Bill Text: CA AB2636 | 2021-2022 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Refugees, asylees, and special immigrant visa holders: health care professions: grant program.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-05-19 - In committee: Held under submission. [AB2636 Detail]
Download: California-2021-AB2636-Amended.html
|
Amended
IN
Assembly
March 24, 2022 |
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Bill
No. 2636
| Introduced by Assembly Member Berman |
February 18, 2022 |
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2636, as amended, Berman.
Refugees, asylees, and special immigrant visa holders: professional licensing: initial licensure process. health care professions: grant program.
Existing law requires the California Workforce Development Board to assist in the development, oversight, and continuous improvement of California’s workforce investment system, including helping individuals with barriers to employment.
This bill would require the board to implement a grant program to award competitive grants to community-based organizations that resettle or provide services to the target populations, as defined, to address barriers to access and completion of health care training programs to obtain employment in health care professions, as provided. The bill would define “target populations” to mean refugees, asylees, and special
immigrant visa recipients, as specified. The bill would require the board, in awarding grants, to give priority to proposals that align target populations with the specific entry-level health care labor needs of the respective local or regional geographic area, including, but not limited to, labor shortages of certified nurse assistants, pharmacy technicians, or medical assistants. The bill would require a grant recipient to provide to the board, upon closure of the grant period, a report on program and outcome data and information, as specified, relevant to the effect of the grant.
Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of various professions and vocations by boards within the Department of Consumer Affairs. Existing law requires a board within the department to expedite, and authorizes it to assist, the initial licensure process for an applicant who supplies satisfactory evidence to the board that they are a refugee, have been granted asylum, or have a special immigrant visa, as specified.
This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to those provisions.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee:Bill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Article 7 (commencing with Section 14114) is added to Chapter 3 of Division 7 of the Unemployment Insurance Code, to read:Article 7. Grant Program
14114.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:(a) Refugees, asylees, and SIVs are important to the fabric of our society.
(b) Refugees and asylees are granted different services due to the legal distinction of when they were identified, with refugees often being identified in the country of origin and asylees in the country of arrival.
(c) Between 2017 and 2019, the number of applicants granted asylum increased from 26,199 applicants to 46,508 applicants, representing a 56-percent increase. In 2019 alone, California was the settlement state for 34 percent of all
new asylees, which was the highest rate of all states.
(d) Between 2017 and 2021, over 30,930 refugees and SIVs arrived in California.
(e) Health care is the second most common field of employment for refugees in the United States, with 15.6 percent of all refugees working in the health care sector. As of 2018, 38,900 individuals who originally arrived in the United States as refugees worked in health care.
(f) Studies indicate that provision of wraparound services to address individual barriers to access and participation are vital to ensuring refugees, asylees, and SIVs are successful in completing training programs to obtain employment and bring immense contributions to the economy.
(g) Refugees, asylees, and SIVs are less likely to discover training and education programs through traditional outreach and referral pathways. The increasingly protracted nature of war and displacement often results in prolonged stays in refugee camps, disruption of education, and extended gaps in work history. Alongside vocational training, refugees, asylees, and SIVs have unique experiences related to persecution and forcible displacement that require holistic support in order to be successful in gaining and retaining employment.
14115.
For purposes of this article, the following definitions shall apply:(a) “Asylee” means a person who has been granted asylum by the United states Secretary of Homeland Security or the Attorney General of the United States pursuant to Section 1158 of Title 8 of the United States Code.
(b) “Board” means the California Workforce Development Board.
(c) “Refugee” means a person who has been admitted to the United States as a refugee under Section 1157 of Title 8 of the United States Code.
(d) “SIV” means a person who has been granted a special immigrant visa under Section
1244 of Public Law 110-181, Section 1059 of Public Law 109-163, or Section 602(b) of Title VI of Division F of Public Law 111-8.
(e) “Target populations” means asylees, refugees, and SIVs.
14116.
(a) The board shall implement a grant program, which is hereby established, to award competitive grants to community-based organizations that resettle or provide services to the target populations to provide services that address barriers to access and completion of health care training programs to obtain employment in health care professions.(b) The purpose of the grant program is to help meet California’s labor shortages in entry-level health care professions, including certified nurse assistants, pharmacy technicians, and medical assistants, and to better reflect the diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds of California’s population by increasing the number of individuals from the target populations who obtain employment in health
care professions.
14117.
Subject to the availability of funding, the board shall award grants pursuant to this article on a competitive basis. In awarding grants, the board shall consider the following criteria for the selection of grant recipients:(a) Evidence of the organization’s existing services to the target populations.
(b) Priority shall be given to proposals that align target populations with the specific entry-level health care labor needs of the respective local or regional geographic area, including, but not limited to, labor shortages of certified nurse assistants, pharmacy technicians, or medical assistants.
14118.
An application for a grant shall, at a minimum, include all the following:(a) Designation of one or more of the target populations that will be served by the grants.
(b) Designation of a service area, which may include neighborhoods, local jurisdictions, regions, or statewide.
(c) An explanation of the specific purpose of the grant funds, a discussion of how funds will be used, the number of individuals who will be served, and the services provided to these individuals.
14119.
A grant recipient shall use grant funds for any of the following:(a) Outreach and in-reach initiatives, including materials, to recruit target populations to apply and participate in health care training and education programs.
(b) Assessment of vocational skills and experience and referrals of eligible candidates to training programs.
(c) Application support to training programs, navigation of relevant tests or exams, securing transcripts, documentation of foreign equivalence, and other evidence of qualifications or proof of eligibility for programs.
(d) Outreach and
partnership development with relevant training program providers and the development of referral pathways between the grant recipient and the training program provider.
(e) Costs of licensing fees, certification fees, or both.
(f) Evaluations to identify barriers and develop plans to address barriers to ensure participation in the training program or successful attainment of employment.
(g) English as a second language (ESL) or vocational English as a second language (VESL) support, including individualized tutoring, hiring ESL instructors, access to digital resources, and access to existing ESL community resources and classes.
(h) Costs of class or training program-related expenses, which may include cost of enrollment, textbooks, and other
materials.
(i) Postprogram job search support, including resume and interview preparation, securing of work uniforms, securing transportation, and workplace orientation.
(j) Referrals to existing case management services, in house or external, or the direct provision of support around identified barriers, including access to housing, childcare, and transportation.
14120.
As a condition of the receipt of a grant, a grant recipient shall provide to the board, upon closure of the grant period, a report on program and outcome data and information, including all of the following:(a) The number of individuals served by the grant.
(b) The number of individuals who were referred to training or education programs.
(c) The number of individuals who completed training or education programs.
(d) The number of individuals who gained employment in the health care workforce.
(e) The
difference in program participant wages before and after receiving services.
(f) The identification of common barriers to access or success experienced by participants served, whether these barriers were successfully addressed or resolved, and how they were addressed or resolved.
(g) Any other information the board may require for purposes of documenting the effect of the grant and identifying effective practices in program design and implementation.
(a)Notwithstanding any other law, a board within the department shall expedite, and may assist, the initial licensure process for an applicant who supplies satisfactory evidence to the board that they have been admitted to the United States as a refugee under Section 1157 of Title 8 of the United States Code, have been granted asylum by the Secretary of Homeland Security or the Attorney General of the United States pursuant to Section 1158 of Title 8 of the United States Code, or have a special immigrant visa that has been granted a status under Section 1244 of Public Law 110-181, under Public Law 109-163, or under Section 602(b) of Title VI of Division F of Public Law 111-8.
(b)This section
does not change existing licensure requirements. A person applying for expedited licensure under subdivision (a) shall meet all applicable statutory and regulatory licensure requirements.
(c)A board may adopt regulations necessary to administer this section.
