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AB-2069 California Home Health Aide Training Scholarship Act.(2021-2022)

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Date Published: 08/26/2022 09:00 PM
AB2069:v93#DOCUMENT

Enrolled  August 26, 2022
Passed  IN  Senate  August 23, 2022
Passed  IN  Assembly  August 24, 2022
Amended  IN  Senate  August 01, 2022
Amended  IN  Senate  June 16, 2022
Amended  IN  Assembly  April 20, 2022
Amended  IN  Assembly  April 05, 2022
Amended  IN  Assembly  March 17, 2022

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 2069

Introduced by Assembly Member Villapudua

February 14, 2022

An act to add Article 3.5 (commencing with Section 128022) to Chapter 2 of Part 3 of Division 107 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to health care.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 2069, Villapudua. California Home Health Aide Training Scholarship Act.
Existing law establishes various health professions education programs within the Department of Health Care Access and Information, through which scholarships, loan repayment grants, recruitment or training services, or other benefits are provided to certain health professionals.
This bill would create the California Home Health Aide Training Scholarship Act, to be administered by the department to incentivize enrollment in home health aide training programs. The bill would require the department to, among other things in administering the act, award scholarships of $1,500 for tuition and related costs, as provided, to up to 1,000 people. The bill would require scholarship recipients to use the scholarship funds for enrollment in a home health aide training program and related costs, to satisfy the state requirements for certification as a home health aide, and to commit to working as a home health aide for at least 1 year after becoming a certified home health aide. If a scholarship recipient fails to comply with those requirements, the bill would require the scholarship recipient to repay 25% of the scholarship funds that they received. The bill would require these provisions to be implemented only upon the appropriation of funds by the Legislature.
The bill would make related findings and declarations.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

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


SECTION 1.

 The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) California’s master plan for aging (MPA), published by the California Department of Aging, stipulates a goal titled “caregiving that works,” with a target of 1,000,000 high-quality direct care jobs by 2030. Home health aides are a vital part of the direct care workforce.
(b) The MPA notes that at some point in their lives, most Californians will seek care from families, friends, or paid caregivers.
(c) A 2018 AARP survey finds that 75 percent of those surveyed said they preferred to age in place.
(d) Home health aides provide personal care services under a plan of treatment prescribed by the patient’s physician and surgeon.
(e) The issues impacting the direct care workforce are extraordinarily complex, and include low wages; a gray or underground labor market; intricate laws regarding scope of practice; and inherent institutional inequities resulting in women, particularly Black, Indigenous, Latino, and Asian American women, performing a disproportionately large share of caregiving jobs in a profession that has been egregiously marginalized.
(f) According to the California Department of Aging’s summary of home- and community- based services spending plan proposals issued on June 3, 2021, $150,000,000 in one-time federal funds is available for direct care workforce training (not including in-home supportive services) and stipends.

SEC. 2.

 Article 3.5 (commencing with Section 128022) is added to Chapter 2 of Part 3 of Division 107 of the Health and Safety Code, to read:
Article  3.5. California Home Health Aide Training Scholarship Act

128022.
 (a) The California Home Health Aide Training Scholarship Act is hereby created to be administered by the department. The purpose of the act is to incentivize enrollment in home health aide training programs.
(b) In administering the act, the department shall do all of the following:
(1) Solicit applications from those interested in training as a home health aide.
(2) Develop an application process.
(3) Award scholarships on a rolling basis to qualified applicants.
(4) Award scholarships to up to 1,000 people.
(5) Award scholarships of one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500) per person to be used for a variety of costs related to the training program, including, but not limited to, tuition, books, supplies, uniforms, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) certification, background checks, childcare, and transportation.
(c) A scholarship recipient shall agree to do all of the following:
(1) Use the scholarship funds for enrollment in a home health aide training program and related costs.
(2) Upon completion of the home health aide training program, satisfy the state requirements for certification as a home health aide.
(3) Complete the service requirement of working for one year as a home health aide after becoming a certified home health aide.
(4) Repay 25 percent of the total scholarship funds received if the scholarship recipient fails to comply with paragraphs (1) to (3), inclusive.
(d) For purposes of subdivision (c), the scholarship recipient shall provide evidence satisfactory to the department of employment as a home health aide for the required one year.
(e) This article shall be implemented only upon the appropriation of funds by the Legislature.