as a plan for reporting of best practices for use statewide. The department, with stakeholder input, shall also identify recommendations for measuring outcomes and improving outcomes for consumers. Goals for system improvement include enhancement of customer services for consumers and their families, facilitation of enhanced communication between regional centers and the state, and identification and dissemination of best practices for developmental services providers. The department shall report these recommended indicators, best practices, and recommendations for analysis to the Legislature no later than January 10, 2021.

(b) (1) Each regional center shall post the following information on its internet website in a format determined by the department no later than April 1, 2020, and shall update the information no less frequently than every six months until the department determines that statewide compliance with the federal Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) Final Rule has been met, or January 1, 2025, whichever is earlier:

(A) The number of providers identified as needing assessment for HCBS compliance, broken down by provider type, as defined by the department.

(B) The number of providers within each provider type that have been inspected or reviewed for HCBS compliance.

(C) The number of providers within each provider type that have been determined to be HCBS compliant.

(D) The number of providers within each provider type that have been determined not to be HCBS compliant and the reason for lack of compliance.

(E) The number of providers, broken down by provider type, that have been identified as presumed to have the qualities of an institutional setting, as described in Sections 441.301(c)(5)(v) and 441.710(a)(2)(v) of Title 42 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

(2) The department shall provide this information to the Legislature as statewide data and for each regional center, no later than May 1, 2020, and shall post that summary on its internet website.

(3) Beginning July 1, 2026, the department shall post the information described in paragraph (1) on its internet website, and shall update the information no less frequently than every six months to monitor compliance with the federal Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) Final Rule. The information may be collected through the statewide provider directory, the Life Outcomes Improvement System, or any other means identified by the department.

(c) (1) The department shall update the Legislature annually, beginning on January 10, 2020, with the number of complaints filed at each regional center pursuant to Section 4731 for the prior fiscal year, and include the following information:

(A) The subject matter of complaints filed.

(B) How complaints were resolved.

(C) The timeframe within which resolutions to those complaints were provided by the regional center.

(D) The number of complaints that were appealed to the department, their resolution, and the timeframe within which a written administrative decision was issued.

(E) Demographic information, as identified by the department, about consumers on whose behalf the complaint was filed, including the ethnicity of the consumer.

(2) The update shall include data for the prior two fiscal years, as available.

(3) The department shall also post this data on its internet website.

(4) This subdivision shall become inoperative on February 1, 2027.

(d) The department and each regional center shall include on their internet websites a link to the protection and advocacy agency designated pursuant to Division 4.7 (commencing with Section 4900) and the clients’ rights advocate contracted with pursuant to Section 4433. This link shall be posted on the home page of their internet websites, or in another standard location determined by the department.

(e) On and after October 1, 2019, the department shall post all new directives that it issues to regional centers on its internet website.

(f) Any reports submitted by the department to the Legislature pursuant to this section shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.