1.0" ?> 20250HR__008399INT 99 INTRODUCED 2026-02-09 2025 0 HR 83 INT Introduced by Assembly Member Nguyen LEAD_AUTHOR ASSEMBLY Nguyen Relative to Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month. Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month

WHEREAS, March is recognized nationwide as Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month, which honors the progress in, and opportunities for, supporting community life for people with developmental disabilities; and

WHEREAS, The United States Congress enacted the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 2000, and a precursor in 1975, to ensure that individuals with developmental disabilities and their families can access quality services that promote self-determination, independence, productivity, integration, and inclusion in all facets of community life; and

WHEREAS, In 1965, the Legislature passed Assembly Bill 691 of the 1965 Regular Session, authored by Assembly Member Waldie, with two pilot regional centers opening in 1966 to provide community services to people with developmental disabilities, which was expanded statewide in 1969 as the Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Services Act (Lanterman Act); and

WHEREAS, Through the Lanterman Act, the state has empowered people with developmental disabilities to lead lives of greater inclusion and self-direction in communities of their choosing for nearly 60 years; and

WHEREAS, Those disabilities are defined as autism, epilepsy, cerebral palsy, intellectual disability, and conditions that are either closely related to, or require similar services as, intellectual disability, and significantly impact the life of the individual; and

WHEREAS, The Lanterman Act now benefits over 430,000 individuals with developmental disabilities and their families; and

WHEREAS, Regional centers across the state and their frontline service coordinators are lifelong connections to services that make having a good quality of life possible; and

WHEREAS, The work completed within regional centers is intended to provide visibility to developmental disabilities in early childhood years and increase access to early intervention services; and

WHEREAS, The daily lives of people with developmental disabilities and their families are founded on the work of direct support professionals and over 40,000 service providers; and

WHEREAS, Regional centers and service providers continue to develop new and existing modes of service that are culturally competent; and

WHEREAS, People with developmental disabilities, including self-advocates, are the most important drivers of change in our system, which prioritizes individuals’ self-expressed needs, interests, and goals; and

WHEREAS, The ways in which people with developmental disabilities thrive in the community are changing and expanding, including through the federal Home and Community-Based Services Final Rule, the Self-Determination Program, competitive integrated employment, and person-centered service modalities; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, That the Assembly recognizes the month of March 2026 as Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month; and be it further

Resolved, That the Assembly salutes the self-advocates and their families who are critical to informing every element of this system, as well as the state, of their perspectives, goals, and desires, providing an authentic and lived experience to shape how people with developmental disabilities are served; and be it further

Resolved, That the Assembly commends the direct support professionals, service coordinators, regional centers, and service providers for their work; and be it further

Resolved, That the Assembly honors the work of families in their love and commitment to their family members with developmental disabilities; and be it further

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.