15768.
(a) The Legislature finds and declares that in order to address the growing complexity of older and dependent adults receiving services in the Adult Protective Services (APS) Program for incidents of financial abuse and self-neglect, and to improve the quality and coordination of California’s elder abuse and neglect services, it is necessary for counties to bring together professionals from health, social services, justice systems, and other areas of expertise, to develop and utilize cross-disciplinary approaches for the purpose of early identification, intervention, case management, protection from, and prosecution of, perpetrators, service planning, and provision of services.(b) For the purposes of this section, the following terms have the
following meanings:
(1) “Financial Abuse Specialist Team” or “FAST” means a team composed of representatives from the county adult protective services agency, and at least three other agencies and entities responsible for investigating and preventing financial abuse of elder and dependent adults, that handles cases involving financial abuse.
(2) “Forensic center” means a cross-disciplinary group of professionals who share their expertise in partnership with county adult protective service programs to collectively review cases, make recommendations, and provide assistance to adult protective service staff on the most complex cases of elder and dependent adult abuse and neglect.
(c) (1) There is hereby established the Adult Protective Services FAST/Forensic Center Grant Program. This program shall
be administered by the State Department of Social Services.
(2) (A) Subject to an appropriation of funds for this purpose in the annual Budget Act, the department shall award grants to county adult protective services programs for the purpose of creating, enhancing, and maintaining a FAST or forensic center to serve elder and dependent adults who receive services from adult protective services programs.
(B) The department shall provide grants to counties or counties acting jointly according to criteria and procedures developed by the department, in consultation with the County Welfare Directors Association of California. Criteria shall include, but are not limited to, all of the following:
(i) Minimum and recommended components for county plans and memorandums of understanding or agreements for
county agencies and other participating entities that are required to be submitted pursuant to subdivision (e).
(ii) Technical assistance to support counties in submitting data required pursuant to subdivision (f).
(iii) Strategies for establishing or expanding a FAST or forensic center, based on available research and best practices in other jurisdictions.
(3) Grant funds awarded pursuant to this section may be used for any of the following:
(A) Hiring county staff, including, but not limited to, a project director or a project coordinator, and staff to provide case management to support interagency and cross-departmental response.
(B) Infrastructure and administrative activities related
to creating and maintaining a cross-disciplinary approach, including, but not limited to, both of the following:
(i) Securing and maintaining a site for a designated meeting space or telecommunication technology to enable remote meetings for participants.
(ii) Data collection and information sharing across agencies, including client-based data and outcome measures.
(C) Developing memorandums of understanding or agreements that describe processes for information sharing, team meetings, case assessment, decisionmaking, service provision, and other activities to be undertaken by the members of the FAST or forensic center.
(D) Providing training to county adult protective services workers to identify and refer adults who are victims of more complex cases,
including those that involve financial abuse and self-neglect, to the county’s FAST or forensic center.
(E) Support to adult protective services in training and outreach to community and county-based entities and mandated reporters to identify abuse and neglect.
(F) Retaining expertise and participation from other county or community-based agencies as members of the FAST or forensic center, intermittent consultation, or both.
(4) Participating members of the FAST or forensic center may include members of the county multidisciplinary team, as defined in Section 15610.55, or other professionals identified in the county plan submitted pursuant to subdivision (e). The composition of the FAST or forensic center may include, but is not limited to, individuals with expertise in the following professions or from the
following agencies:
(A) Adult protective services.
(B) Law enforcement agencies.
(C) Prosecutorial agencies.
(D) Public guardians, public conservators, or public administrators.
(E) Long-Term Care Ombudsman.
(F) Legal aid organizations.
(G) Victim advocates.
(H) Community mental health services.
(I) Developmental disability services.
(J) Coroner’s offices.
(K) Community care licensing.
(L) Geriatrician or health care providers.
(M) Geropsychologists or neuropsychologists.
(N) Financial and accounting services.
(5) Members of the FAST or forensic center shall provide input regarding services and supports needed for elder and dependent adults who are served by adult protect services, and may assist in linking elder and dependent adults to services that are consistent with the memorandum of agreement or understanding developed pursuant to subdivision (e).
(d) (1) Funds allocated for Adult Protective Services FAST/Forensic Center Grant Program shall not supplant
funds for existing programs.
(2) Funds shall be allocated on an annual basis, subject to funding provided in the annual Budget Act.
(3) The department, upon consultation with the County Welfare Directors Association of California, may set aside a portion of funding for use by counties, upon county request, to procure direct services to support a financial abuse investigation or for forensic investigative purposes.
(e) A county or group of counties applying for grant funding from the Adult Protective Services FAST/Forensic Center Program shall submit a plan to the department describing how the county or group of counties intends to utilize the funds. The plans shall include all of the following:
(1) The purpose and composition of the cross-disciplinary
team to serve as either a FAST or forensic center.
(2) A copy of the memorandum of understanding or agreement, if one exists, or a process to develop a memorandum of understanding or agreement to formalize collaborative partnerships across participating agencies and members. A county that is updating or creating a new memorandum of understanding or agreement shall submit a plan update upon completion.
(3) A description of how data and information will be shared between participating agencies and professionals.
(f) Counties or groups of counties to receive grant funding under this section shall submit annual reports to the department beginning September 30, 2021, and by September 30 of each calendar year thereafter. The reports shall include all of the following:
(1) Status of local memorandums of understanding or agreement, including any updates made in the course of the prior year.
(2) Demographics of clients served, including, but not limited to, the number of individuals served, the types of abuse or neglect suffered by those individuals, and outcomes of the cases.
(3) In cases of financial abuse, the estimated amount of assets preserved and recovered.
(4) The types of services provided and by which agencies or entities those services were provided.
(5) Innovative strategies relating to collaboration with other agencies and professions involved in the multidisciplinary team.
(6) The identification of further barriers and challenges
to preventing elder and dependent adult abuse and serving elder and dependent adults at risk of abuse and neglect.
(g) The department shall award grants under this section no later than March 1, 2021.
(h) Subject to the availability of funding for these purposes, a county or group of counties that does not initially receive grant funding under this section may subsequently apply for grants funds. The department shall consult with the County Welfare Directors Association of California in implementing this subdivision.