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(a) The Director of Developmental Services shall develop program standards and establish, maintain, and revise, as necessary, an equitable process for setting rates of state payment, based upon those standards, for in-home respite services purchased by regional centers from agencies vendored to provide these services. The Director of Developmental Services may promulgate regulations establishing these standards and the process to be used for setting rates. “In-home respite services” means intermittent or regularly scheduled temporary nonmedical care and supervision provided in the client’s own home, for a regional center client who resides with a family member. These services are designed to do all of the following:
(1) Assist family members in maintaining the client at home.
(2) Provide appropriate care and supervision to ensure the client’s safety in the absence of family members.
(3) Relieve family members from the constantly demanding responsibility of caring for the client.
(4) Attend to the client’s basic self-help needs and other activities of daily living including interaction, socialization, and continuation of usual daily routines which would ordinarily be performed by the family members.
(b) The provisions of subdivisions (b) to (f), inclusive, of Section 4691 and subdivisions (a) to (f), inclusive, and subdivision (h) of Section 4691.5 applicable to community-based day programs, shall also apply to in-home respite service vendors for the purpose of establishing standards and an equitable process for setting rates, except:
(1) The process specified in paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) of Section 4691.5 for increasing rates for fiscal year 1990–91 shall apply only to the administrative portion of the rate for eligible in-home respite service vendors, and the amount of funds available for this increase shall not exceed three hundred thousand dollars ($300,000) of the total amount appropriated for rate increases. The administrative portion of the rate shall consist of the in-home respite service vendor’s allowable costs, other than those for respite worker’s salary, wage, benefits, and travel. Vendors eligible for this rate increase shall include only those in-home respite service vendors which received a deficiency adjustment in their permanent or provisional rate for fiscal year 1989–90, as specified in paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) of Section 4691.5.
(2) In addition, a rate increase shall also be provided for fiscal year 1990–91, for the salary, wage, and benefit portion of the rate for in-home respite service vendors eligible for the increase. The amount of funds available for this rate increase is limited to the remaining funds appropriated for this paragraph and paragraph (1) for fiscal year 1990–91. The amount of increase which each eligible in-home respite service vendor shall receive shall be limited to the amount necessary to increase the salary, wage, and benefit portion of the rate for respite workers to five dollars and six cents ($5.06) per hour in salary and wages plus ninety-five cents ($0.95) in benefits. Vendors eligible for this increase shall include only those in-home respite service vendors whose salary, wage, and benefit portion of their existing provisional or permanent rate, as established by the department for respite workers is below the amounts specified in this paragraph, and the vendor agrees to reimburse its respite workers at no less than these amounts during fiscal year 1990–91 and thereafter. In order to establish rates pursuant to this paragraph, existing programs receiving a permanent or provisional rate shall submit to the department, the program, cost, and other information specified by the department for either the 1988 calendar year, or for the 1988–89 fiscal year. The specified information shall be submitted on forms developed by the department, not later than 45 days following receipt of the required forms from the department, after the effective date of this section. Programs which fail to submit the required information within the time specified shall have payment of their permanent or provisional rate suspended until the required information has been submitted.
(3) Effective July 1, 1990, and pursuant to the rate methodology developed by the department, the administrative portion and the salary, wage, and benefit portion of the rates for in-home respite service vendors currently receiving a provisional or permanent rate shall be combined and paid as a single rate.
(4) Rate increases for fiscal year 1990–91 shall be limited to those specified in paragraphs (1) and (2). For fiscal year 1991–92 and all succeeding fiscal years, the provisions of subdivision (c) of Section 4691, which specify that any rate increases shall be subject to the appropriation of sufficient funds in the Budget Act, shall also apply to rates for in-home respite service vendors.
(5) For the 1998–99 fiscal year, an in-home respite service vendor shall receive rate increases pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 4691.5. Any rate increase shall be subject to the appropriation of funds pursuant to the Budget Act.
(6) The rate methodology developed by the department may include a supplemental amount of reimbursement for travel costs of respite workers using their private vehicles to and from and between respite sites. The supplemental amount shall be the minimum rate for travel reimbursement for state employees.
(c) In accordance with paragraph (5) of subdivision (b) of Section 4629.5, each regional center shall include on its Internet Web site the purchase of service policies. For respite services, a regional center shall also include any procedures and assessment tools used by the regional center to determine the level of services needed by each consumer.