Amended  IN  Assembly  April 05, 2017

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2017–2018 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill No. 1656

Introduced by Assembly Member Burke
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Dababneh)

February 17, 2017

An act to add Section 11025 Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 11025) to Part 1 of Division 3 of the Unemployment Insurance Code, relating to workforce development. development, and making an appropriation therefor.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 1656, as amended, Burke. Caregiver training initiative. Certified nurse assistant training.
Existing law establishes the Caregiver Training Initiative to develop and implement proposals designed to recruit, train, and retain health care providers such as certified nurse assistants, certified nurses, registered nurses, licensed vocational nurses, and other types of nursing and direct-care staff. Under the initiative, contracts are required to be awarded to regional collaborative programs selected through a competitive request for proposals process. Existing law requires the Employment Development Department, in consultation with the State Department of Social Services, to administer regional collaborative program selection and funding and specifies various duties of the Employment Development Department.
This bill would require the Employment Training Panel to establish a grant award program to fund training programs for certified nurse assistants by interested and qualified applicants, as specified. The bill would require, on or before July 1, 2018, the establishment of criteria for awarding grants and training program standards. The bill would also appropriate $3,000,000 from the General Fund to the Employment Training Panel to implement the grant award program.

This bill would require the department to continue to provide support to programs that were funded pursuant to the initiative and that effectively recruited and trained certified nurse assistants.

Vote: MAJORITY2/3   Appropriation: NOYES   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

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


SECTION 1.

 The Legislature hereby finds and declares all of the following:
(a) The demand for long-term care facility caregivers is growing, but the workforce supply has not kept pace. There are over 1,100 Californians turning 65 years of age every day and over 14 million people on Medi-Cal. This continued growth in the aging population will only put a greater strain on access to 24-hour nursing care.
(b) California’s skilled nursing facilities are a needed service that requires a sustainable and quality workforce to continue caring for its patient population. The California Health Care Foundation estimates that the need for nursing home beds will exceed supply by 2020.
(c) Certified nurse assistants (CNAs) are required to receive 150 hours of training, plus pass a certification exam. Most CNAs work in skilled nursing facilities. The Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development estimates that over 23,000 new CNAs will need to be hired by 2022 to meet the demand for 24-hour nursing care.
(d) Turnover rates among CNAs are very high, and in terms of wages, benefits, opportunities for advancement, and risk of injury, this caregiver occupation fares less well than competing occupations. The long-term care industry loses a significant percentage of its CNA workforce to other industries that can provide higher wages.
(e) The state needs to take action to address the nursing workforce needs in long-term care and make it a priority to fund CNA training programs.
(f) It is the intent of the Legislature to increase efforts to support caregiver training due to the increase in the workforce shortage within long-term care facilities since the enactment of Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 11020) of Part 1 of Division 3 of the Unemployment Insurance Code.

SEC. 2.

 Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 11025) is added to Part 1 of Division 3 of the Unemployment Insurance Code, to read:
CHAPTER  8. Certified Nurse Assistant Training Grants

11025.
 (a) The Employment Training Panel shall establish a grant award program to fund training programs for certified nurse assistants by interested and qualified applicants that include skilled nursing facilities and other established training programs.
(b) The Employment Training Panel shall establish criteria for awarding grants and training program standards, after consulting with representatives from the skilled nursing facility industry and certified nursing assistants. The criteria and standards shall be adopted on or before July 1, 2018.
(c) An applicant for a grant award shall do both of the following:
(1) Guarantee employment for a certified nurse assistant who successfully completes a training program established pursuant to this chapter.
(2) Provide the Employment Training Panel with evidence that the applicant has a successful training program in place and any other information required by the panel to further the purposes of this chapter.
(d) The Employment Development Department shall provide the Employment Training Panel with appropriate resources to administer the grant award program.

SEC. 3.

 The sum of three million dollars ($3,000,000) is hereby appropriated from the General Fund to the Employment Training Panel to implement the grant award program described in Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 11025) of Part 1 of Division 3 of the Unemployment Insurance Code.
SECTION 1.Section 11025 is added to the Unemployment Insurance Code, to read:
11025.

(a)It is the intent of the Legislature to increase efforts to support caregiver training due to the increase in the workforce shortage within long term care facilities since the enactment of this chapter.

(b)The Employment Development Department shall continue to provide support to programs that were funded pursuant to this chapter and that effectively recruited and trained certified nurse assistants.