BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1970
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 28, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
AB 1970 (Fong) - As Amended: April 5, 2010
Policy Committee: Human
ServicesVote:4 - 1
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: Yes
SUMMARY
This bill requires counties to assess the needs of the elderly
and disabled in emergency shelters during a declared state of
emergency and to provide and pay In-Home Supportive Services
(IHSS) providers to work with those individuals needing
services. Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires that, upon request of an emergency shelter operator,
a person designated by the county as a county social services
department representative shall assess the shelter to
determine the assistance needs of seniors and people with
disabilities at the shelter site.
2)Requires the county or a representative to contact IHSS
providers to provide assistance to seniors and persons with
disabilities in emergency shelters.
3)States that the timesheets for an IHSS provider working during
a state of emergency shall be approved by the county and
submitted to the state IHSS payroll system for payment.
4)Requires that the timesheets also be submitted by the county
to the appropriate state entity for reimbursement, if
available, using federal disaster relief funds.
5)Provides that the county representative may work with a third
party, including the public authority, in conducting the
assessment of the needs of the individuals in the shelter.
6)States that the IHSS provider who provides assistance at an
emergency shelter shall not be liable for harm caused by an
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act or omission of the provider if he or she is acting within
the scope of his or her responsibilities and the harm was not
cased by a willful or criminal act.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)During the May 2009 Jesusita fire in Santa Barbara, over
50,000 individuals were evacuated from their homes. If half
of those individuals ended up in emergency shelters until the
fire was contained (14 days) and 10% of them needed services
in the shelter because they were elderly or disabled, it
would have cost the state approximately $4 million for that
care.
2)Under general disaster relief rules, costs would be
reimbursable if they are "extraordinary." It is unclear
whether this kind of assistance would fit that definition or,
if it did, how much of it would be covered. If the federal
government does not reimburse the state for that expenditure,
the costs would be borne by the General Fund. For the Jesusita
fire, the federal government provided funding to cover 75% of
the eligible firefighting costs. Those eligible costs
included expenses for field camps; equipment use, repair and
replacement; tools, materials and supplies; and mobilization
and demobilization activities.
COMMENTS
1)Purpose . According to the author, a 2004 report by the
California State Independent Living Council found that the
emergency response plan for people with disabilities
floundered during the 2003 wildfires in which 730,000 acres of
the state burned. Moreover, during the San Bernardino fires
of 2006 there were reportedly a number of seniors and people
with disabilities who were evacuated from their residence and
were unable to utilize emergency shelter services without
assistance from shelter personnel.
According to the author, this bill, sponsored by the
California Senior Legislature, "allows for IHSS workers to
receive payment for providing services for senior and disabled
evacuees at emergency shelter locations while being free of
liability. [This bill] allows IHSS workers to provide
immediate care to senior and disabled evacuees at emergency
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shelter locations during a declared emergency using existing
emergency management funds."
This bill limits this IHSS expansion to federally declared
disasters. There are three types of federally declared
emergencies: major disaster declarations, emergency
declarations, and fire management assistance declarations. In
total there have been 188 federal declarations since 1954;
108 are fire declarations that have occurred in the last eight
years, the most recent being a major disaster declaration due
to the Southern California flooding and mudslides in March of
this year.
2)Committee Concerns . It is unclear from this legislation
whether the author intends for these types of services to be
provided at all three types of declared disasters. That
language needs to be clarified and should reference the
relevant sections of the federal Robert T. Stafford Disaster
Relief and Emergency Assistance Act.
In addition, the bill defines emergency shelters as "a
facility contracted by a county." It is unclear whether that
would limit this bill to certain emergency shelters while
excluding others, when a formal contract is not in place.
3)State Emergencies . According to a 2006 report from the Little
Hoover Commission, California is considered a high-risk state
for natural disasters. The geography, population and
development patterns of California make it prone to flooding,
fires and earthquakes.
a) Floods . Since 1992, every county has been declared a
disaster area for a flooding event at least once. Between
1992 and 1998, federally-declared floods in California
caused nearly $5 billion in damage and 78 deaths.
Population projections anticipate that over the next 20
years, 62% of the growth in the state will occur in the
Central Valley floodplain.
b) Fires . Each year, an average of 10,000 wildfires burn
half a million acres in California. Wildfire-related
financial losses have increased in recent years, exceeding
$100 million five times between 1990 and 2001. Between 1990
and 2003, wildfires damaged or destroyed almost 12,000
structures and caused 56 deaths. The Southern California
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wildfires in October and November 2003 burned 750,043
acres, killed 22 people and resulted in the allocation of
more than $200 million in federal and state recovery funds.
c) Earthquakes . Vulnerability to damage from earthquakes is
a function of the magnitude and location of a temblor and
the built environment where it occurs. Building codes for
new buildings attempt to reduce the type of damage that has
occurred in previous earthquakes. Scientists anticipate,
however, that larger earthquakes will occur in the future,
taxing current building standards.
d) Other hazards . Between 1950 and 1997, the state declared
some 400 emergencies for other events, including severe
weather conditions or storms, drought, agricultural
emergencies, energy shortages and landslides. The State's
Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan also discusses other threats
that can activate the emergency response system, including
terrorism, civil disturbances, freezes, pest infestations
and hazardous material spills.
4)In-Home Supportive Services Program . The IHSS Program helps
pay for services so that the elderly, disabled, or blind
individuals can remain in their own homes. To be eligible, an
applicant must be over 65 years of age, disabled, or blind.
Disabled children are also eligible. IHSS is considered an
alternative to out-of-home care, such as nursing homes or
board and care facilities.
IHSS services are: housecleaning, meal preparation, laundry,
grocery shopping, personal care services (such as bowel and
bladder care, bathing, grooming and paramedical services),
accompaniment to medical appointments, and protective
supervision for the mentally impaired. IHSS consists of four
programs, including: Personal Care Services Program (PCSP),
IHSS Plus Waiver Program (IPW), IHSS Residual Program (IRP),
and Medi-Cal Waiver Personal Care Program (MWPCS).
The PCSP, IPW, and IRP are administered at the county level by
county welfare departments and at the State level by the Adult
Programs Division within CDSS. The Medi-Cal Waiver Personal
Care Services (MWPCS) Program is administered through
Department of Health Care Services. A portion of the costs for
IHSS services are paid by federal funding. The entire program
consists of over 400,000 recipients and on average 325,000
AB 1970
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IHSS workers.
5)Related Legislation . SB 1451 (Kehoe; Chapter 600, Statutes of
2006) required the Office of Emergency Services (OES) to
ensure that members of the disabled community are represented
on all pertinent emergency preparedness committees.
Analysis Prepared by : Julie Salley-Gray / APPR. / (916)
319-2081