BILL NUMBER: AB 2543 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 7, 2008
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 25, 2008
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 24, 2008
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Berg
(Coauthor: Assembly Member De La Torre)
FEBRUARY 22, 2008
An act to add Sections 2815.2, 4984.75, and 4996.66 to the
Business and Professions Code, and to amend Sections 128552 and
128553 of, to add Article 5 (commencing with Section 128305) and
Article 6 (commencing with Section 128310) to Chapter 4 of Part 3 of
Division 107 of, and to add Chapter 6 (commencing with Section
128559) to Part 3 of Division 107 of, the Health and Safety Code,
relating to loan assistance, and making an appropriation therefor.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2543, as amended, Berg. Geriatric and Gerontology Workforce
Expansion Act.
(1) Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of
nurses, social workers, and marriage and family therapists by
specified boards. Existing law requires those persons to pay
licensing and renewal fees for licensure, as specified.
This bill would establish the Geriatric and Gerontology Workforce
Expansion Act, which would be administered by the Office of Statewide
Health Planning and Development to provide loan repayment assistance
to nurses, social workers, and marriage and family therapists who
work in a geriatric care setting, as specified. For those purposes,
the bill would raise the licensing and renewal fees of these
licensees by $10, as specified, for deposit into the continuously
appropriated funds of the boards described above, thereby making an
appropriation.
This bill would also establish the California Geriatric and
Gerontology Student Loan Assistance Program of 2008, which would be
administered by the Office of Statewide Health Planning and
Development for purposes of providing loan assistance to students who
intend to become employed as licensed health care professionals,
social workers, or marriage and family therapists in a geriatric care
setting, as specified. Those provisions would only become operative
if appropriate funding, as determined by the office, is made
available. The bill would require the office to report annually to
the Legislature with regard to the program, as specified.
(2) Existing law establishes the Steven M. Thompson Physician
Corps Loan Repayment Program in the California Physician Corps
Program within the Health and Professions Education Foundation, which
provides financial incentives, as specified, to a physician and
surgeon for practicing in a medically underserved community. Existing
law authorizes the foundation to appoint a selection committee to
provide policy direction and guidance over the program.
This bill would require that selection committee to fill 15% of
the available positions with program applicants that agree to
practice in a geriatric care setting. These provisions would become
operative only if AB 2439 is enacted and becomes effective on or
before January 1, 2009.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: yes. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the
Geriatric and Gerontology Workforce Expansion Act.
SEC. 2. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) The population of California is aging at an exponential rate
with Californians who are 65 years of age or over reaching 6.5
million by 2010, which is over 14 percent of the total population,
and reaching over 9 million by 2020.
(b) The greatest growth within the aging population will be those
who are 85 years of age or older who will, by 2030, comprise one in
five of California's older residents.
(c) As California ages, it will become more racially and
ethnically diverse, with African Americans, Latinos, and Asian
Americans exceeding 40 percent of the older adult population, many of
whom were born outside the United States; meaning, therefore, that
there is a greater need for those providing services to older adults
to be bilingual or multilingual.
(d) It is the policy of the Mello-Granlund Older Californians Act
(Division 8.5 (commencing with Section 9000) of the Welfare and
Institutions Code) that older adults and those with disabilities live
as independent from institutions as much as possible and as long as
possible.
(e) It is the policy of the Mello-Granlund Older Californians Act
(Division 8.5 (commencing with Section 9000) of the Welfare and
Institutions Code) that to live independently, older Californians
must have an array of home and community-based services, in
conjunction with the federal Older Americans Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 3001
et seq.), that support a quality of life and saves taxpayer dollars
in contrast to the cost of institutionalization.
(f) In order to sustain an independent lifestyle for older adults,
there must be trained gerontologists and health care professionals
trained in geriatrics to address the social and health needs of older
adults as they age.
(g) At present, California faces a severe shortage of professional
and paraprofessional gerontologists and geriatricians needed to
operate programs and provide services for older adults. Currently,
there is only one board-certified physician geriatrician per 4,000
Californians who are 65 years of age or older; and currently, only 5
percent of social workers are trained in gerontology or geriatrics,
yet 62 percent of licensed social workers have, or have had, care
management responsibilities.
(h) Incentives for recruiting students into training for careers
in gerontology and geriatrics must be developed in order to fill the
gap between workforce supply and demand lest the state incur the
greater cost of institutionalization and the quality of life for
older Californians suffers.
(i) Student loan forgiveness programs are a proven method of
inducing health care professionals to pursue stipulated career fields
for a specified time in exchange for loan assistance.
SEC. 3. Section 2815.2 is added to the Business and Professions
Code, to read:
2815.2. In addition to the fees charged for initial issuance or
biennial renewal of a license pursuant to Section 2815, and at the
time those fees are charged, the board shall charge each applicant or
licensee an additional fee of ten dollars ($10) for the purposes of
the California Geriatric Registered Nurses Loan Assistance Program of
2008 (Article 5 (commencing with Section 128305) of Chapter 4 of
Part 3 of Division 107 of the Health and Safety Code). Payment of
this ten-dollar ($10) fee shall be made at the time of application
for initial licensure or biennial renewal. All fees collected
pursuant to this section shall be deposited in the Geriatric
Registered Nurses Account, as provided in Section 128305.4 of the
Health and Safety Code.
SEC. 4. Section 4984.75 is added to the Business and Professions
Code, to read:
4984.75. In addition to the fees charged for initial issuance or
biennial renewal of a license pursuant to Section 4984.7, and at the
time those fees are charged, the board shall charge each applicant or
licensee an additional fee of ten dollars ($10) for the purposes of
the California Geriatric Social Workers and Marriage and Family
Therapists Loan Assistance Program of 2008 (Article 6 (commencing
with Section 128310) of Chapter 4 of Part 3 of Division 107 of the
Health and Safety Code). Payment of this ten-dollar ($10) fee shall
be made at the time of application for initial licensure or biennial
renewal. All fees collected pursuant to this section shall be
deposited in the Geriatric Social Workers and Marriage and Family
Therapists Account, as provided in Section 128310.4 of the Health and
Safety Code.
SEC. 5. Section 4996.66 is added to the Business and Professions
Code, to read:
4996.66. In addition to the fees charged for initial issuance or
biennial renewal of a license pursuant to Section 4996.3, and at the
time those fees are charged, the board shall charge each applicant or
licensee an additional fee of ten dollars ($10) for the purposes of
the California Geriatric Social Workers and Marriage and Family
Therapists Loan Assistance Program of 2008 (Article 6 (commencing
with Section 128310) of Chapter 4 of Part 3 of Division 107 of the
Health and Safety Code). Payment of this ten-dollar ($10) fee shall
be made at the time of application for initial licensure or biennial
renewal. All fees collected pursuant to this section shall be
deposited in the Geriatric Social Workers and Marriage and Family
Therapists Account, as provided in Section 128310.4 of the Health and
Safety Code.
SEC. 6. Article 5 (commencing with Section 128305) is added to
Chapter 4 of Part 3 of Division 107 of the Health and Safety Code, to
read:
Article 5. California Geriatric Registered Nurses Loan
Assistance Program of 2008
128305. There is hereby established in the Office of Statewide
Health Planning and Development, the California Geriatric Registered
Nurses Loan Assistance Program of 2008.
128305.1. It is the intent of this article that the office, in
consultation with the board, the medical community, including
representatives of ethnic minority groups, medical schools, health
advocates, primary care clinics, public hospitals and health care
systems, statewide agencies administering state and federally funded
health programs targeting communities of older Californians, and
members of the public with health care issue-area expertise, shall
develop and implement the California Geriatric Registered Nurses Loan
Assistance Program of 2008.
128305.2. For purposes of this article, the following terms have
the following meanings:
(a) "Account" means the Geriatric Registered Nurses Account that
is contained within the fund.
(b) "Board" means the Board of Registered Nursing.
(c) "Fund" means the Board of Registered Nursing Fund.
(d) "Geriatrics" means the practice of nursing, with training in,
and application to, older adults who are 65 years of age or older or
those with disabilities.
(e) "Office" means the Office of Statewide Health Planning and
Development.
(f) "Program" means the California Geriatric Registered Nurses
Loan Assistance Program of 2008.
128305.3. (a) Program applicants shall possess a current valid
license to practice registered nursing in this state issued by the
board pursuant to Section 2742 of the Business and Professions Code.
(b) The office shall develop the guidelines for selection and
placement of applicants. The guidelines shall do all of the
following:
(1) Provide priority consideration to applicants who are trained
in, and practice, geriatric nursing, including, but not limited to,
nurses with doctorate degrees in gerontology, geriatric nurse
practitioners, and geriatric nurse clinicians, and who can meet the
cultural and linguistic needs and demands of diverse populations of
older Californians.
(2) Provide priority consideration to applicants who are
recognized as geriatric nurse practitioners or geriatric nurse
clinicians and that have recently obtained their license to practice
as a registered nurse.
(3)
(2) Give preference to applicants who have
completed a residency in nursing.
(4)
(3) Seek to place the most qualified
applicants under this section in the areas with the greatest need.
(5)
(4) Include a factor ensuring geographic
distribution of placements.
(6)
(5) Ensure that applicants may not
discriminate against those who cannot pay for medical services or
those who are funded, in part or in whole, by Medicare or Medi-Cal.
(c) Program participants shall be working in, or have a signed
agreement with, an eligible practice setting. The program participant
shall have full-time status, as defined by the office. The office
may establish exemptions to this requirement on a case-by-case basis.
(d) Program participants shall commit to a minimum of three years
of service in a geriatric care setting. Leaves of absence shall be
permitted for serious illnesses, pregnancy, or other natural causes.
The office shall develop the process for determining the maximum
permissible length of an absence and the process for reinstatement.
Loan repayment shall be deferred until the nurse is back to full-time
status.
(e) The office shall develop the process to reconcile the
loan should a nurse be unable to complete his or her three-year
obligation.
(f) The office shall develop a process for outreach to potentially
eligible applicants.
(g) The office may adopt any other standards of eligibility,
placement, or termination appropriate to achieve the aim of providing
competent health care services in geriatrics.
128305.4. (a) The Geriatric Registered Nurses Account is hereby
created in the fund.
(b) Funding for the account shall be from fees paid at the time of
initial licensure or renewal pursuant to Section 2815.2 of the
Business and Professions Code.
(c) Funds placed into the account shall be used by the office to
repay the loans of program participants pursuant to agreements made
under the program.
(1) Funds paid out for loan repayment may have a funding match
from foundation or other private sources.
(2) Loan repayments shall not exceed thirty thousand dollars
($30,000) per program participant.
(3) Loan repayments shall not exceed the amount of the educational
loans incurred by the program participant.
(d) Notwithstanding Section 11005 of the Government Code, the
office may seek and receive matching funds from foundations and
private sources to be placed into the account. The office also may
contract with an exempt foundation for the receipt of matching funds
to be transferred to the account for use by this program.
128305.5. The terms of loan repayment granted under this article
shall be as follows:
(a) After a program participant has completed one year of
providing services as a registered nurse in a geriatric setting, the
office shall provide up to seven thousand five hundred dollars
($7,500) for loan repayment.
(b) After a program participant has completed two consecutive
years of providing services as a registered nurse in a geriatric
setting, the office shall provide up to an additional ten thousand
dollars ($10,000) of loan repayment, for a total loan repayment of up
to seventeen thousand five hundred dollars ($17,500).
(c) After a program participant has completed three consecutive
years of providing services as a registered nurse in a geriatric
setting, the office shall provide up to a maximum of an additional
twelve thousand five hundred dollars ($12,500) of loan repayment, for
a total loan repayment of up to thirty thousand dollars ($30,000).
128305.6. (a) On and after January 1, 2010, applications from
registered nurses for program participation may be submitted.
(b) The office may work in conjunction with the Health Professions
Education Foundation for the implementation and administration of
this program.
(c) The office may promulgate emergency regulations to implement
the program.
SEC. 7. Article 6 (commencing with Section 128310) is added to
Chapter 4 of Part 3 of Division 107 of the Health and Safety Code, to
read:
Article 6. California Geriatric Social Workers and Marriage
and Family Therapists Loan Assistance Program of 2008
128310. There is hereby established in the Office of Statewide
Health Planning and Development, the California Geriatric Social
Workers and Marriage and Family Therapists Loan Assistance Program of
2008.
128310.1. It is the intent of this article that the office, in
consultation with the board, the medical community, including
representatives of ethnic minority groups, schools of social work,
health advocates, primary care clinics, public hospitals and health
care systems, statewide agencies administering state and federally
funded health programs targeting communities of older Californians,
and members of the public with health care issue-area expertise,
shall develop and implement the California Geriatric Social Workers
and Marriage and Family Therapists Loan Assistance Program of 2008.
128310.2. For purposes of this article, the following terms have
the following meanings:
(a) "Account" means the Geriatric Social Workers and Marriage and
Family Therapists Account that is contained within the fund.
(b) "Board" means the Board of Behavioral Sciences.
(c) "Fund" means the Behavioral Sciences Fund.
(d) "Geriatrics" means the practice of medicine
social work or marriage and family therapy , with
training in, and application to, older adults who are 65 years of age
or older or those with disabilities.
(e) "Office" means the Office of Statewide Health Planning and
Development.
(f) "Program" means the California Geriatric Social Workers and
Marriage and Family Therapists Loan Assistance Program of 2008.
128310.3. (a) Program applicants shall be registered associate
clinical social workers receiving supervision or shall possess a
current valid license to practice social work or marriage and family
therapy in this state issued by the board pursuant to Section 4980.30
or 4996.1 of the Business and Professions Code.
(b) The office shall develop the guidelines for selection and
placement of applicants. The guidelines shall do all of the
following:
(1) Provide priority consideration to applicants who are trained
in, and practice, geriatric social work or marriage and family
therapy, and who can meet the cultural and linguistic needs and
demands of diverse populations of older Californians.
(2) Provide priority consideration to applicants who have recently
obtained their license to practice marriage and family therapy or
clinical social work or be a registered associate clinical social
worker receiving supervision.
(3) Give preference to applicants who have completed an internship
in geriatric social work or marriage and family therapy.
(4) Seek to place the most qualified applicants under this section
in the areas with the greatest need.
(5) Include a factor ensuring geographic distribution of
placements.
(6) Ensure that applicants may not discriminate against those who
cannot pay for medical services or those who are funded, in part or
in whole, by Medicare or Medi-Cal.
(c) Program participants shall be working in, or have a signed
agreement with, an eligible practice setting. The program participant
shall have full-time status, as defined by the office. The office
may establish exemptions to this requirement on a case-by-case basis.
(d) Program participants shall commit to a minimum of three years
of service in a geriatric care setting. Leaves of absence shall be
permitted for serious illnesses, pregnancy, or other natural causes.
The office shall develop the process for determining the maximum
permissible length of an absence and the process for reinstatement.
Loan repayment shall be deferred until the participant is back to
full-time status.
(e) The office shall develop the process to
reconcile the loan should a participant be unable to complete
his or her three-year obligation.
(f) The office shall develop a process for outreach to potentially
eligible applicants.
(g) The office may adopt any other standards of eligibility,
placement, or termination appropriate to achieve the aim of providing
competent social services in geriatrics.
128310.4. (a) The Geriatric Social Workers and Marriage and
Family Therapists Account is hereby created in the fund.
(b) Funding for the account shall be from fees paid at the time of
initial licensure or renewal pursuant to Sections 4984.75 and
4996.66 of the Business and Professions Code.
(c) Funds placed into the account shall be used by the office to
repay the loans of program participants pursuant to agreements made
under the program.
(1) Funds paid out for loan repayment may have a funding match
from foundation or other private sources.
(2) Loan repayments shall not exceed thirty thousand dollars
($30,000) per program participant.
(3) Loan repayments shall not exceed the amount of the educational
loans incurred by the program participant.
(d) Notwithstanding Section 11005 of the Government Code, the
office may seek and receive matching funds from foundations and
private sources to be placed into the account. The office also may
contract with an exempt foundation for the receipt of matching funds
to be transferred to the account for use by this program.
128310.5. The terms of loan repayment granted under this article
shall be as follows:
(a) After a program participant has completed one year of
providing services as a licensed marriage and family therapist or a
licensed or associate clinical social worker in a geriatric setting,
the office shall provide up to seven thousand five hundred dollars
($7,500) for loan repayment.
(b) After a program participant has completed two consecutive
years of providing services as a licensed marriage and family
therapist or a licensed or associate clinical social worker in a
geriatric setting, the office shall provide up to an additional ten
thousand dollars ($10,000) of loan repayment, for a total loan
repayment of up to seventeen thousand five hundred dollars ($17,500).
(c) After a program participant has completed three consecutive
years of providing services as a licensed marriage and family
therapist or a licensed or associate clinical social worker in a
geriatric setting, the office shall provide up to a maximum of an
additional twelve thousand five hundred dollars ($12,500) of loan
repayment, for a total loan repayment of up to thirty thousand
dollars ($30,000).
128310.6. (a) On and after January 1, 2010, applications from
marriage and family therapists, registered associate social workers,
and licensed social workers for program participation may be
submitted.
(b) The office may work in conjunction with the Health Professions
Education Fund in the implementation and administration of this
program.
(c) The office may promulgate emergency regulations to implement
the program.
SEC. 8. Section 128552 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to
read:
128552. For purposes of this article, the following definitions
shall apply:
(a) "Account" means the Medically Underserved Account for
Physicians established within the Health Professions Education Fund
pursuant to this article.
(b) "Foundation" means the Health Professions Education
Foundation.
(c) "Fund" means the Health Professions Education Fund.
(d) "Medi-Cal threshold languages" means primary languages spoken
by limited-English-proficient (LEP) population groups meeting a
numeric threshold of 3,000, eligible LEP Medi-Cal beneficiaries
residing in a county, 1,000 Medi-Cal eligible LEP beneficiaries
residing in a single ZIP Code, or 1,500 LEP Medi-Cal beneficiaries
residing in two contiguous ZIP Codes.
(e) "Medically underserved area" means an area defined as a health
professional shortage area in Part 5 of Subchapter A of Chapter 1 of
Title 42 of the Code of Federal Regulations or an area of the state
where unmet priority needs for physicians exist as determined by the
California Healthcare Workforce Policy Commission pursuant to Section
128225.
(f) "Medically underserved population" means the Medi-Cal program,
Healthy Families Program, and uninsured populations.
(g) "Office" means the Office of Statewide Health Planning and
Development (OSHPD).
(h) "Physician Volunteer Program" means the Physician Volunteer
Registry Program established by the Medical Board of California.
(i) "Practice setting" means either of the following:
(1) A community clinic as defined in subdivision (a) of Section
1204 and subdivision (c) of Section 1206, a clinic owned or operated
by a public hospital and health system, or a clinic owned and
operated by a hospital that maintains the primary contract with a
county government to fulfill the county's role pursuant to Section
17000 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, which is located in a
medically underserved area and at least 50 percent of whose patients
are from a medically underserved population.
(2) A medical practice located in a medically underserved area and
at least 50 percent of whose patients are from a medically
underserved population.
(j) "Primary specialty" means family practice, internal medicine,
pediatrics, geriatrics, or obstetrics/gynecology.
(k) "Program" means the Steven M. Thompson Physician Corps Loan
Repayment Program.
(l) "Selection committee" means a minimum three-member committee
of the board, that includes a member that was appointed by the
Medical Board of California.
SEC. 9. Section 128553 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to
read:
128553. (a) Program applicants shall possess a current valid
license to practice medicine in this state issued pursuant to Section
2050 of the Business and Professions Code.
(b) The foundation, in consultation with those identified in
subdivision (b) of Section 123551, shall use guidelines developed by
the Medical Board of California for selection and placement of
applicants until the office adopts other guidelines by regulation.
(c) The guidelines shall meet all of the following criteria:
(1) Provide priority consideration to applicants that are best
suited to meet the cultural and linguistic needs and demands of
patients from medically underserved populations and who meet one or
more of the following criteria:
(A) Speak a Medi-Cal threshold language.
(B) Come from an economically disadvantaged background.
(C) Have received significant training in cultural and
linguistically appropriate service delivery.
(D) Have three years of experience working in medically
underserved areas or with medically underserved populations.
(E) Have recently obtained a license to practice medicine.
(2) Include a process for determining the needs for physician
services identified by the practice setting and for ensuring that the
practice setting meets the definition specified in subdivision (h)
of Section 128552.
(3) Give preference to applicants who have completed a three-year
residency in a primary specialty.
(4) Seek to place the most qualified applicants under this section
in the areas with the greatest need.
(5) Include a factor ensuring geographic distribution of
placements.
(d) (1) The foundation may appoint a selection committee that
provides policy direction and guidance over the program and that
complies with the requirements of subdivision (l) of Section 128552.
(2) The selection committee may fill up to 20 percent of the
available positions with program applicants from specialties outside
of the primary care specialties.
(3) The selection committee shall fill 15 percent of the available
positions with program applicants that agree to practice in a
geriatric care setting. Priority consideration shall be given to
applicants who are trained in, and practice, geriatrics, and who can
meet the cultural and linguistic needs and demands of diverse
populations of older Californians.
(e) Program participants shall meet all of the following
requirements:
(1) Shall be working in or have a signed agreement with an
eligible practice setting.
(2) Shall have full-time status at the practice setting. Full-time
status shall be defined by the board and the selection committee may
establish exemptions from this requirement on a case-by-case basis.
(3) Shall commit to a minimum of three years of service in a
medically underserved area. Leaves of absence shall be permitted for
serious illness, pregnancy, or other natural causes. The selection
committee shall develop the process for determining the maximum
permissible length of an absence and the process for reinstatement.
Loan repayment shall be deferred until the physician is back to
full-time status.
(f) The office shall adopt a process that applies if a
physician is to reconcile the loan should a physician
be unable to complete his or her three-year obligation.
(g) The foundation, in consultation with those identified in
subdivision (b) of Section 128551, shall develop a process for
outreach to potentially eligible applicants.
(h) The foundation may recommend to the office any other standards
of eligibility, placement, and termination appropriate to achieve
the aim of providing competent health care services in approved
practice settings.
SEC. 10. Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 128559) is added to
Part 3 of Division 107 of the Health and Safety Code, to read:
CHAPTER 6. CALIFORNIA GERIATRIC AND GERONTOLOGY STUDENT LOAN
ASSISTANCE PROGRAM OF 2008
128559. This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the
California Geriatric and Gerontology Student Loan Assistance Program
of 2008.
128559.1. It is the intent of this chapter that the Office of
Statewide Health Planning and Development, in consultation with the
Medical Board of California, state allied health professional and
behavioral sciences licensing boards, postsecondary schools of health
sciences and social work, health advocates representing diverse
ethnic communities, primary care clinics, public hospitals and health
care systems, statewide agencies administering state and federally
funded programs targeting treatment and services for older adults,
and members of the public with health care issue-area expertise,
shall develop and implement the program.
128559.2. (a) There is hereby established in the Office of
Statewide Health Planning and Development, the California Geriatric
and Gerontology Student Loan Assistance Program of 2008.
(b) The Office of Statewide Health Planning and
Development shall operate the program in accordance with, but not
limited to, the following:
(1) Increased efforts in educating students trained in geriatrics
and gerontology of the need for health care and social work
professionals to meet the demands of the exponential increase in the
older adult population, and of programs that are available that
provide incentives, financial and otherwise, to practice in settings
and areas in need.
(2) Strategic collaboration with California postsecondary schools
of health sciences and social work to better prepare health care
professionals and social workers to meet the distinctive cultural and
medical needs of California's older adult populations.
(3) Establish, encourage, and expand programs for students of the
health care and social work professions for mentoring at primary and
secondary schools, and college levels to increase the number of
students entering the studies of health professions and social work
with a concentration in geriatrics or gerontology.
(4) Administer financial or other incentives to encourage new or
experienced health care professionals and social workers to practice
in the fields of geriatrics and gerontology.
128559.3. For purposes of this chapter:
(a) "Office" means the Office of Statewide Health Planning and
Development.
(b) "Program" means the California Geriatric and Gerontology
Student Loan Assistance Program of 2008.
128559.4. (a) The office shall administer the program. Any
individual enrolled in an institution of postsecondary education
participating in the programs set forth in this chapter may be
eligible to receive a conditional warrant for loan repayment, to be
redeemed upon becoming employed as a licensed health professional,
marriage and family therapist, or social worker or registered
associate social worker in a setting serving primarily older adult
populations. In order to be eligible to receive a conditional loan
repayment warrant, an applicant shall satisfy all of the following
conditions:
(1) The applicant has been judged by his or her postsecondary
institution to have outstanding ability on the basis of criteria that
may include, but not be limited to, any of the following:
(A) Grade point average.
(B) Test scores.
(C) Faculty evaluations.
(D) Interviews.
(E) Other recommendations.
(2) In order to meet the costs associated with obtaining a health
professional or social work degree, the applicant has received, or is
approved to receive, a loan under one or more of the following
designated loan programs:
(A) The Federal Family Education Loan Program (10 U.S.C. Sec. 1071
et seq.).
(B) Any loan program approved by the Student Aid Commission.
(3) The applicant has agreed to provide services as a licensed
health professional, marriage and family therapist, or social worker,
or to be registered as an associate clinical social worker with
satisfactory progress toward licensure, for up to three consecutive
years, after obtaining a license or associate registration from the
applicable state health professional or behavioral science
sciences licensing board, in a setting providing
health or social services primarily to older adults.
(4) The applicant has agreed that he or she shall not discriminate
against any patient or client who cannot pay for services or those
who are funded, in part or in whole, by Medicare or Medi-Cal.
(b) The office shall ensure that priority consideration be given
to applicants who are best suited to meet the cultural and linguistic
needs and demands of geriatric populations and who meet one or more
of the following criteria:
(1) Have received significant training in cultural and
linguistically appropriate service delivery.
(2) Have done a clinical rotation or social work internship, of at
least two semesters, serving older adult populations.
(c) A person participating in the program pursuant to this chapter
shall not receive more than one warrant.
(d) The office shall adopt rules and regulations regarding the
reallocation of warrants if a participating institution is unable to
utilize its allocated warrants or is unable to distribute them within
a reasonable time period.
128559.5. (a) The office shall develop the process to redeem an
applicant's warrant and commence loan repayment.
(b) The office shall distribute student applications to
participate in the program to postsecondary institutions eligible to
participate in the state and federal financial aid programs and that
have a program of professional preparation for health care
professionals, social workers, or marriage and family therapists.
(c) Each participating institution shall sign an institutional
agreement with the office, certifying its intent to administer the
program according to all applicable published rules, regulations, and
guidelines, and shall make special efforts to notify students
regarding the availability of the program particularly to
economically disadvantaged students.
(d) To the extent feasible, the office and each participating
institution shall coordinate this program with other existing
programs designed to recruit or encourage students to enter the
health care, social work, or marriage and family therapy profession.
These programs shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
(1) The Song-Brown Family Physician Training Act (Article 1
(commencing with Section 128200) of Chapter 4).
(2) The Health Education and Academic Loan Act (Article 2
(commencing with Section 128250) of Chapter 4).
(3) The National Health Service Corps.
128559.6. (a) The office shall administer the program and shall
adopt rules and regulations for that purpose. The rules and
regulations shall include, but not be limited to, provisions
regarding the period of time for which a warrant shall remain valid,
the reallocation of warrants that are not utilized, and the
development of projections for funding purposes.
(b) The office shall work in conjunction with lenders
participating in federal or similar loan programs to develop a
streamlined application process for participation in the program.
128559.7. (a) The office shall establish a fund to utilize for
the purposes of this chapter.
(b) The office may seek matching funds from foundations and
private sources. The office may also contract with an exempt
foundation for the receipt of matching funds to be transferred to the
fund for use by this program.
(c) The provisions of this chapter shall not become operative
unless appropriate funding, as determined by the office, is made
available.
128559.8. (a) On or before January 31 of each year, the office
shall provide an annual report to the Legislature regarding the
program that includes all of the following:
(1) The number of program participants by profession.
(2) Practice locations.
(3) The amount expended for the program.
(4) Information on annual performance reviews by the practice
setting and program participants.
(5) An evaluation of the program's effectiveness in improving
access to health and social services for older adults.
(6) Recommendations for maintaining or expanding the program.
(b) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2010.
SEC. 11. Sections 8 and 9 of this act shall become operative only
if Assembly Bill 2439 of the 2007-08 Regular Session is enacted and
becomes effective on or before January 1, 2009.