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 19, 2014
	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 to
convene a blue-ribbon 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   if the department receives sufficient
 nonstate funds from private sources  for purposes of
implementing   to implement  the bill. The bill
would require the task force to prepare a report of its findings and
recommendations and provide it to the Legislature on or before July
1,  2016   2017  . 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 24th out of 50 states and the District of
Columbia on the 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) Approximately 4 million family caregivers in California
provide care to an adult with limitations in daily activities at any
given point in time, and over 5.8 million provide care at some time
during the year. In addition, California's family caregivers provide
an estimated 3,850,000,000 hours of unpaid labor caring for their
loved ones. The estimated economic value of their unpaid
contributions is approximately $47 billion.
   (g) Fifty-nine percent of all family caregivers 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.
   (h) Nationally, 46 percent of family caregivers perform medical or
nursing tasks for care recipients with multiple chronic physical and
cognitive conditions. More than three-quarters of family caregivers
who provide medical or nursing tasks are managing medications,
including administering intravenous fluids and injections. Nearly
half of family caregivers are administering five to nine prescription
medications a day, and one in five is helping with 10 or more
prescription medications a day. Yet most caregivers report that they
trained themselves to perform medication management.
   (i) Only 31 percent of caregivers report being visited at home by
a health care professional. Twenty-seven percent of caregivers report
that they have no additional assistance from a family member, health
care professional, or home health aide.
   (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.
   (k) For many families in the midst of caregiving, there is deep
worry and concern about the quality of care and quality of life. They
do not know who to call or where to go to get the right kind of
affordable help when they need it.
   (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.
   (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.
   (n) There is an immense need for caregiving resources and
services. As California's population ages, and as California becomes
increasingly diverse, it is 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 1.   Section 9104 is
added to the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:
   9104.  (a) The department shall convene a blue-ribbon task force
on unpaid family caregiving upon receipt of  two hundred
thousand dollars ($200,000) of   sufficient 
nonstate funds  , as determined by the department,  from
private sources  for purposes of implementing  
to implement  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 chaired by  the director of
the department or his or her designee and shall be vice-chaired by
 a representative elected by the members of the task force.
   (c) The task force shall be comprised of at least 13 members, each
of whom shall 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  California 
Alzheimer's  Association   Disease community
 .
   (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) 
    (7)  A representative of an organization that provides
services to caregivers. 
   (9)
    (   8)  A representative of  AARP
California   a nonprofit organization representing
senior citizens  . 
   (10) 
    (9)  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) 
    (1   0)  An adult with a chronic or disabling
condition who receives care from an unpaid caregiver or family
member. 
   (12) 
    (11)  A director or designated representative of an area
agency on aging.
   (d) The blue-ribbon 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) Assess information referral and resource sharing systems used
by family caregivers by doing all of the following:  
   (A) Compiling an inventory of the resources available to family
caregivers.  
   (B) Determining access barriers in the current system.  
   (C) Considering the cultural and linguistic factors that impact
caregivers and care recipients who are from diverse populations.
 
   (D) Comparing consistency of access across the counties. 

   (8) 
    (9)  Identify best practices both in California and in
other states. 
   (9) 
    (10)  Explore expanding those best practices in
caregiving programs to populations that are not currently targeted.

   (10) 
    (11)  Make specific recommendations that address, at a
minimum, each of the following:
   (A) The development of  a one-stop information hub
  an Internet  Web site or portal that contains a
list of current resources and supports available in a family
caregiver's community,  or   and  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.   centers. 
   (C) The development of a caregiver screening and assessment tool
that will help identify which services and supports a family
caregiver needs. 
   (11) 
    (12)  Prepare and provide to the Legislature a report of
its findings and recommendations on or before July 1,  2016
  2017  .
   (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 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.
   (4) All meetings of the 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).
   (f) A report to be submitted pursuant to paragraph (11) of
subdivision (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.