California Children’s Services helps more than 185,000 kids and young adults in the state who suffer from complex, disabling or life-threatening medical conditions. Now, a new law gives their families a better line of communication with state policymakers.
Gov. Gavin Newsom recently signed Assembly Bill 2486, which extends the California Children’s Services Advisory Group for another 10 years.
Nancy Netherland, senior specialist at the nonprofit Family Voices of California, said group members helped her out when her insurance denied her daughter Amelia access to a life-saving medication, which costs more than $30,000 a month.
“Because of things like this advisory, there are really nice pathways for us to figure out how to solve problems. So we don’t have to file grievances. We can share what works well,” Netherland explained.
The group advises the state Department of Healthcare Services. The law also expands the advisory group’s membership to include people who have lost a child to a complex disease, families with a child who’s aging out of the program and people who are not in managed care plans.
Tamira Daniely, senior policy associate for the advocacy group Children Now, which helped pass the bill and another in 2016 which first established the advisory group, said families must have a voice.
“Families raising children with complex medical needs are really the experts on the ground about what works and what doesn’t. So their perspective is critical in making sure a program actually works,” Daniely contended.
The bill also requires the Department of Healthcare Services to formally report on the priorities and resulting action plans based on the advisory group’s recommendations. The California Children’s Services Program is the oldest of its type in the Golden State and turns 100 years old next year.
