Nonspeaking advocate urges Little Hoover Commission: "Put communication access first"

William Del Rosario, a 25-year-old nonspeaking adult who communicates via typing on an iPad, told the Little Hoover Commission on Jan. 22 that delays in getting augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) supports have blocked his access to education, employment and community life.

"Put communication access first," William said, describing years of efforts by his family to obtain trained staff and vendors after a school-provided aid and pandemic disruptions left him without consistent supports. He said the regional center offered a "free national park pass" rather than the AAC training and staffing his team requested.

His mother, Michelle Del Rosario, testified that the family bought and learned to use an AAC device themselves and that advocacy groups and appeals (including a 47.31 complaint) helped them force partial responses from the regional center. Michelle said their experience shows a system that identifies needs but then lacks the accountability and vendor capacity to deliver them. "If oversight were strong, William would not have been waiting 6 years for services that were already identified as necessary," she said.

Commissioners pressed for specifics. William recounted that the regional center authorized about 10 hours a week of personal-assistant services"about 1 and a half hours a day" he called insufficient to pursue education and work. Michelle said fully burdened caregiver pay after vendor overhead often leaves frontline caregivers with roughly $20 an hour, and that a health-and-safety rate exception adds only about $5 more.

Both the Del Rosarios urged concrete changes: standardized tracking so families can see where they are on wait lists; requirements and funding for vendor-staff training in individualized AAC methods; greater transparency about denial reasons and internal guidance used by service coordinators; and enforceable timelines and DDS oversight so that identified services result in timely delivery.

The Del Rosarios' testimony joined similar accounts in the public comment period and from advocates earlier in the hearing, providing a personal, detailed example of service gaps the commission recommended addressing in its 2023 review. The Department of Developmental Services and regional center representatives acknowledged progress on templates and data but have not disputed the family'9s claim of multi-year delays in this case. The commission did not vote on any motion; it concluded the session after public comment and will consider follow-up steps.