(a) Any increased cost to local educational agencies due to the implementation of this title shall be funded from the Part C federal funds provided for the purposes of this title.

(b) Any increased costs to regional centers due to the implementation of this title shall be funded from the Part C federal funds provided for the purposes of this title.

(c) The annual Budget Act shall specify the amount of federal Part C funds allocated for local assistance and for state operations individually, for the State Department of Developmental Services, and for the State Department of Education.

(d) If federal funds are available after mandatory components and increased costs in subdivisions (a) and (b), if any, are funded, the lead agency, in consultation with the State Department of Education, may do the following:

(1) Designate local interagency coordination areas throughout the state and allocate available Part C federal funds to fund interagency coordination activities, including, but not limited to, outreach and public awareness, and interagency approaches to service planning and delivery. If the lead agency chooses to designate and fund local interagency coordination areas, the lead agency shall first offer to enter into a contract with the regional center or a local educational agency. If the regional center or any of the local educational agencies do not accept the offer, the lead agency, in consultation with the State Department of Education and the approval of the regional center and local educational agencies in the area, directly may enter into a contract with a private, nonprofit organization. Nothing in this section shall preclude a regional center or local educational agency that enters into a contract with the lead agency from subcontracting with a private, nonprofit organization.

(2) Allocate funds to support family resource services, including, but not limited to, parent-to-parent support, information dissemination and referral, public awareness, family-professional collaboration activities, and transition assistance for families.

(e) If an expenditure plan is developed under subdivision (d), the lead agency, in consultation with the State Department of Education, shall give high priority to funding family resource services.

(f) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the lead agency’s authority, in consultation with the State Department of Education, to allocate discretionary Part C federal funds for any legitimate purpose consistent with the statutes and regulations under Part C (20 U.S.C. Secs. 1431 to 1444, inclusive) and this title.

(Amended by Stats. 2007, Ch. 56, Sec. 114. Effective January 1, 2008. Repealed conditionally as prescribed in Section 95003.)