Today's Law As Amended


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SB-861 Dementia Care Navigator Grant Pilot Program.(2021-2022)



As Amends the Law Today


SECTION 1.
 The Legislature finds and declares the following:
(a) With 2.3 million Californians directly impacted by Alzheimer’s disease, there is a significant need to find innovative ways to support this population.
(b) Recent research published by the State Department of Public Health in 2021 indicates that over the next 20 years, the impact of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia will increase dramatically. While the population of California will expand by 16 percent, the population of people living with Alzheimer’s will expand by 127 percent.
(c) Research on the expansion of people living with Alzheimer’s showed communities of color will shoulder a disproportionate share of the increase in prevalence of Alzheimer’s. The number of Latinx or Hispanic Californians living with Alzheimer’s will more than triple, while the number of Black Californians living with Alzheimer’s will nearly triple by 2040. Additionally, the number of Asian American or Pacific Islanders living with Alzheimer’s will more than double.
(d) In 2020, California created its Master Plan for Aging, listing five bold goals that address “Housing for All Ages and Stages,” “Health Reimagined,” “Inclusion & Equity, Not Isolation,” “Caregiving That Works,” and “Affordable Aging.” In the goal “Health Reimagined,” the plan highlighted the needs of individuals living with Alzheimer’s in Strategy E “Dementia in Focus.” Additionally, in 2020 the state convened the Alzheimer’s Prevention and Preparedness Task Force, which set goals to address the needs of Californians living with dementia.
(e) California’s aging and disability leaders, providers, and partners must focus on culturally responsive strategies including training, data collection, and public campaigns, which should target equity and inclusion goals in workforce, service planning, and service delivery.
(f) Promotores and community health workers are liaisons between their communities and health and social service providers. Because they share the same language, culture, ethnicity, status, and experiences of their communities, promotores can reduce the barriers to health education and services that are common for native-born and immigrant communities by motivating them to participate in their own process. The result is families suffering from dementia and Alzheimer’s disease will be better served.

SEC. 2.

 Article 5 (commencing with Section 9130) is added to Chapter 2 of Division 8.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:

Article  5. Dementia Care Navigator Grant Pilot Program
9130.
 For purposes of this article, the following definitions apply:
(a) “Department” means the California Department of Aging.
(b) “Dementia care navigation training services” may include any of the following services:
(1) Helping to develop a personalized plan of care that addresses and supports the patient’s health and health-related needs.
(2) Linking family members to education, support groups, and assistive services in their community.
(3) Educating patients and their families about available local clinical trials that they may discuss with their physicians.
(4) Assessing the needs of a patient and providing information to the patient or family regarding any of the following:
(A) Safety.
(B) Legal planning.
(C) Financial planning.
(D) Transportation.
9131.
 (a) The Dementia Care Navigator Grant Pilot Program is hereby established.
(b) The purpose of the Dementia Care Navigator Grant Pilot Program is to incentivize organizations that provide services to local communities to provide dementia care navigation training services to the communities they serve.
(c)  This section shall become inoperative on July 1, 2027.
9132.
 (a) The Dementia Care Navigator Grant Pilot Program shall be administered by the department. The department shall develop the grant pilot program in partnership with organizations with expertise using community health workers, promotores, and health navigators.
(b) The department shall award grants on a competitive basis, with priority given to organizations serving underserved communities. The department shall establish minimum standards, funding schedules, and procedures for awarding grants.
(c) This section shall become inoperative on July 1, 2027.
9133.
 (a) An organization with experience using community health workers, promotores, or health navigators that wishes to provide dementia care navigation services may apply for a grant.
(b) (1) (A) An organization that receives a grant pursuant to this article shall provide to the department an annual report on the services provided on or before December 31 the year the grant is received, in a manner and format to be determined by the department.
(B) A report provided pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall include the number of individuals served, demographic data of those served, and staff trained to deliver the services.
(2) An organization that does not provide an annual report pursuant to paragraph (1) shall not be eligible for future grants pursuant to this article.
(c) This section shall become inoperative on July 1, 2027.
9134.
 The department shall provide a report to the relevant policy committees of the Legislature on organizations that have received a grant in the previous year and the services those organizations provided on or before December 1, 2027.
9135.
 Implementation of this article shall be contingent upon appropriation.
9136.
  This article shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2028, and as of that date is repealed.