Esta ley crea el "Programa Especial de Cualificación y Adiestramiento en el Cuidado Básico de Personas con Impedimentos" para beneficiarios de asistencia social, adscrito a la Administración de Desarrollo Socioeconómico del Departamento de la Familia. El programa busca ofrecer capacitación y empleo a participantes de programas de asistencia financiera del gobierno, al mismo tiempo que atiende la necesidad de servicios de apoyo para personas con discapacidades. Establece un Consejo Asesor, define requisitos de elegibilidad para participantes y personas con discapacidades que recibirán los servicios, y detalla las funciones del Consejo Asesor y las agencias involucradas.
(Approved June 1, 2002)
To create the "Special Program for Qualification and Training in the Basic Care of Persons with Disabilities" of Social Assistance Beneficiaries attached to the Socio-Economic Development Administration of the Department of the Family, as a training and future employment alternative for the participants of financial assistance programs of the Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; to create the Advisory Board of the Program, to establish eligibility requirements, and for other purposes.
According to the census of the year 2000, there are about 800,000 citizens with disabilities in Puerto Rico. Frequently, persons with disabilities are in need of assistance of persons who have the required qualifications and training to help them to adapt to their particular living conditions, and achieve independence from relatives and friends.
In Puerto Rico there are organizations for the assistance of persons with disabilities who fulfill the worthy purpose of providing these citizens and their families with support services such as medical, therapeutic, psychological, specialized equipment, and care, among others. However, these organizations are not sufficient to satisfy the demand for the services they render, since the majority of these are non-profit organizations, and in order to operate they depend on donations and fund-raising activities which limit the rendering of services. In cases of persons with limited resources, it
is more difficult for them to receive these services because they lack a means of transportation, and cannot depend on the support of their families. In these cases, it would be of great help to depend on a qualified person who could provide basic care and training that would allow them to manage their daily life with greater confidence, as well as to guide or supervise them in their exercises and therapies.
On the other hand, after the approval of federal regulations to gradually restrict and limit the assistance provided by the Government to persons of limited resources, the Socio-Economic Development Administration of the Department of the Family has taken upon itself the task of directing the dependency relationship of a significant sector of the population to a greater social, financial and occupational self-sufficiency.
Therefore, the agency delegated by the Socio-Economic Development Administration of the Department of the Family in the management phase of the care, delineates the work profile of the participant and determine whether he/she is ready to be employed or requires some type of qualification or training to develop his/her occupational potential and working skills. In the event the person requires qualification or training, the delegated agency may offer the participants courses in previously identified areas with job placement possibilities.
This legislation seeks a dual purpose: to satisfy, on one hand, the need of support services for persons with some type of disability and on the other hand, the legal mandate that the Socio-Economic Development Administration of the Department of the Family has to provide viable training and work options for the participants of the assistance programs of the Government, so they can also achieve financial self-sufficiency and improve their quality of life.
Section 1.- This Act shall be known as "Special Program for Qualification and Training in the Basic Care of Persons with Disabilities" of Social Assistance Beneficiaries.
Section 2.- Definitions: For the purposes of this Act, the following terms shall have the meaning stated below:
(a) Administration: refers to the Socio-Economic Development Administration of the Department of the Family; it is the Government entity created by virtue of the Reorganization Plan of July 28, 1995, attached to the Department of the Family (Act No. 171 of July 30, 1968.)
(b) Delegated Agency: an entity contracted by the Socio-Economic Development Administration of the Department of the Family to manage the cases of the participants who are referred to be qualified and trained or placed in jobs, and which shall be in charge of identifying competent candidates to take courses and workshops on the basic care of persons with disabilities.
(c) Qualification and Training: courses or workshops on the care of persons with disabilities, certified by the Advisory Board, that shall be offered to the participants of financial assistance programs of the Government.
(d) Government: refers to the Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
(e) Advisory Board: refers to the Advisory Board for the Special Program for Qualification and Training in the Basic Care of Persons with Disabilities for Social Assistance Beneficiaries. This
body shall determine the public policy to be followed by this Program, the educational offerings which shall be provided to the participants of financial assistance programs of the Government, and shall establish the requirements, criteria, and controls needed for its due implementation and compliance.
(f) Participants of the Government financial assistance programs: persons with limited resources who receive the financial and social assistance benefits from the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and who are authorized to receive benefits by the Socio-Economic Development Administration, after being qualified according to the eligibility requirements for the qualification, training and job placement programs.
(g) Persons with disabilities: persons who have some type of physical or mental condition, or developmental deficiency that limits his/her performance and self-sufficiency
(h) Program: Special Program for Qualification and Training in the Basic Care of Persons with Disabilities of Social Assistance Beneficiaries.
(i) Organizations for persons with disabilities: Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and private entities, that provide medical, therapeutic, psychological, support services equipment, and specialized care to persons with disabilities, such as, among others, the Disabled Persons Investigating Official, the Vocational Rehabilitation Administration, the Muscular Dystrophy Association, SER de Puerto Rico, and the Parents for the welfare of Disabled Children's Association.
Section 3.- Composition, duties, and functions of the Advisory Board This Program shall be attached to the Socio-Economic Development Administration of the Department of the Family, and receive the advice of an Advisory Board composed of the Secretary of the Department of the Family, who shall preside, the Administrator of the Socio-Economic Development Administration, the Office of the Disabled Persons Investigating Official, the Administrator of the Vocational Rehabilitation Administration, the Secretary of the Department of Education, the Secretary of the Department of Health, or their respective representatives, a physician, and a duly licensed special education teacher authorized by the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to practice said professions, with academic training and vast experience in rendering services to persons with disabilities, and three (3) representatives of recognized licensed organizations that provide services to persons with disabilities. Both the physician and the teacher shall be appointed by the Governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico for a maximum term of three (3) years, extendible for only a second consecutive three-year term. To wit, that even when any of the latter initiates his/her function after term has begun, whether due to resignation, removal or death of his/her predecessor, such appointment shall be deemed as if he/she has served for a complete term. For these purposes, the designation of the physician, as well as of the teacher and the three representatives of organizations recognized by the Governor, shall be subject to the recommendations of potential candidates submitted by the different public or private agencies and entities, concerned with health, education, and services to persons with disabilities, respectively. The Advisory Board shall meet as often as it deems necessary, but never less than twice a month, and a simple majority of its members shall be a quorum
for its deliberations and determinations. The members of the Advisory Board, who are not public officials, shall be entitled to a per diem of fifty dollars ($50.00) for every meeting they attend, without curtailing any pension for merit or years of service, or annuity received from the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico Employees Retirement Administration, or from any of its agencies, instrumentalities, public corporations or political subdivisions.
The Advisory Board shall have the following functions and duties:
(a) Determine the public policy that shall govern the operation of the Program, including the compilation of data on the composition and the needs of the disabled population, as well as the composition of the population that receives financial assistance from the Government, in order to identify the sector that could participate in the Program, the regions to be served, priority areas, the manpower and technical resources, physical facilities that shall be needed, determine the dates on which the Advisory Board shall meet, as well as any other matter deemed pertinent.
(b) Define the criteria which shall guide the design of the teaching curriculum, that shall be used to train the selected participants, certify the instructors or persons qualified to conduct the courses, who shall be health professionals cognizant of the conditions and needs of persons with disabilities, and certify the participants who approve the same. The Advisory Board shall consult the Developmental Deficiencies Institute attached to the Public Health Graduate School, and the Department of Education, to design the teaching curriculum.
(c) Once the required courses in the basic care of persons with disabilities are completed and the participants thereof are certified, the Advisory Board shall request the delegated agency to provide evidence of efforts to place the participants in jobs, as well as the data of the participants who were placed through the program.
(d) Render a report to the Department of the Family and the Legislature annually, specifically to the Social Welfare Committee of the Senate as well as the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. This report shall include statistics of the participants of the courses, participants who were employed, persons with disabilities who were assisted, areas to be improved, and recommendations.
(e) Establish any requirement, in addition to those required by this Act deemed necessary, for the selection of the participants in the training program. It shall also establish the criteria and controls needed for the adequate implementation and compliance of this Act.
Section 4.- Eligibility Requirements Every person with disabilities who has been certified as such by the Department of Health and who does not have the financial resources to cover the cost of contracting support services, guidance and supervision of exercises and therapies for his/her condition, or whose access to them is difficult due to the lack transportation and the support of their families, shall quality to receive the services of this Program.
Every participant in the Government financial assistance programs, who is identified and recommended by the delegated agency as a proper candidate to take this course, and can be subsequently placed in a job, shall
qualify to receive the courses on basic care of persons with disabilities. These participants shall be submitted to psychological tests by the Administration, and must obtain satisfactory results, that show that they are persons who can work under pressure, attending to the special needs of the disable persons, and who have adequate capacity and sensitivity that allow him/her to be understanding and tolerant when attending to the basic care needs of the persons with disabilities. They shall also be required to furnish an up dated health certificate at the moment they are certificated.
Section 5.- Regulations The government agencies that belong to the Advisory Board, are hereby empowered to adopt the regulations needed to comply with the purposes of this Act, pursuant to the provisions of the Uniform Administrative Procedure Act (Act No, 170 of August 12, 1988, as amended.)
Section 6.- The funds needed to comply with the purpose of this Act shall be consigned in the General Budget of the Socio-Economic Development Administration of the Department of the Family, for fiscal year 2003-2004, as well as for subsequent years.
Section 7.- Severability Clause If any part of this Act is declared null by a Court with competent jurisdiction, this decision shall not affect nor invalidate the remaining provisions of the Act, and its effect shall be limited to the part in dispute.
Section 8.- Effectiveness This Act shall take effect July 1, 2003.
I hereby certify to the Secretary of State that the following Act No. 72 (S.B. 589) of the $3^{ ext {rd }}$ Session of the $14^{ ext {th }}$ Legislature of Puerto Rico:
AN ACT to create the "Special Program for Qualification and Training in the Basic Care of Persons with Disabilities" of Social Assistance Beneficiaries attached to the Socio-Economic Development Administration of the Department of the Family, as a training and future employment alternative for the participants of financial assistance programs of the Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; to create the Advisory Board of the Program, to establish eligibility requirements, and for other purposes, has been translated from Spanish to English and that the English version is correct.
In San Juan, Puerto Rico, today $13^{ ext {th }}$ of August of 2004.
Elba Rosa Rodríguez-Fuentes Director