Office of the Developmental Services Ombudsperson.

Senator Menjivar’s proposal would replace the existing Self-Determination Program Ombudsperson with the Office of the Developmental Services Ombudsperson, an independent and autonomous entity within the Department of Developmental Services tasked with monitoring a broad set of developmental services for individuals served by regional centers, including the Self-Determination Program and early intervention services. The measure would repeal the prior ombudsperson framework and establish a new office designed to operate with heightened independence and confidentiality, with immediate effect as an urgency statute.

The ombudsperson would be appointed by the DDS Director after consulting a five‑member committee with a majority drawn from consumer and advocacy groups, and would serve a four-year term eligible for consecutive terms. The office would function independently, with discretion over its duties and powers not to be controlled by the Director or other officials, and full‑time commitment to the office’s responsibilities. Among the duties, the office would disseminate information and provide training on rights and services, receive complaints on behalf of individuals served by regional centers, determine whether to investigate or refer complaints, and pursue resolutions prior to formal proceedings. It would also compile quarterly data for the Legislature, post deidentified data publicly, and have broad authority to access records and meet with individuals served, to facilitate investigations and resolution.

Key mechanisms include broad access and investigative tools, procedures for issuing written action plans with a 30‑day agency response, periodic focus groups to inform work, and a mandate to issue recommendations for changes to laws, regulations, or communications. The office would maintain confidentiality protections for complaints and records, with immunities for its staff and a prohibition on compelled testimony or disclosure of nonpublic materials, subject to enforcement if the chapter requires. The measure also requires a toll‑free contact line and coordination with the State Long‑Term Care Ombudsman to serve regional center clients in long‑term care facilities, and it conditions public access to certain records on constitutional rights, including a 2/3 vote when limits on evidence access become relevant in proceedings.

Beyond procedural details, the bill situates the new ombudsperson within a broader policy context that emphasizes independent oversight, consistency with other California ombudspersons, and safeguarding privacy while enabling oversight of multiple programs under developmental services. It introduces ongoing data reporting and public deidentified data sharing to inform legislative oversight, and it anchors implementation in an urgency framework to respond to concerns about care and rights within the developmental services system. The accompanying findings and statutory provisions delineate relationships to related programs and coordinate oversight across DDS divisions, early intervention, and advocacy communities, aligning monitoring and accountability with existing confidentiality and evidentiary considerations.