Elizabeth Gomez — Ruby Saldana says she agrees with Elizabeth Gomez.
Ruby Saldana — Ruby Saldana, an ICC co-founder and mother of three clients served by the system, speaks in support of other parents and shares her own experience with her children. She explains that one son may appear highly functional, even as a wrestler, but still depends heavily on services, and she references similar cases she has seen across multiple hearings in different regional centers. She warns that people are being judged or disadvantaged based on ethnicity, economic status, or language, and urges protection for vulnerable children and families.
Mr. Dr. Yison — Ruby Saldana references having something in writing for 'Mr. Dr. Yison,' likely a mis-transcription of a committee member or staff name.
Diego Gomez — Diego Gomez is cited as an example of a child who could lose or be denied services because he appears to be doing okay, illustrating the concern that children who seem fine may still need support.
Marisol Gomez — Speaks on behalf of her son, a regional center client, and says services are essential.
Oscar Mercado — Oscar Mercado introduces himself as a self-advocate with the Integrated Community Collaborative and notes that he is on the spectrum and in college. He then explains that he did not receive services until mid-2020, which caused him to fall behind, and warns that many people in similar situations could be missed by a statewide tool that overemphasizes strengths. He agrees with prior testimony that more tools are not needed and argues instead for person-centered planning. A later speaker references his message as similar to her son's, reinforcing the same theme.
Ricardo Arrigin Solano — Ricardo Arrigin Solano identifies himself as a longtime VMRC client with autism and ADHD and explains that, despite appearing functional, he still needs support. He says people like him are being overlooked and not properly cared for, emphasizing the importance of support for independence.
Buenos Aires — Likely a mis-transcribed speaker introduction; the person says they will try to speak in Spanish.
Elizabeth — Mentioned as part of the people whose message the speaker says she shares.
Rubin — Mentioned as part of the people whose message the speaker says she shares.
ICC — The speaker identifies herself as being part of the ICC community, and then reiterates that same affiliation shortly afterward without introducing any new topic or distinction.
Oscar — The speaker refers to her son Oscar, who has autism and has faced barriers in the system, and uses him as an example of why standardized tools should not be allowed to determine the future of people like him.
Tony Anderson — Tony Anderson is mentioned as the person who evaluated or measured the speaker's son in a way that recognized his needs and capacities, helping bring attention to what support he required.
Maricruz — Parent of a 17-year-old with Down syndrome, testifying against the standardized evaluation tool.
Nestor Nevis — Self-advocate who begins testimony against moving forward with the tool.
Juan Cruz — Juan Cruz introduces himself as a parent advocate with ICC and begins his testimony by asking for more time and careful evaluation before any changes move forward, emphasizing the need to assess the real-world impact of the proposed changes.
Gilda Hiron — Representative of Disability Voices United who begins testimony about DDS stakeholder engagement.
Yasmin Herrera Vilches — Yasmin Herrera Vilches introduced herself as a parent, an independent facilitator for the self-determination program, and an affiliate of Disability Voices United. She then described her experience with self-determination and how it gave her son greater choice and control.
Maria Montoya — Introduced herself as the mother of a child with severe autism and described difficulty navigating the system.
Henry Stern — Speaker says she supports the commentary of Senator Fernando; likely a mistaken reference, exact identity uncertain.
Claudia Castillo — Introduced herself and her two children, Aaron Suniga and Victoria Suniga, both of whom have autism.
Aaron Suniga — Named as Claudia Castillo's child; described as having autism.
Victoria Suniga — Named as Claudia Castillo's child; described as having autism.
Caroline Menjivar — Claudia Castillo says she appeared before Chair Menjivar on May 7th to ask for help.
Caroline Menjivar — Christina Canarella references Senator Menjivar as a committee leader whose presence gave her comfort that the committees would hear public voices and handle the process well.
Unidentified witness — Described getting up at 3 a.m. and traveling from Whittier, California to testify.
Erica Hernandez — Erica Hernandez testified as a member of ICC and a mother of a child served by the system, strongly opposing restrictive evaluations, standardized cost-effectiveness standards, and other measures she believes could be used to deny children needed services. She described her son being placed on a waitlist, regressing while waiting for support, and argued that families should not fear evaluations being used against them. She urged transparency, individualized assessment, meaningful family input, and an end to the proposed restrictive approach.
Christopher Cabaldon — Multiple speakers expressed support for Fernando Gomez’s comments, with Erica Hernandez, Sandra Marcelli, and Selena Strata each affirming his remarks in succession.
Luz Rivas — Witnesses directly addressed Mr. Jackson and the committee, urging them to stop restrictive measures and to review cards and messages from mothers that were being presented to them.
Luz Rivas — The speaker directly appeals to Assemblymember Jackson for help with families like hers.
Sandra Marcelli — Sandra Marcelli testified as an ICC member and parent, expressing support for Fernando Gomez and strong opposition to DDS proposals. She described the long struggle her daughter has faced in obtaining services, emphasized that families need help, and said the Hispanic community is especially affected and present to seek support.
Maria Lopez — Maria Lopez introduced herself as co-founder and manager of ICC and as a mother of an adult child with special needs who is a client of the Central Regional Center. She then described the hardships families endure to seek services, including traveling in vans, spending the night, and repeatedly returning because the system does not adequately support their children. She emphasized that families are forced to use their own resources to keep advocating and urged against discrimination or exclusion of children with different abilities.
Selena Strata — Selena Strata, a mother of two children served by the East Los Angeles Regional Center, testified in support of Fernando Gomez’s comments and questioned why DDS is moving so quickly on the proposed assessment tool. She expressed deep concern that the tool could reduce services, affect eligibility, and shift focus away from the IPP process. She added that regional center internal policies already limit services families receive and warned that emphasizing strengths in the assessment could lead to fewer services and under-recognition of children’s support needs.
Francisco — States opposition to standardized services and asks for individualized services and community inclusion.
Carlos Hernandez — Self-advocate asks the committee to protect the Lanterman Act and oppose standardization.
Cecilia Ortiz Barajas — Mother of two neurodivergent individuals and director of Padres Unidos Por el Autismo; speaks in support of family-centered services.
Delphina Reyes — Mother of Alexander Reyes and wife of Gonzalo Reyes; describes her son's rare syndrome and support needs.
Wen Martinez — Public commenter says people with disabilities should not be excluded and deserve dignity, respect, and fairness.
Jacqueline Casas — Mother of Gwen Martinez; says she has been in constant electronic correspondence and references several officials/agencies.
Gwen Martinez — Identified as Jacqueline Casas's daughter.
Lola Smallwood-Cuevas — Mentioned as one of the officials involved in the speaker's correspondence.
Gabriella Romero — Gabriella Romero opened her public comment and stated that she fully supports Mr. Fernando Gomez’s remarks, opposing the new evaluation instruments and directives.
Koseu Yua / Glenysu Joa — Identified herself with conflicting transcriptions of her name and said she is a family member from Riverside County.
former parent partner and family advocate — Speaker described her background and said she is advocating for her daughter.
Sarah — Sarah, the speaker’s daughter, is described as receiving services through Inland Regional Center and benefiting from those services.
daughter of the speaker — Speaker described her daughter's service history and loss of services after age three.
Leti Lopez — Identified herself as the next witness and said her son Angel has been a regional center client for 22 years.
Angel — The speaker introduces her son, Angel, to the committee and explains that he has been a regional center client for 22 years.
Adrian Hernandez — Introduced himself after Angel was welcomed, though the transcript may be overlapping with the next speaker.
A.J. Hernandez — A.J. Hernandez identifies himself as a client of Wichinole Center and testifies that he is worried about losing his services and about his little sister not being able to receive the services she needs.