COUNTYWIDE : Hearing to Address Services for Disabled

A public hearing on services for developmentally disabled people and their families will be held today in the Tustin City Council chambers, 300 Centennial Way.

The hearing is an opportunity for residents to tell the state Legislature how they think services should be provided and what changes are needed in the system.

A series of presentations and a question-and-answer session will begin at 2 p.m. A public comment period will follow at 7 p.m., said Don Sizemore, community relations officer for Orange County’s Developmental Disabilities Center.

The hearing is one of a series established by Senate Resolution 9 last year, but the only one scheduled in Orange County. The Senate resolution directed that the Senate subcommittee on mental health, developmental disabilities and genetic diseases and its Assembly counterpart conduct joint hearings to look at how services are administered and make recommendations to the Legislature.

Complaints about deficiencies in the system prompted the resolution, Sizemore said.

A decentralized method of providing services to disabled people was established 25 years ago by the Lanterman Act, Sizemore said.

Regional developmental disabilities centers provide assessment, diagnosis and counseling services. They also develop a course of treatment and other services for each person. They contract with nonprofit and for-profit organizations to provide medical and dental care, education, recreation planning, vocational services, day care, speech therapy, residential care, transportation and therapy, he said.