Bill Text: CA AB1744 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: California Department of Aging.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-1)

Status: (Vetoed) 2014-09-30 - Vetoed by Governor. [AB1744 Detail]

Download: California-2013-AB1744-Amended.html

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BILL NUMBER: AB 1744	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  AUGUST 4, 2014
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MAY 23, 2014
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 8, 2014
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 20, 2014

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Brown
   (Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Atkins)
   (Coauthors: Assembly Members Cooley, Levine, Waldron, and Yamada)

                        FEBRUARY 14, 2014

   An act to add  and repeal  Section 9104 to the Welfare
and Institutions Code, relating to aging.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1744, as amended, Brown. California Department of Aging.
   The Mello-Granlund Older Californians Act creates the California
Department of Aging to provide leadership to the area agencies on
aging in developing systems of home- and community-based services
that maintain individuals in their own homes or least restrictive
homelike environments. Existing law requires the department, in
accomplishing its mission, to consider available data and population
trends in developing programs and policies, collaborate with area
agencies on aging, the California Commission on Aging, and other
state and local agencies.
   This bill  , until January 1, 2018,  would require the
department  , upon securing $200,000 in nonstate funds from
private sources for purposes of implementing the bill,  to
convene a blue-ribbon  panel,   task force 
comprised of at least 13 members, as specified, to make legislative
recommendations to improve services for unpaid and family caregivers
in California, as provided.  The bill would condition this
requirement upon the receipt of $200,000 in nonstate funds from
private sources for purposes of implementing the bill.  The bill
would require the  committee   task force 
to prepare a report of its findings and recommendations and provide
it to the Legislature on or before July 1, 2016. The bill would make
related findings and declarations.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the
California Caregiver Act of 2014.
  SEC. 2.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
   (a) A caregiver can be any relative, partner, friend, or neighbor
who has a significant relationship with, and who provides a broad
range of assistance to, an older person or an adult with a chronic or
disabling condition.
   (b) At present, there is no complete inventory of caregiving
programs available to Californians performing unpaid caregiving
services for an aging or disabled family member, friend, or neighbor.

   (c) Rising demand and shrinking families to provide caregiving
support suggest that California needs a comprehensive person- and
family-centered policy for long-term services and supports systems
that would better serve the needs of older persons with disabilities,
support family and friends in their caregiving roles, and promote
greater efficiencies in public spending.
   (d) California ranked  30th   24th  out
of 50 states and the District of Columbia on the  2011
 State Long-Term Services and Supports Scorecard sponsored
by the SCAN Foundation, American Association of Retired Persons
(AARP), and the Commonwealth Fund.
   (e) Family support is a key driver in remaining in one's home and
community, but it comes at substantial costs to the caregivers, their
families, and to society. If family caregivers were no longer
available, the economic cost to California's health care and
long-term services and supports systems would increase
astronomically. 
   (f) In 2009, approximately 
    (f)     Approximately  4 million
family caregivers in California  provided  
provide  care to an adult with limitations in daily activities
at any given point in time, and over 5.8 million  provided
  provide  care at some time during the 
year. 
    (g)     In 2009,
  year. In addition,  California's family
caregivers  provided   provide  an
estimated 3,850,000,000 hours of unpaid labor caring for their loved
ones. The estimated economic value of their unpaid contributions
 was   is  approximately $47 billion.

   (h) In 2009, 59 percent 
    (g)     Fifty-nine percent  of all
family caregivers  were   are  employed
full or part time. Family caregivers typically spend 20 hours a week
caring for a family member who needs help with bathing, dressing, and
other kinds of personal care, as well as household tasks such as
shopping and managing finances. 
   (i) 
    (h)  Nationally, 46 percent of family caregivers
 performed   perform  medical or nursing
tasks for care recipients with multiple chronic physical and
cognitive conditions. More than three-quarters of family caregivers
who  provided   provide  medical or nursing
tasks  were   are managing medications,
including administering intravenous fluids and  injections.

    (j)     Almost one-half
  injections. Nearly half  of family caregivers
 were   are  administering five to nine
prescription medications a day, and one in five  was
  is  helping with 10 or more prescription
medications a day. Yet  , 61 percent of these  
most  caregivers  reported   report 
that they trained themselves to perform medication management.

   (k) 
    (i) Only 31 percent of caregivers  reported
  report  being visited at home by a health care
professional.  In addition, 27   Twenty-seven
   percent of caregivers report that they have no
additional assistance from a family member, health care professional,
or home health aide. 
   (l) 
    (   j)  Nationally, more than 8 in 10
caregivers are over 50 years of age. Family caregivers are aging and
are increasingly from diverse social, racial, ethnic, and political
backgrounds.  As the baby boomers age into their 80s, the decline
in the caregiver support ratio is projected   to shift from
a slow decline to a free fall in California.  
   (m) 
    (k)  For many families in the midst of caregiving, there
is deep worry and concern about the quality of care and quality of
 life. 
    (n)     Families
  life. They  do not know who to call or where to
go to get the right kind of affordable help when they need it.

   (o) In just 13 years, as the baby boomers age into their 80s, the
decline in the caregiver support ratio is projected to shift from a
slow decline to a free fall in California.  
   (p) 
    (l)  To avoid bankrupting our health and social service
systems serving the elderly and persons with disabilities, it is
imperative that California prepare by identifying strategies that
will promote appropriate, person-centered services for families
struggling with providing care to a family member. 
   (q) 
    (m)  It is in the interest of the state to better serve
the approximately 4,000,000 families statewide who are currently
struggling to care for an aging or disabled family member, many of
whom are also in the workforce. 
   (r) 
    (n)  There is an immense need for caregiving resources
and services. As California's population  ages  
ages,  and as California becomes increasingly diverse, it is
 also in the interest of the state to adequately
serve the following emerging caregiver populations:
   (1) Caregivers from the Black, Latino, Asian American, and Pacific
Islander communities.
   (2) Families of individuals with developmental disabilities.
   (3) Persons who cannot access or are not eligible for existing
caregiver support programs.
   (4) Non-English speakers, and ethnically and racially diverse
populations that need caregiving programs to be provided in a
culturally and linguistically appropriate manner.
   (5) Those in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender
community.
   (6) Rural residents.
  SEC. 3.  Section 9104 is added to the Welfare and Institutions
Code, to read:
   9104.  (a) The department shall  , upon securing two
hundred thousand dollars ($200,000) of nonstate funds from private
sources for the purpose of implementing this section, convene a
blue-ribbon panel on family caregiving and long-term services and
supports. The panel   convene a blue-ribbon task force
on unpaid family caregiving upon receipt of two hundred thousand
dollars ($200,000) of nonstate funds from private sources for
purposes of implementing this section. The department shall use the
private funds solely for the planning, operation, assessment, and
final recommendations of the task force. 
    (b)     The task force  shall be
 jointly  chaired by the director of the department
or his or her designee and  shall be vice-cha   ired by
 a representative elected by the members of the  panel
  task force  . 
   (b) 
    (   c)  The  panel   task
force  shall be comprised of at least 13 members, each of whom
shall  be representative of   have experience in
 one or more of the following categories:
   (1) A person with experience in the field of academic research on
caregiving.
   (2) A family caregiver for an adult with a chronic or disabling
condition.
   (3) A representative of the mental health community.
   (4) A representative of the California caregiver resource centers.

   (5) A representative of the  national  
California  Alzheimer's Association.
   (6) A representative of an organization that provides
community-based adult services.
   (7) A representative of an organization that provides an adult day
program.
   (8) A representative of an organization that provides services to
caregivers.
   (9) A representative of  an unpaid or family caregiver
consumer organization   AARP   California 
.
   (10) A representative with expertise in and knowledge of the
specific needs of culturally and linguistically diverse caregivers
and the unique challenges of delivering services to family caregivers
who face cultural or linguistic barriers.
   (11) An adult with a chronic or disabling condition who receives
care from an unpaid caregiver or family member.
   (12) A director or designated representative of an area agency on
aging. 
   (c) 
    (d)  The blue-ribbon  panel   task
force  shall do all of the following:
   (1) Review the current policies and practices of state, local, and
community programs available to caregivers of adults with chronic or
disabling conditions, and consider how the needs of family
caregivers should be assessed and addressed so that they can continue
in their caregiving role without being overburdened.
   (2) Consider the recommendations of other state plans, including,
but not limited to, the Olmstead Plan, the Long-Range Strategic Plan
on Aging, the State Plan for Alzheimer's Disease, and the State Plan
on Aging.
   (3) Compile an inventory of the resources available to family
caregivers.
   (4) Determine gaps in services to family caregivers and identify
barriers to participation in current programs.
   (5) Consider cultural and linguistic factors that impact
caregivers and care recipients who are from diverse populations.
   (6) Consult with a broad range of stakeholders, including, but not
limited to, people diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, adults with
disabling or chronic conditions, family caregivers, community-based
and institutional providers, caregiving researchers and academicians,
formal caregivers, the Caregiver Resource Centers, the California
Commission on Aging, and other state entities.
   (7) Solicit testimony on the needs of family caregivers, including
the designation of caregivers, training, respite services, medical
leave policies, delegation of tasks to nonmedical aides, and other
policies.
   (8) Identify best practices both in California and in other
states.
   (9) Explore expanding those best practices in caregiving programs
to populations that are not currently targeted. 
   (10) Develop at least three legislative recommendations to improve
the provision of services for unpaid and family caregivers in
California. These recommendations shall address all of the following:
 
   (A) Community-based support for California's diverse population of
caregivers for adults with chronic or disabling conditions.
 
   (B) Choices for care and residence for persons with Alzheimer's
disease and their families.  
   (C) The family caregiving competence of health care professionals.
 
   (10) Make specific recommendations that address, at a minimum,
each of the following:  
   (A) The development of a one-stop information hub Web site or
portal that contains a list of current resources and supports
available in a family caregiver's community, or the contact
information of a person or organization who can help a family
caregiver navigate these support services.  
   (B) The enhancement of outreach and education efforts by area
agencies on aging and family resource centers to ensure that
information is provided to family caregivers at the time they need it
most.  
   (C) The development of a caregiver screening and assessment tool
that will help identify which services and supports a family
caregiver needs. 
   (11) Prepare and provide to the Legislature a report of its
findings and recommendations on or before July 1, 2016. 
   (d) 
    (e) (1) Members shall serve without compensation, but
shall receive reimbursement for travel and other necessary expenses
actually incurred in the performance of their official duties.
   (2) The  panel   task force  shall meet
on a bimonthly basis. 
   (3) Members of the task force shall be appointed to serve for the
duration of the task force.  
   (3) 
    (4)  All meetings of the  panel  
task force  shall be open to the public and adequate notice
shall be provided in accordance with the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting
Act (Article 9 (commencing with Section 11120) of Chapter 1 of Part 1
of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code). 
   (e) (1) The requirement for submitting a report imposed under
paragraph (11) of subdivision (c) is inoperative on July 1, 2020,
pursuant to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code. 

   (2) 
    (f)  A report to be submitted pursuant to paragraph (11)
of subdivision  (c)   (d)  shall be
submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.

   (g) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2018, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2018, deletes or extends
that date.