BILL NUMBER: AB 2663	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 24, 2008

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member  Furutani  
Dymally 

                        FEBRUARY 22, 2008

    An act to amend Section 1506 of the Health and Safety
Code, relating to care facilities.   An act to add
Section 1   4132.985 to the Welfare and Institutions Code,
relating to Medi-Cal. 



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2663, as amended,  Furutani   Dymally
 .  Foster family agencies.   Medi-Cal:
clinical trials: stem cell investigations.  
   Existing law provides for the Medi-Cal program, which is
administered by the State Department of Health Care Services, under
which qualified low-income individuals receive health care services.
Under existing law, routine health care costs related to the
treatment of a beneficiary who is diagnosed with cancer and accepted
in a clinical trial are covered under the Medi-Cal program, if
certain requirements are met.  
   This bill would enact similar provisions for the coverage under
the Medi-Cal program of routine health care costs for a beneficiary
who is diagnosed with any condition that is the subject of a stem
cell investigation that seeks to find a potential therapeutic benefit
or cure for that condition, and who is accepted in a clinical trial,
as provided.  
   Existing law provides for the licensure of community care
facilities, including, among others, foster family homes, through the
State Department of Social Services. Under existing law, foster
family agencies certify foster family homes and find homes or other
placements for children. Existing law specifies how foster family
agencies are required to carry out these functions. 

   This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to these
provisions. 
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee:  no
  yes  . State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   SECTION 1.    Section 14132.985 is added to the 
 Welfare and Institutions Code   , to read:  
   14132.985.  (a) For a beneficiary who is diagnosed with any
condition that is the subject of a stem cell investigation that seeks
to find a potential therapeutic benefit or cure for that condition,
and who is accepted into a phase I, phase II, phase III, or phase IV
clinical trial for that condition, the Medi-Cal program shall provide
coverage for all routine patient care costs related to the clinical
trial if the beneficiary's treating physician, who is providing
covered health care services to the beneficiary under the Medi-Cal
program, recommends participation in the clinical trial after
determining that participation in the clinical trial has a meaningful
potential to benefit the beneficiary.
   (b) For purposes of this section:
   (1) "Routine patient care costs" means the costs associated with
the provision of health care services, including drugs, items,
devices, and services that would otherwise be covered under the
Medi-Cal program if those drugs, items, devices, and services were
not provided in connection with an approved clinical trial program,
including all of the following:
   (A) Health care services typically provided absent a clinical
trial.
   (B) Health care services required solely for the provision of the
investigational drug, item, device, or service.
   (C) Health care services required for the clinically appropriate
monitoring of the investigational item or service.
   (D) Health care services provided for the prevention of
complications arising from the provision of the investigational drug,
item, device, or service.
   (E) Health care services needed for the reasonable and necessary
care arising from the provision of the investigational drug, item,
device, or service, including the diagnosis or treatment of the
complications.
   (2) "Routine patient care costs" does not include the costs
associated with the provision of any of the following:
   (A) Drugs or devices that have not been approved by the federal
Food and Drug Administration and that are associated with the
clinical trial.
   (B) Services other than health care services, such as travel,
housing, companion expenses, and other nonclinical expenses, that a
beneficiary may require as a result of the treatment being provided
for purposes of the clinical trial, except as required under the
Medicaid Program (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1396a et seq.).
   (C) Any item or service that is provided solely to satisfy data
collection and analysis needs and that is not used in the clinical
management of the patient.
   (D) Health care services that, except for the fact that they are
being provided in a clinical trial, are otherwise specifically
excluded from coverage by the Medi-Cal program.
   (E) Health care services customarily provided by the research
sponsors free of charge for any beneficiary in the trial.
   (c) The treatment shall be provided in a clinical trial that
either:
   (1) Involves a drug that is exempt under federal regulations from
a new drug application.
   (2) Is approved by one of the following:
   (A) One of the National Institutes of Health.
   (B) The federal Food and Drug Administration, in the form of an
investigational new drug application.
   (C) The United States Department of Defense.
   (D) The United States Veterans' Administration.
   (d) This section shall apply only to Medi-Cal beneficiaries who
are recommended by their treating physician to participate in a
clinical trial in California, unless the protocol for the clinical
trial is not provided for at a California hospital or by a California
physician.
   (e) The provision of services when required by this section shall
not, in itself, give rise to liability on the part of the Medi-Cal
program.  
  SECTION 1.    Section 1506 of the Health and
Safety Code is amended to read:
   1506.  (a) (1) Any holder of a valid license issued by the
department that authorizes the licensee to engage in any foster
family agency functions, may use only a certified family home that
has been certified by that agency or a licensed foster family home
approved for this use by the licensing county pursuant to Section
1506.5.
   (2) Any home selected and certified for the reception and care of
children by that licensee shall not, during the time it is certified
and used only by that agency for these placements or care, be subject
to Section 1508. A certified family home may not be concurrently
licensed as a foster family home or as any other licensed residential
facility.
   (3) A child with a developmental disability who is placed in a
certified family home by a foster family agency that is operating
under agreement with the regional center responsible for that child
may remain in the certified family home after the age of 18 years.
The determination regarding whether and how long he or she may remain
as a resident after the age of 18 years shall be made through the
agreement of all parties involved, including the resident, the foster
parent, the foster family agency social worker, the resident's
regional center case manager, and the resident's parent, legal
guardian, or conservator, as appropriate. This determination shall
include a needs and service plan that contains an assessment of the
child's needs to ensure continued compatibility with the other
children in placement. The needs and service plan shall be completed
no more than six months prior to the child's eighteenth birthday. The
assessment shall be documented and maintained in the child's file
with the foster family agency.
   (b) (1) A foster family agency shall certify to the department
that the home has met the department's licensing standards. A foster
family agency may require a family home to meet additional standards
or be compatible with its treatment approach.
   (2) The foster family agency shall issue a certificate of approval
to the certified family home upon its determination that the home
has met the standards established by the department and before the
placement of any child in the home. The certificate shall be valid
for a period not to exceed one year. The annual recertification shall
require a certified family home to complete at least 12 hours of
structured applicable training or continuing education. At least one
hour of training during the first six months following initial
certification shall be dedicated to meeting the requirements of
paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 11174.1 of the Penal
Code.
   (3) If the agency determines that the home no longer meets the
standards, it shall notify the department and the local placing
agency.
   (c) The department shall develop licensing regulations
differentiating between foster family agencies that provide treatment
of children in foster families and those that provide nontreatment
services.
   (d) As used in this chapter, "certified family home" means a
family residence certified by a licensed foster family agency and
issued a certificate of approval by that agency as meeting licensing
standards, and used only by that foster family agency for placements.

   (e) (1) Requirements for social work personnel for a foster family
agency shall be a master's degree from an accredited or state
approved graduate school in social work or social welfare, or
equivalent education and experience, as determined by the state
department.
   (2) Persons who possess a master's degree from an accredited or
state approved graduate school in any of the following areas, or
equivalent education and experience, as determined by the state
department, shall be considered to be qualified to perform social
work activities in a foster family agency:
   (A) Marriage, family, and child counseling.
   (B) Child psychology.
   (C) Child development.
   (D) Counseling psychology.
   (E) Social psychology.
   (F) Clinical psychology.
   (G) Educational psychology, consistent with the scope of practice
as described in Section 4986.10 of the Business and Professions Code.

   (H) Education, with emphasis on counseling.
   (f) (1) In addition to the degree specifications in subdivision
(e), all of the following coursework and field practice or
experience, as defined in departmental regulations, shall be required
of all new hires for the position of social work personnel effective
January 1, 1995:
   (A) At least three semester units of field practice at the master'
s level or six months' full-time equivalent experience in a public or
private social service agency setting.
   (B) At least nine semester units of coursework related to human
development or human behavior, or, within the first year of
employment, experience working with children and families as a major
responsibility of the position under the supervision of a supervising
social worker.
   (C) At least three semester units in working with minority
populations or six months of experience in working with minority
populations or training in cultural competency and working with
minority populations within the first six months of employment as a
condition of employment.
   (D) At least three semester units in child welfare or at least six
months of experience in a public or private child welfare social
services setting for a nonsupervisory social worker. A supervising
social worker shall have two years' experience in a public or private
child welfare social services setting.
   (2) (A) Persons who do not meet the requirements specified in
subdivision (e) or (f) may apply for an exception as provided for in
subdivisions (g) and (h).
   (B) Exceptions granted by the department prior to January 1, 1995,
shall remain in effect.
   (3) (A) Persons who are hired as social work personnel on or after
January 1, 1995, who do not meet the requirements listed in this
subdivision shall be required to successfully meet those requirements
in order to be employed as social work personnel in a foster family
agency.
   (B) Employees who were hired prior to January 1, 1995, shall not
be required to meet the requirements of this subdivision in order to
remain employed as social work personnel in a foster family agency.
   (4) Coursework and field practice or experience completed to
fulfill the degree requirements of subdivision (e) may be used to
satisfy the requirements of this subdivision.
   (g) Individuals seeking an exception to the requirements of
subdivision (e) or (f) based on completion of equivalent education
and experience shall apply to the department by the process
established by the department.
   (h) The State Department of Social Services shall be required to
complete the process for the exception to minimum education and
experience requirements described in subdivisions (e) and (f) within
30 days of receiving the exception application of social work
personnel or supervising social worker qualifications from the foster
family agency.
   (i) The department shall review the feasibility of instituting a
licensure category to cover foster homes that are established
specifically to care for and supervise adults with developmental
disabilities, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 4512 of the
Welfare and Institutions Code, to prevent the institutionalization of
those individuals.
   (j) For purposes of this section, "social work personnel" means
supervising social workers as well as nonsupervisory social workers.