Committee probes planning for aging individuals with developmental disabilities; officials emphasize person‑centered planning and alternatives to conservatorshi

Panelists and parents told the subcommittee that preparing for aging among people with intellectual and developmental disabilities requires building community connections and choices well before caregivers become unable to provide care.

Karen (panelist name in testimony: Disability Voices United speaker) and other advocates described long-term risks when people with IDD lack community participation, employment, and relationships. One parent on the panel, who said her daughter is 33, told the committee that the services and supports people receive in young adulthood shape outcomes in later life. Disability Voices United and other witnesses urged greater use of supported decision‑making and family-support planning to avoid unnecessary conservatorships.

Department of Developmental Services witnesses said the new standardized Individual Program Plan (IPP) includes questions about future planning beginning at age 18 and emergency contact planning, and DDS is developing guidance on alternatives to conservatorship. The department and advocates said the coordinated family supports program includes a “future planning” component that can assist families but that program capacity does not reach everyone who may need it.

Witnesses noted demographic trends: roughly 76,000 regional center clients over age 40 were identified in the agenda materials; DDS and advocates emphasized that cross-system coordination — including with housing, health, and behavioral health systems — will be vital as the population ages. The committee said it will hold a separate follow-up on aging caregivers next month and asked agencies to continue outreach and education on alternatives to conservatorship and planning options for families.