Bill > H7361

This bill, titled the "Quality Self-Directed Supports Act of 2026," aims to improve the self-directed care program for adults with developmental disabilities by incorporating collective bargaining rights for self-directed direct support professionals, who are individuals chosen and directed by participants to provide personal care services. The act defines key terms like "participant" (an adult with a developmental disability eligible for Medicaid-funded long-term services) and "self-directed direct support professional." It establishes that these professionals can collectively bargain through a certified "provider representative" on matters such as training, recruitment, wages, benefits, and payment procedures, with the goal of enhancing service access, increasing training options, and improving the availability of qualified caregivers. Importantly, the bill clarifies that it does not alter the authority of the director of the Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals to administer the program, nor does it infringe on participants' rights to select, direct, and terminate their caregivers or determine their wages within state-set ranges. The act also specifies that self-directed direct support professionals are not considered state employees for purposes of state benefits and that strikes are not permitted.

Labor and Employment

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