Bill Text: CA SB1259 | 2019-2020 | Regular Session | Amended

California Senate Bill 1259 (Prior Session Legislation)

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

Bill Title: Licensed adult residential facilities and residential care facilities for the elderly: SSI/SSP recipients: report.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2020-08-20 - August 20 hearing: Held in committee and under submission. [SB1259 Detail]

Download: California-2019-SB1259-Amended.html

Amended IN Senate March 25, 2020

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill

No. 1259

Introduced by Senator Hurtado

February 21, 2020

An act to ~~amend Section 1524.7 of~~ add Section 1501.5 to the Health and Safety Code, relating to care facilities.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 1259, as amended, Hurtado. ~~Residential care facilities.~~ Licensed adult residential facilities and residential care facilities for the elderly: SSI/SSP recipients: report.

Existing law, the California Community Care Facilities Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of community care facilities by the State Department of Social Services, including various adult residential facilities, as described. Existing law, the California Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of residential care facilities for the elderly, as defined, by the department.
Existing law provides for the State Supplementary Program for the Aged, Blind and Disabled (SSP), which requires the department to contract with the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services to make payments to SSP recipients to supplement Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments made available pursuant to the federal Social Security Act.
This bill would require the department to establish a task force for the purpose of issuing a report that includes recommendations on how to meet the housing and care needs of recipients of SSI/SSP benefits. The bill would require the task force to, in the report, assess the unmet demand for licensed adult residential facility and residential care facility for the elderly placements for SSI/SSP recipients within each county and recommend how to build capacity of placements to those facilities for SSI/SSP recipients, among other things. The bill would also make related findings and declarations.
Existing law requires the State Department of Social Services to provide a residential care facility with a form that includes specific information relating to services and equipment a resident is entitled to obtain from the telephone company. Existing law further requires a residential care facility to attach the form to each resident admission agreement.
~~This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to use gender-neutral language.~~

Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: NOYES 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) Over 200,000 Californians who cannot live independently due to physical limitations or behavioral health needs depend on licensed residential care facilities for housing and assistance with activities of daily living.
(b) These facilities, commonly referred to as board and care or assisted living facilities, are licensed as adult residential facilities (ARFs) or residential care facilities for the elderly (RCFEs).
(c) ARFs and RCFEs serve an important role in providing housing, care, and supervision to people who cannot safely live on their own.
(d) California is home to more than 7 million people who are 60 years of age or older, and by 2060, that population is expected to reach 14.7 million people, an increase of 88 percent from 2016.
(e) As California’s population ages and other factors increase the number of individuals with behavioral health needs, the demand for ARF and RCFE placements will increase.
(f) This is especially true as more and more communities struggle with individuals experiencing homelessness who need more than just housing. They also need care and supervision.
(g) Older adults are at greater risk of homelessness than at any time in recent history.
(h) Older adults are the fastest growing population of newly homeless.
(i) The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development’s 2019 Annual Homeless Assessment Report found that California’s homeless population increased by 16.4 percent, or an additional 21,306 individuals from 2018.
(j) The number of individuals 62 years of age or older experiencing homelessness jumped 68.5 percent from 2007 to 2017.
(k) Researchers predict that the number of older adults experiencing homelessness will continue to grow if solutions are not found.
(l) Supplemental Security Income/State Supplementary Program for the Aged, Blind, and Disabled (SSI/SSP) provides cash assistance to over 1.2 million low-income adults who are over 65 years of age, blind, or disabled.
(m) SSI/SSP benefits can be the sole factor that allows elderly and disabled individuals to avoid homelessness.
(n) Therefore, the state must act to ensure the housing and care needs of low-income older adults, adults with disabilities, and adults with serious mental illness are met.

SEC. 2.

Section 1501.5 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read:

1501.5.
(a) The department shall establish a task force for the purpose of issuing a report that includes recommendations on how to meet the housing and care needs of recipients of Supplemental Security Income/State Supplementary Payment Program for the Aged, Blind, and Disabled (SSI/SSP) benefits.
(b) The task force shall include representatives from the department, licensed adult residential facilities and residential care facilities for the elderly, and county mental health and human services departments, advocates for individuals with behavioral and mental issues, antipoverty advocates, a representative of the long-term care ombudsperson, and advocates for older adults.
(c) In developing the report, the task force shall collaborate with stakeholders.
(d) The task force shall do all of the following in the report:
(1) Identify the existing capacity for licensed adult residential facilities and residential care facilities for the elderly that serve residents who receive SSI/SSP benefits.
(2) Assess the unmet demand for licensed adult residential facility and residential care facility for the elderly placements for SSI/SSP recipients within each county.
(3) Identify gaps in the data and recommend actions that would close the data gaps.
(4) Recommend how to build the capacity of licensed adult residential facility and residential care facility for the elderly placements for SSI/SSP recipients.
(5) Identify strategies to ensure SSI/SSP recipients are residing in facilities that are appropriately licensed to meet the residents’ care needs.
(6) Make recommendations on implementing Section 1569.70.
(7) Make any other recommendations deemed appropriate by the majority of the task force members that would enhance the quantity or quality of licensed adult residential facilities and residential care facilities for the elderly that serve SSI/SSP recipients.

SECTION 1.Section 1524.7 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:
1524.7.
The State Department of Social Services shall provide to residential care facilities a form, which the residential care facility shall attach to each resident admission agreement, notifying the resident that they are entitled to obtain services and equipment from the telephone company. The form shall include the following information:
“Any hearing or speech impaired, or otherwise disabled resident of any residential care facility is entitled to equipment and service by the telephone company, pursuant to Section 2881 of the Public Utilities Code, to improve the quality of their telecommunications. Any resident who has a declaration from a licensed professional or a state or federal agency pursuant to Section 2881 of the Public Utilities Code that they are hearing or speech impaired, or otherwise disabled should contact the local telephone company and ask for assistance in obtaining this equipment and service.”
~~This section shall not be construed to require, in any way, the licensee to provide a separate telephone line for any resident.~~