BILL NUMBER: AB 543 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 5, 2009
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 13, 2009
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Ma
(Principal coauthor: Senator Runner)
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Block)
(Coauthor: Senator Cedillo)
FEBRUARY 25, 2009
An act to amend Sections 123492 and 123493 of the Health and
Safety Code, and to repeal Section 7 of Chapter 878 of the Statutes
of 2006, relating to perinatal care, and making an appropriation
therefor.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 543, as amended, Ma. Perinatal care: The Nurse-Family
Partnership.
Existing law establishes the Nurse-Family Partnership program to
provide grants for voluntary nurse home visiting programs for
expectant first-time mothers, their children, and their families, as
specified. Existing law prohibits the use of grant moneys to match
other grants administered by the State Department of Public Health.
This bill would allow the use of Nurse-Family Partnership program
grant moneys as a match for other grants administered by the
department.
Existing law establishes the California Families and Children
Account in the State Treasury to accept private donations to pay for
the program. The account is continuously appropriated to the
department for this purpose. Existing law only allows grants to be
distributed if the Director of Finance determines that there are
sufficient funds from private donations available in the account.
Additionally, under existing law, if there are not sufficient funds
on deposit in the account by January 1, 2009, the account shall cease
to exist.
This bill would permit the department to accept federal grants for
purposes of the program. This bill would revise existing law to
permit the program to be implemented if the State Public Health
Officer determines, on or before January 1, 2014, that at least
$500,000 , including federal and private moneys, is
available for implementation of the program, including both
federal grant funds and moneys in the account. If this
determination is not made by that date, it would require that the
account cease to exist and funds in the account immediately be
distributed to each contributor.
By changing the purpose of a continuously appropriated fund, this
bill would make an appropriation.
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. Section 123492 of the Health and Safety Code is amended
to read:
123492. The department shall develop a grant application and
award grants on a competitive basis to counties for the startup,
continuation, and expansion of the program established pursuant to
Section 123491. To be eligible to receive a grant for purposes of
that section, a county shall agree to do all of the following:
(a) Serve through the program only pregnant, low-income women who
have had no previous live births. Notwithstanding subdivision (b) of
Section 123485, women who are juvenile offenders or who are clients
of the juvenile system shall be deemed eligible for services under
the program.
(b) Enroll women in the program while they are still pregnant,
before the 28th week of gestation, and preferably before the 16th
week of gestation, and continue those women in the program through
the first two years of the child's life.
(c) Use as home visitors only registered nurses who have been
licensed in the state.
(d) Have nurse home visitors undergo training according to the
program and follow the home visit guidelines developed by the
Nurse-Family Partnership program.
(e) Have nurse home visitors specially trained in prenatal care
and early child development.
(f) Have nurse home visitors follow a visit schedule keyed to the
developmental stages of pregnancy and early childhood.
(g) Ensure that, to the extent possible, services shall be
rendered in a culturally and linguistically competent manner.
(h) Limit a nurse home visitor's caseload to no more than 25
active families at any given time.
(i) Provide, for every eight nurse home visitors, a full-time
nurse supervisor who holds at least a bachelor's degree in nursing
and has substantial experience in community health nursing.
(j) Have nurse home visitors and nurse supervisors trained in
effective home visitation techniques by qualified trainers.
(k) Have nurse home visitors and nurse supervisors trained in the
method of assessing early infant development and parent-child
interaction in a manner consistent with the program.
(l) Provide data on operations, results, and expenditures in the
formats and with the frequencies specified by the department.
(m) Collaborate with other home visiting and family support
programs in the community to avoid duplication of services and
complement and integrate with existing services to the extent
practicable.
(n) Demonstrate that adoption of the Nurse-Family Partnership
program is supported by a local governmental or government-affiliated
community planning board, decisionmaking board, or advisory body
responsible for assuring the availability of effective, coordinated
services for families and children in the community.
(o) Provide cash or in-kind matching funds in the amount of 100
percent of the grant award.
SEC. 2. Section 123493 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to
read:
123493. (a) The department may accept voluntary contributions, in
cash or in-kind, to pay for the costs of the implementation of the
program under Section 123492. These private donations shall be
deposited into the California Families and Children Account, which is
hereby created in the State Treasury, which, notwithstanding Section
13340 of the Government Code, is hereby continuously appropriated to
the department for purposes of implementing Section 123492 and this
section. No moneys from the General Fund shall be used in
implementing Section 123492.
(b) The department's administration costs shall not exceed 5
percent of the moneys in the account created under subdivision (a).
Any costs to the department incurred prior to the account receiving
funds shall be reimbursed to the department from funds in the
account.
(c) The department may accept federal grants or private funds.
(d) No funds shall be expended from the account to implement
Section 123492 unless and until the State Public Health Officer
determines, by not later than January 1, 2014, that at least five
hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) , including both federal and
private funds, is available for implementation of
that section, including both federal grant funds and moneys
in the account. If the State Public Health Officer has not made a
determination on or before January 1, 2014, that at least five
hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) is available to implement Section
123492, the amount in the account shall be immediately distributed
to each contributor and the account shall cease to exist thereafter.
SEC. 3. Section 7 of Chapter 878 of the Statutes of 2006 is
repealed.