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Committee splits on bill to remove outside accreditation requirement for regional center employment providers; motion fails
Summary
AB 1335, which would end a third-party accreditation requirement (CARF) for regional center vendored employment programs and rely on state standards instead, failed to advance in the Assembly Human Services Committee after members expressed concerns about preserving quality oversight.
Assemblymember Gonzales presented AB 1335, which would eliminate the statutory requirement that regional center vendored employment providers obtain third-party accreditation by CARF (the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities). The bill would instead require compliance with state service standards and place oversight responsibility with the state and regional centers, the author said.
Supporters — including providers and advocates — said CARF accreditation imposes duplicative, costly and time-consuming requirements that act as a barrier to new and smaller providers, reducing availability of employment services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Andrea Kroome, executive director at Alliance, told the committee her organization has paid more than $12,000 for CARF-related costs and has expended many hours of staff time preparing for accreditation instead of direct services.
Opponents and some committee members argued that CARF and similar external accreditation provide an important quality check and help maintain trust among families and service recipients. Committee debate reflected disagreement about balancing quality assurance with provider capacity and access.
The committee voted on the motion to pass AB 1335 to Appropriations; the measure did not secure the votes needed to advance. The roll calls recorded support from some members and opposition from others, and a subsequent motion for reconsideration failed. The committee recorded the measure as not advanced from committee.
