State Sen. Scott Wilk, R-Santa Clarita, announced his request for state budget funding to expand the eligibility for developmentally disabled individuals by $3.2 million.

“We are woefully behind modern science and it breaks my heart when I think of families with children who have incurred traumatic brain injuries as young adults and are unable to access vital Regional Center services because of an antiquated date in the law,” Wilk said in a statement Thursday.

In his request, Wilk not only asked for the $3.2 million be included in the State Budget for eligibility programs, but also requested the age limit to qualify for benefits be expanded from 18 years old to 22 years old.

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“Science tells us the brain continues to develop until a person is 22 years of age, yet California law uses age 18 to determine eligibility,” said Wilk. “Shifting the age of eligibility will not only match the federal definition, it will ensure that young adults with these types of injuries have the very best chance of regaining some semblance of normalcy.”

The state senator’s request is in line with the federal definition used to classify developmentally disabled individuals, which changed over 40 years ago, and has been agreed upon by 38 states since, according to Wilk’s office.

“If California were to follow the federal government’s definition, recent data shows approximately 400 Californians would become eligible for services the first year at a cost to the state of $3.2 million,” said a news release from Wilk’s office.

If the request is approved by the Assembly and Senate Budget Subcommittees on Health and Human Services, the allocated funds would then be channeled into the California Regional Centers, who specialize those with traumatic brain injury or acquired brain injury achieve a higher level of self sufficiency.

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“While policy is often shaped by economics, we have an ethical obligation to ensure there is equity in how we provide support services to our developmentally disabled citizens, and that our definitions are founded in medical fact,” said Wilk. “The amount I am requesting is less than a tenth of 1 percent of the Regional Center’s $5.5 billion annual budget but that small change would rectify a decades-long inequity in the law for many young Californians with developmental disabilities.”

Wilk’s request is scheduled to be determined after Gov. Brown releases his revised budget suggestions in May, and the California Legislature then determines its final budget.

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