PRINTER'S NO. 3097
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No.
2188
Session of
2020
INTRODUCED BY D. MILLER, MARKOSEK, MURT, HILL-EVANS, HOHENSTEIN,
SCHLOSSBERG, DONATUCCI, READSHAW, McNEILL, RAVENSTAHL, DEASY,
YOUNGBLOOD AND LEE, JANUARY 10, 2020
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON LABOR AND INDUSTRY, JANUARY 10, 2020
AN ACT
Providing for support service providers, grants and funding; and
imposing duties on the Department of Labor and Industry.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Short title.
This act shall be known and may be cited as the Support
Service Providers Program Act.
Section 2. Definitions.
The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Center for independent living." A consumer-controlled,
community-based, cross-disability, nonresidential private
nonprofit agency that:
(1) is designed and operated within a local community by
individuals with disabilities; and
(2) provides an array of independent living services.
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"Department." The Department of Labor and Industry of the
Commonwealth.
"Individual who is deafblind." An individual:
(1) Who has a central visual acuity of 20/200 or less in
the better eye with corrective lenses or a field defect such
that the peripheral diameter of visual field subtends an
angular distance no greater than 20 degrees or a progressive
visual loss having a prognosis leading to one or both
conditions.
(2) Who has a permanent hearing loss so severe that it
impedes communication.
(3) For whom the combination of impairments described
under paragraphs (1) and (2) causes extreme difficulty in
communicating, achieving psychosocial adjustment or obtaining
a vocation.
(4) Who despite the inability to be measured accurately
for hearing and vision loss due to cognitive or behavioral
constraints, or both, can be determined through functional
and performance assessment to have severe hearing and visual
disabilities that cause extreme difficulty in communicating,
achieving psychosocial adjustment or attaining vocational
objectives.
"Support service provider." A person trained by a center for
independent living or otherwise to link an individual who is
deafblind to the environment by:
(1) Guiding the individual who is deafblind.
(2) Assisting informal communication between the
individual who is deafblind and other individuals.
(3) Providing information to the individual who is
deafblind about the individual's surroundings so that the
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individual may make informed decisions.
"Training." Instruction that includes a curriculum
addressing the following:
(1) Strategies to provide visual and environmental
information in an appropriate and timely manner to an
individual who is deafblind.
(2) Human guide and basic orientation and mobility
techniques for an individual who is deafblind.
(3) Strategies to provide access to information that
enables an individual who is deafblind to make informed
decisions.
(4) Basic knowledge of deafblind culture.
(5) Strategies appropriate for working with an
individual who is deafblind and the various blindness and
deafness specific professionals involved.
(6) Basic knowledge of equipment that an individual who
is deafblind may utilize, including, but not limited to,
mobility devices, adapted household or workplace devices,
low-vision devices, amplification devices or communication
devices.
(7) A code of professional conduct approved by the
department.
(8) Procedures for the adult protective services and
older adult protective services mandated reporter training.
(9) Administrative procedures for the submission of
reimbursement or payment of services rendered.
(10) A formal complaint process.
Section 3. Grants and funding.
(a) Purposes.--The department shall provide grants in
accordance with this act to:
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(1) Persons within this Commonwealth that provide
services to individuals who are deafblind unless the
individuals are enrolled in a high school program. A grant
under this subsection shall be used to provide assistance to
individuals who are deafblind who are working toward
establishing and maintaining independence.
(2) Persons within this Commonwealth that train support
service providers. A grant under this subsection shall be
used to:
(i) Provide the necessary training for a person to
become a support service provider in this Commonwealth.
(ii) Schedule services for a support service
provider upon request.
(iii) Pay a support service provider for services
rendered.
(iv) Advocate for a support service provider and for
services rendered.
(v) Provide resources to assist residents of this
Commonwealth who are individuals who are deafblind.
(vi) Advance the support service provider
profession.
(b) Amounts.--
(1) Subject to the availability of Federal and State
money, grants under this section shall be in the amount of at
least $900,000.
(2) Beginning on the effective date of this section and
annually thereafter, the minimum grant amount listed in this
subsection shall increase at the rate of inflation as
outlined in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers
in the Northeast Region for the most recent 12-month period
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for which the figures have been reported by the United States
Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. If the rate
of inflation does not increase, the minimum grant amount
shall remain the same as it was for the previous year.
Section 4. Application forms.
The department shall develop annual grant application forms
for entities described under section 3(a). At a minimum, the
forms shall contain the following information:
(1) The name, address and contact information of the
entity requesting grant money.
(2) The amount of grant money requested.
(3) The proposed use for the grant money requested.
(4) Evidence of the entity's long-term sustainability,
including the entity's financial soundness, organizational
capacity and technical expertise in providing the required
services or training. Technical expertise must include at
least five years of demonstrated successful experience and
expertise in effectively managing both the budget and
operation of, and facilitating the activities of, services to
individuals who are deafblind, which must include at least
one of the following:
(i) Attendant care.
(ii) Community integration.
(iii) Interpreter referral services.
(5) A strategic plan to provide the required services or
training, including, but not limited to, the number of
individuals who are deafblind to be served or the number of
support service providers to be trained.
(6) Evidence of the entity's ability to manage issues,
conflicts and ethical concerns that may arise regarding the
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individuals to be served or the support service providers to
be trained.
(7) The proposed presence of an orientation and mobility
specialist certified by the Academy for Certification of
Vision Rehabilitation and Education Professionals to teach
the mobility portion of the requisite trainings.
(8) A budget of the entity, including administrative
direct costs. The following shall apply:
(i) The budget shall not list indirect costs unless
the applicant has an indirect cost rate agreement with a
Federal agency.
(ii) For purposes of this paragraph, "indirect
costs":
(A) are the expenses of doing business that are
not readily identified with the grant, project
function or activity, but are necessary for the
general operation of the entity and the conduct of
activities that the entity performs; and
(B) include expenses relating to heat, light,
accounting and administrative personnel.
(9) Any other information that the department deems
necessary and appropriate.
Section 5. Public notice.
The department shall provide information regarding the
availability and award of grant money on the department's
publicly accessible Internet website.
Section 6. Award of grants.
(a) Criteria.--After review of the information specified
under section 4 and within 60 days of the submission of the
grant application, the department shall determine whether to
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award grant money to the entity and, if so, the amount of the
grant money awarded.
(b) Considerations.--In awarding grant money to an entity,
the department:
(1) Shall consider the geographic and demographic
diversity of the entities applying for the grant money and
the individuals to be served and the support service
providers to be trained.
(2) May require documentation of past services provided
by the entity or of any license or certification received by
the entity, including any disciplinary action taken against
the entity or an employee or agent acting on behalf of the
entity.
(3) May require job descriptions, resumes or documented
experience for the staff of the entity.
(c) Notice.--
(1) The department shall provide written notice to the
entity of the award or denial of the grant money.
(2) Notice of the award of grant money shall include the
amount of the grant money awarded and any conditions or
restrictions on the use of the grant money.
(3) Notice of the denial of all or part of the grant
money requested shall include the reasons for the full or
partial denial.
Section 7. Reports.
(a) Preparation.--By June 30, 2021, and each June 30
thereafter, the department shall prepare a report that lists
each entity that received grant money under section 3 for the
previous year, including the amount of grant money received,
along with the activities of each entity regarding the services
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provided to individuals who are deafblind and the training of
support service providers.
(b) Publication.--The report under this section shall be
posted on the department's publicly accessible Internet website.
Section 8. Rules and regulations.
The department may promulgate rules and regulations for the
implementation and administration of this act.
Section 9. Effective date.
This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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