CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill No. 440

Introduced by Senator Pan

February 21, 2019

An act to add Chapter 19 (commencing with Section 18999.9) to Part 6 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to cognitive impairment.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SB 440, as introduced, Pan. Cognitive Impairment Safety Net System Task Force.
Existing law establishes adult day health care as a Medi-Cal benefit and allows adults eligible to receive those benefits and who have medical or psychiatric impairments, including cognitive impairments, to receive adult day health care services. Existing law defines cognitive impairment to mean, among other attributes, the loss or deterioration of intellectual capacity characterized by impairments in short-term or long-term memory, language, and concentration and attention, including, but not limited to, mild cognitive impairment, Alzheimer’s disease or other form of dementia, or brain injury.
This bill would require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to convene a task force to study and assess NO  

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


SECTION 1.

 Chapter 19 (commencing with Section 18999.9) is added to Part 6 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:
CHAPTER  19. Cognitive Impairment Safety Net System Task Force

18999.9.
 (a) The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall convene a task force to study and assess the need for a cognitive impairment safety net system to serve at-risk adults with cognitive impairment. For purposes of this section, “cognitive impairment” includes dementia, traumatic brain injury, and those diagnosed with a developmental disability after 18 years of age.
(b) The task force shall include, at a minimum, all of the following:
(1) Individuals with cognitive impairment, which may include family members of those individuals.
(2) Representatives from systems and programs that often come into contact with this population, including, but not limited to, developmental services, health, public health, mental health, human services, and a public guardian, public conservator, or public administrator.
(3) Representatives from stakeholder groups that have an interest in meeting the needs of this population.
(c) Duties of the task force shall include all of the following:
(1) Determining the short-term and long-term services needed by this population, including, but not limited to, meeting more immediate needs, such as mental health, health, and developmental disabilities, and long-term supports and services, including ongoing case management, supportive housing or adult placement similar to foster care, and caregiver support.
(2) Consider options for expanding existing services or developing new service structures to support the population, including options for financing.

18999.10.
 The task force created pursuant to this chapter shall present its findings in a written report with recommendations to both the Legislature and the Governor on or before January 1, 2021, in accordance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.