Bill Text: CA AB2374 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: In-Home Supportive Services: pilot project.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2010-08-11 - In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author. [AB2374 Detail]
Download: California-2009-AB2374-Amended.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 2374 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 5, 2010
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Nestande
FEBRUARY 19, 2010
An act to amend Section 12315 of the Welfare and Institutions
Code, relating to public social services.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2374, as amended, Nestande. In-Home Supportive Services: pilot
project.
Existing law provides for the county-administered In-Home
Supportive Services (IHSS) program, under which qualified aged,
blind, and disabled persons receive services enabling them to remain
in their own homes. Existing law permits services to be provided
under the IHSS program either through the employment of individual
providers, a contract between the county and an entity for the
provision of services, the creation by the county of a public
authority, or a contract between the county and a nonprofit
consortium.
Existing law requires, commencing January 1, 2009, the
establishment of a pilot project in 5 consenting counties under which
the project provides severely impaired IHSS recipients, as
described, with the choice to receive in-home supportive services
either through a public authority or a contracting voluntary
nonprofit or proprietary agency, as specified.
This bill would, instead, require the pilot project to commence
January 1, 2011, and would expand participation in the pilot
project to all IHSS recipients rather than limiting participation to
only those that are severely impaired authorize the
pilot project to be established in not more than 5 consenting
counties .
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 12315 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
12315. (a) (1) Commencing January 1, 2011, a pilot project shall
be established in up to five consenting counties that
provides severely impaired recipients who receive in-home
supportive services under this article through the public authority,
as described in Section 12301.6, with a choice of receiving services
through the public authority or receiving services through a
voluntary nonprofit or proprietary agency pursuant to Section 12302.
The pilot project shall be developed to provide
services to severely impaired recipients, as described in Section
12303.4.
(2) To accomplish this end, the five consenting
counties shall administer the In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS)
program through a public authority pursuant to Section 12301.6.
(3) (A) Following the submission of input and recommendations of
the IHSS advisory committee for the county, each participating
county, with the consent of the public authority in that county, or
the public authority, with the consent of the participating county,
shall contract with a voluntary nonprofit or proprietary agency,
pursuant to Section 12302.
(B) Recipients Severely
impaired recipients in each participating county may continue
to receive supportive services through the county's public authority,
or may choose to receive services through the voluntary nonprofit or
proprietary agency, pursuant to paragraph (1). Recipients who choose
to receive services through the voluntary nonprofit or proprietary
agency shall be compensated only for those services described in the
recipients' then-existing care plan, as approved by the county social
worker.
(4) Administrative costs of the pilot project, including the cost
of developing guidelines other than the guidelines in this section
and the cost of administering the project and providing oversight,
shall not be paid by the state. Instead, an estimate of
administrative costs shall be included in the county request for
proposal for each contract with the voluntary nonprofit or
proprietary agency and administrative costs shall then be paid by the
agency up to the amount estimated unless the county and agency reach
an alternative cost-sharing agreement in the contract that does not
involve state participation.
(b) (1) (A) For purposes of this section, to the extent possible,
all providers employed by the voluntary nonprofit or proprietary
agency shall be persons previously listed on the public authority's
registry. The agency shall, pursuant to the contract, continually
recruit and provide the public authority with names of new workers
for the registry.
(B) The voluntary nonprofit or proprietary agency in each
participating county shall provide for training for all providers
recruited pursuant to this paragraph. A public authority may retain
the voluntary nonprofit or proprietary agency to provide these
services for and under the direction of the public authority. A
public authority shall not be eligible to receive reimbursement for
any costs associated with administering the pilot project. This shall
not prohibit any public authority from using the funding it receives
pursuant to paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) for newsletters and
other means of communication about training opportunities available
through the voluntary nonprofit or proprietary agency.
(C) All providers employed by the voluntary nonprofit or
proprietary agency shall be paid no less than the wages and benefits
provided for in the public authority's collective bargaining
agreement, provided that this provision shall not obligate the state
to participate in a contract rate higher than the maximum allowable
contract rate. However, providers employed by the voluntary nonprofit
or proprietary agency are not covered by any existing collective
bargaining agreements with the public authority.
(2) A voluntary nonprofit or proprietary agency that contracts
with a participating county pursuant to subdivision (a) shall perform
all of the following duties:
(A) Maintain a live, on-call emergency service response system
that is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
(B) Replace or supplement providers for a recipient who needs
immediate service for the sake of preserving his or her health or
safety within two hours of notification.
(C) To the extent possible, employ the recipient's preferred
provider or providers.
(D) If required by the county, provide emergency backup services
to severely impaired IHSS recipients when there is an
unexpected interruption in services.
(E) Maintain a list of its providers with the public authority.
(F) Establish and maintain an upskilling program, based on
practices in existing agency contracts, wherein employees may have
the opportunity to use work experience and training toward upward
movement on a long-term care career ladder. Any costs associated with
the development and maintenance of the upskilling program shall be
paid solely by the voluntary nonprofit or proprietary agency.
(G) Be liable for any fraud, waste, or abuse for which it is
responsible.
(3) For the duration of the pilot project, supportive services not
provided in any month due to hospitalization, illness, refusal, or
other cause not within the control of the provider shall not be made
up in a subsequent period without caseworker approval.
(c) (1) In each participating county, the IHSS advisory committee,
as described in Section 12301.3, shall monitor the pilot program.
(2) Each participating county shall not be eligible to receive
state reimbursement of administrative costs associated with
monitoring the pilot program. Any administrative costs incurred by a
public authority for monitoring the pilot project shall be paid to
the public authority pursuant to paragraph (4) of subdivision (a).
Any advisory committee expenses incurred as a result of this pilot
project, if determined to be reimbursable to the county, shall be
reimbursed with the current advisory committee allocation.
(3) Each county pilot project shall continue for four years,
provided that if a county takes action to terminate a contract for
cause, as defined in the contract, it may then terminate its
participation in the pilot project. By the end of the third year,
each participating county shall provide for an independent evaluation
to assess the success of the pilot program, based on all of the
following criteria:
(A) Consumer satisfaction.
(B) Cost-effectiveness.
(C) Average turnover of providers.
(D) The effect of the pilot project on non-IHSS vendors, workers,
and referral agencies.
(E) Worker satisfaction.
(F) The extent to which counties identify, refer to, and work with
appropriate agencies in investigation, administrative action, or
prosecution of instances of fraud, as defined in subdivision (a) of
Section 12305.8, in the provision of supportive services.
(d) All costs associated with the independent evaluation shall be
paid solely by the voluntary nonprofit or proprietary agency.
(e) The independent evaluation shall be sent directly to the
appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature.
(f) County social workers shall continue to establish eligibility,
needs, and frequency of service and serve as recipient advocates, as
appropriate.
