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AB-568 California Care Corps Act.(2019-2020)

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Date Published: 04/22/2019 09:00 PM
AB568:v98#DOCUMENT

Amended  IN  Assembly  April 22, 2019

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 568

Introduced by Assembly Member Reyes
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Lackey)
(Coauthors: Senators Bates and Galgiani)

February 14, 2019

An act to add and repeal Section 4366 Chapter 7.5 (commencing with Section 4366) of Part 3 of Division 4 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to caregivers.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 568, as amended, Reyes. Caregiver resource centers: volunteer workforce. California Care Corps Act.
Existing law requires the Director of Health Care Services to, among other things, maintain or enter into contracts directly with nonprofit caregiver resource centers (CRCs) to provide direct services to caregivers of cognitively impaired adults, as defined, throughout the state.
Under existing law, by executive order, CaliforniaVolunteers is established in the office of the Governor and is charged with overseeing programs and initiatives for community service and volunteerism.
This bill would establish, until January 1, 2025, July, 1, 2026, a pilot program, administered by the director, pursuant to which the CRCs Chief Service Officer of CaliforniaVolunteers, under which nonprofit entities known as Care Corps Grantees that would contract with the officer would select, train, and place volunteers to provide care to persons who are at least 65 years of age or who have a cognitive impairment and meet specified criteria. age, who have Alzheimer’s disease or related dementia, and who have difficulty with self-care or living independently. The bill would establish selection criteria for prospective volunteers and specified training requirements. The bill would require the CRCs Care Corps Grantees to provide a stipend and an educational award, as specified, to volunteers. The bill would require the director officer to appoint an advisory council and would require the director officer and the advisory council to evaluate the program, as specified.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Chapter 7.5 (commencing with Section 4366) is added to Part 3 of Division 4 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:
CHAPTER  7.5. California Care Corps Act

4366.
 (a) This chapter shall be known, and may be cited, as the California Care Corps Act.
(b) This chapter shall remain in effect only until July 1, 2026, and as of that date is repealed.

4366.1.
 For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions apply:
(a) “CaliforniaVolunteers” means the entity established by Executive Order S-24-06, as described in Section 8400 of the Government Code.
(b) “Caregiver” means any unpaid family member or individual who assumes responsibility for the care of a person who is at least 65 years of age and has Alzheimer’s disease or related dementia.
(c) “Chief Service Officer” or “officer” means the Chief Service Officer of CaliforniaVolunteers, unless otherwise specified.
(d) “Pilot program” means the California Care Corps Program.
(e) “Respite care” has the same meaning as provided in Section 4362.5.

4366.2.
 (a) The Chief Service Officer shall maintain or enter into contracts directly with nonprofit Care Corps Grantees to implement this chapter.
(b) The officer may enter into any contracts under this chapter on a bid or nonbid basis. These contracts shall be exempt from Part 2 (commencing with Section 10100) of Division 2 of the Public Contract Code.

4366.3.
 (a) (1) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this chapter to establish, until July 1, 2026, a pilot program, known as the California Care Corps Program, to provide a volunteer workforce to provide respite care to persons who are at least 65 years of age, who have Alzheimer’s disease or related dementia, and who need in-home care.
(2) It is the intent of the Legislature that Care Corps Grantees provide adequate training to volunteers, or build partnerships to outsource that training to experienced credible agencies or nonprofit organizations in their geographic area, and place the volunteers for purposes of the pilot program, and that the volunteers provide services in exchange for a stipend and, under certain circumstances, an educational award as described in this chapter. This pilot program is intended to incentivize high school graduates to volunteer to provide in-home respite care and to expand the current in-home care workforce.
(b) The Chief Service Officer shall administer, until July 1, 2026, a pilot program in accordance with the requirements of this chapter. The officer shall also appoint an advisory council consisting of a group of key stakeholder organizations and qualified academic leaders to conduct a review and evaluation of the pilot program in accordance with Section 4366.7.
(c) There shall not be more than 150 Care Corps volunteers in total per year, spread across the various Care Corps Grantees.
(d) Each Care Corps Grantee shall select and place volunteers, and shall outsource or provide adequate training for those volunteers, in accordance with this chapter and with the policies and procedures adopted by the Care Corps Grantee pursuant to this chapter.

4366.4.
 (a) A person may apply to serve as a volunteer pursuant to this chapter by submitting an application to a Care Corps Grantee in the form, and containing the information, that the Care Corps Grantee requires. The pilot program shall begin on January 1 of each year, and the application deadline shall be two months prior to the commencement of training in order to provide time for administrators to select applicants. Each Care Corps Grantee shall select volunteers for the program in accordance with this chapter. A person who is selected to serve as a volunteer shall agree to serve pursuant to those terms and conditions as the Care Corps Grantee requires. A volunteer may not serve for more than 24 months, and may not serve for more than two terms consisting of not more than 12 months each. A person is eligible to serve as a volunteer if the person meets both of the following criteria:
(1) The person is at least 18 years of age on or before the time their criminal background check is conducted pursuant to this section.
(2) The person passes a criminal background check (LiveScan) pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 15660.
(b) A person is eligible to receive volunteer services pursuant to this chapter if the person meets all of the following criteria:
(1) The person is at least 65 years of age.
(2) The person has Alzheimer’s disease or related dementia.
(3) The person has difficulty with self-care or living independently.
(4) The person does not qualify for the In-Home Supportive Services program described in Article 7 (commencing with Section 12300) of Chapter 3 of Part 3 of Division 9.
(c) Services provided to a person under the pilot program shall not be used to supplant or otherwise overlap with services provided to that person under another state or federal respite program through another respite grant.
(d) (1) The pilot program shall provide volunteer services to populations that consist primarily of low-income individuals.
(2) For purposes of this subdivision, “low-income individual” means an individual whose household income is above 138 percent of the federal poverty level and below 400 percent of the federal poverty level.

4366.5.
 (a) Each Care Corps Grantee shall provide training to persons applying to serve as a volunteer, as follows:
(1) As a prerequisite to volunteer status, each person shall complete a six-week internship consisting of providing eight hours of respite care per week.
(2) Each intern shall receive a stipend during the internship.
(3) The first week of training shall include eight hours of training modules developed by the Care Corps Grantee or a local partner organization with experience in respite care.
(4) Weeks two to six, inclusive, shall include matching an intern with an unpaid caregiver to enable the intern to shadow the caregiver.
(5) An intern who is well rated and who continues to express interest in the pilot program shall receive 32 hours of further training, if accepted as a volunteer for the Care Corps Grantee.
(b) (1) Volunteers shall provide services that do all of the following:
(A) Result in person-to-person, supportive relationships with each individual served.
(B) Support the achievement and maintenance of the highest level of independent living for each individual in need.
(C) Are supported by appropriate orientation, training, and supervision.
(D) Are provided in support of, or in coordination with, a caregiver, if applicable.
(2) Volunteers shall not provide any of the following services:
(A) Professional medical services.
(B) Administrative support services of the program.
(C) Care in an institutional setting.
(D) Care prohibited by state law.
(E) Financial services.
(F) Any other services determined by the Chief Service Officer to be inconsistent with the purposes of programs funded pursuant to this chapter.
(c) Each volunteer shall be matched with several recipients in order to provide brief respites for the caregivers. At the request of a caregiver, a volunteer shall be matched with a recipient on a one-on-one basis, if the caregiver provides proof of the caregiver’s employment or proof of the caregiver’s enrollment in an educational program.
(d) A household including a caregiver and a recipient that, over the course of the administration of the pilot program, becomes eligible for the Medi-Cal program shall be provided with services under the pilot program for no more than three months following the date of Medi-Cal eligibility.

4366.6.
 (a) Each Care Corps Grantee shall provide a stipend to each volunteer exceeding no more than fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000) per cycle.
(b) Each Care Corps Grantee shall provide educational awards, in addition to the stipend described in subdivision (a), to volunteers, as follows:
(1) If a volunteer completes less than a full cycle of full-time service in the program, as determined by the Care Corps Grantee, the volunteer shall not receive an educational award.
(2) If a volunteer completes a full cycle of full-time service in the program, as determined by the Care Corps Grantee, the volunteer shall receive an educational award in the amount of one of the following, as applicable:
(A) Six thousand dollars ($6,000).
(B) If a volunteer commits to using an educational award granted pursuant to this section to complete a degree, a certificate, or training in a health care profession related to gerontology, or in a social services profession related to the delivery of long-term services and supports to older adults and people with disabilities or to their caregivers, ten thousand dollars ($10,000).
(3) If a volunteer completes more than one full cycle of full-time service in the program, as determined by the Care Corps Grantee, the volunteer shall receive an educational award described in paragraph (2). In addition, for each additional six months of service after the initial cycle, the volunteer shall receive a prorated amount of that award. The total educational award to a volunteer shall not exceed twelve thousand dollars ($12,000) if the award is made pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2), or twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) if the award is made pursuant to subparagraph (B) of paragraph (2).
(c) For purposes of this section, “cycle” means a term of volunteer service of 12 or fewer months, as determined by a Care Corps Grantee and disclosed to the volunteer before participation in the program.

4366.7.
 During the 2023 and 2026 calendar years, the Chief Service Officer and the advisory council shall evaluate the pilot program established pursuant to this chapter. The evaluation shall examine all of the following:
(a) Reduction in caregiver stress.
(b) Efficacy of youth caregivers.
(c) Average number of hours of caregiver respite provided.
(d) Workforce development outcomes.
(e) Percentage of recipients who reenter the workforce.

SECTION 1.Section 4366 is added to the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:
4366.

(a)(1)It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this section to establish, until January 1, 2025, a pilot program to provide a volunteer workforce to provide respite care to persons who are at least 65 years of age or have a cognitive impairment and who need in-home care.

(2)It is the intent of the Legislature that the CRCs train and place the volunteers for purposes of the pilot program and that the volunteers provide services in exchange for a stipend and, under certain circumstances, an educational award as described in this section. This pilot program is intended to incentivize high school and college students to volunteer to provide in-home respite care and to expand the current in-home care workforce.

(b)(1)The director shall administer, until January 1, 2025, a pilot program in accordance with the requirements of this section. The director shall also appoint an advisory council consisting of a group of key stakeholder organizations and qualified academic leaders to conduct a review of the pilot program in accordance with subdivision (h).

(2)Each CRC shall select, train, and place volunteers in accordance with this section and with the policies and procedures adopted by the CRC pursuant to this section.

(c)A person may apply to serve as a volunteer pursuant to this section by submitting an application to a CRC in the form, and containing the information, the CRC requires. The pilot program shall begin on July 1 of each year, and the application deadline shall be two months prior to the commencement of training in order to provide time for administrators to select applicants. Each CRC shall select volunteers for the program in accordance with this section. A person who is selected to serve as a volunteer shall agree to serve pursuant to those terms and conditions as the CRC requires. A volunteer may not serve for more than 24 months, and may not serve for more than two terms consisting of not more than 12 months each. A person is eligible to serve as a volunteer if the person meets both of the following criteria:

(1)The person is 18 years of age on or before December 31 of the calendar year in which the person begins participation in the program.

(2)The person passes a criminal background check (LiveScan).

(d)A person is eligible to receive volunteer services pursuant to this section if the person meets all of the following criteria:

(1)The person is at least 65 years of age or has a cognitive impairment.

(2)The person has difficulty with self-care or living independently.

(3)The person has an unpaid caregiver who does not qualify to provide services pursuant to the In-Home Supportive Services program described in Article 7 (commencing with Section 12300) of Chapter 3 of Part 3 of Division 9, when the person is initially selected to be a recipient of these services.

(e)The pilot program established pursuant to this section shall provide volunteer services to populations that come within either of the following descriptions:

(1)Populations experiencing a shortage of approved care services.

(2)Populations consisting primarily of low-income or minority individuals.

(f)Each CRC shall provide training to volunteers, as follows:

(1)Each volunteer shall complete a six-week internship consisting of eight hours of training per week.

(2)Each volunteer shall receive a stipend during the internship.

(3)The first week of training shall include 40 hours of training modules developed by the CRC.

(4)Weeks two to six, inclusive, of training shall include pairing interns with unpaid family caregivers to enable the interns to shadow the family caregivers.

(5)An intern who is well-rated and who continues to express interest in the program shall receive further training and may be accepted as a volunteer.

(g)(1)Volunteers shall provide services that do all of the following:

(A)Result in person-to-person, supportive relationships with each individual served.

(B)Support the achievement and maintenance of the highest level of independent living for each individual in need.

(C)Are supported by appropriate orientation, training, and supervision.

(D)Are provided in support of, or in coordination with, a caregiver, if applicable.

(2)Volunteers shall not provide the following services:

(A)Professional medical services.

(B)Administrative support services of the program.

(C)Care in an institutional setting.

(D)Care prohibited by state law.

(E)Financial services.

(F)Any other services determined by the director to be inconsistent with the purposes of programs funded pursuant to this section.

(3)Each volunteer shall be assigned to several recipients in order to provide brief respites for the caregivers. If a caregiver subsequently qualifies to provide in-home care pursuant to the In-Home Supportive Services program, as described in paragraph (3) of subdivision (d), then the volunteer shall be assigned to a single recipient.

(h)(1)Each CRC shall provide a stipend in the amount of one thousand two hundred fifty dollars ($1,250) per month to each volunteer.

(2)Each CRC shall provide educational awards, in addition to the stipend described in paragraph (1), to volunteers, as follows:

(A)If a volunteer completes less than 12 months of full-time service in the program as determined by the CRC, the volunteer shall not receive an educational award.

(B)If a volunteer completes 12 months of full-time service in the program, as determined by the CRC, the volunteer shall receive an educational award in the amount of either of the following, as applicable:

(i)Six thousand dollars ($6,000).

(ii)If a volunteer commits to using an educational award granted pursuant to this section to complete a degree, a certificate, or training in a health care profession, or in a social services profession related to the delivery of long-term services and supports to older adults and people with disabilities or to their caregivers, ten thousand dollars ($10,000).

(C)If a volunteer completes more than 12 months of full-time service in the program, as determined by the CRC, the volunteer shall receive the educational award described in subparagraph (B). In addition, for each additional six months of service after the initial 12-month period, the volunteer shall receive a prorated amount of that award. The total educational award to a volunteer shall not exceed twelve thousand dollars ($12,000) if the award is made pursuant to clause (i) of subparagraph (B), or twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) if the award is made pursuant to clause (ii) of subparagraph (B).

(i)During the 2023 calendar year, the director and the advisory council shall evaluate the pilot program established pursuant to this section. The evaluation shall examine all of the following:

(1)Reduction in caregiver stress.

(2)Efficacy of youth caregivers.

(3)Average number of hours of caregiver respite provided.

(4)Workforce development outcomes.

(5)Percentage of recipients who reenter the workforce.

(j)This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2025, and as of that date is repealed.