BILL ANALYSIS AB 2385 Page 1 CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS AB 2385 (John A. Perez) As Amended August 17, 2010 Majority vote ----------------------------------------------------------------- |ASSEMBLY: |62-13|(June 3, 2010) |SENATE: |30-3 |(August 23, | | | | | | |2010) | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Original Committee Reference: HIGHER ED. SUMMARY : Establishes the Pilot Program for Innovative Nursing and Allied Health Care Profession Education at the California Community Colleges (Pilot Program) within the California Community Colleges (CCC) Chancellor's Office (CCCCO) to facilitate innovation in allied health and nursing educational program delivery. Specifically, this bill : 1)Requires the CCCCO to establish Pilot Programs at up to five CCCs throughout the state. 2)Requires the Pilot Program to test innovative program delivery models through the use of tools such as technology and flexible scheduling to expand the capacity of CCCs to offer health care training programs for students in fields where there is a substantial labor market demand. 3)Requires the CCCCO to pursue a variety of funding sources for the Pilot Program. 4)Requires, contingent upon the CCCCO obtaining adequate resources, the CCCCO to develop, in consultation with outlined representatives, a request for application for CCCs to participate in the Pilot Programs in high-demand allied health care or nursing programs, commencing on or after the 2011-2012 academic year and requires the CCCCO to specify baseline funding provided for Pilot Programs based upon funding received by the CCCCO. 5)Requires the CCCCO to select Pilot Programs that provide industry-recognized certified or degree training, demonstrate capacity to train specified health care workers or the ability to sustain or expand current programs with limited capacity, AB 2385 Page 2 provide evidence of adequate clinical educational sites, include high quality curriculum, provide flexibility in course scheduling, offer coordinate student support services, and identify financial resources. Requires the CCCCO to the extent possible to select Pilot Programs that are geographically distributed throughout the state. 6)Provides Legislative intent that the Pilot Programs attract a diverse and talented pool of students and provides that Pilot Program campuses may use the diagnostic assessment tool identified by the CCCCO and allows impacted Pilot Programs to administer the multicriteria screening process established in existing law and/or give preference to students who have participated in a health science pathway program. 7)Requires that Pilot Program participants are provided with various student support services, including advisors, tutors, mentors, financial assistance, and internships. 8)Provides Legislative intent that the Pilot Program be funded with state apportionment funding, employer-based partnerships, federal grants, and/or private philanthropic resources. 9)Requires the CCCCO to collect and analyze Pilot Program data and contract with an external evaluator to conduct an independent evaluation with findings and recommendations related to the effectiveness of the Pilot Program, and report to the Legislature by January 1, 2017. 10)Provides that the provisions of the bill shall be implemented in any fiscal year only to the extent that the CCCCO determines that sufficient moneys are available to administer the program. 11)Repeals all of the aforementioned provisions on January 1, 2018. The Senate amendments make various clarifying and technical changes to the Pilot Program. EXISTING LAW : Establishes an array of initiatives to address the nursing shortage in California, including: nursing educational loan assumption programs to provide loan assumption for nurses who agree to work as nursing faculty or in specified AB 2385 Page 3 nursing facilities; CCC faculty recruitment and retention programs; grants for CCC nursing programs that have low attrition rates; and programs to increase student participation in clinical rotations. AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill was substantially similar to the version approved by the Senate. FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, operation of the pilot would likely entail costs of several hundred thousand dollars per campus, likely resulting costs in the millions over the course of the pilot. Assuming a cost of $100,000 to $200,000 per campus each year, costs would range from $2.5 million to $5 million over five years. Additionally, the CCCCO estimates that costs for the evaluation would be approximately $85,000 (one time) while administrative workload would be absorbed within the costs of existing personnel. As specified in the bill, the CCCCO will seek a variety of sources to offset costs. COMMENTS : According to the 2007 Health Workforce Solutions report Closing the Health Workforce Gap in California, the allied health workforce represents more than 60 percent of the health jobs in California and more than 200 different occupations. Recent employment numbers available from California Labor Market Information Division and Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics show California has only has 73% of the pharmacists, 65% of the Medical Lab Technologists, and 62% of the Radiation Technologists and Technicians of the national average per 100,000 people. The California Employment Development Department projects that the state will need approximately 240,000 RNs by 2014. However, in recent months several news articles have identified newly graduated nurses finding it difficult to secure employment. Articles pointed to the economic downturn forcing veteran nurses to stay in their jobs longer, and some retired nurses to return to work. The stated goal of the bill is to pilot innovative program delivery and curriculum models to enable students to earn degrees and enter the workforce as quickly as possible and expand the state's capacity to train a qualified health professional workforce without compromising the integrity of program and licensure requirements. AB 2385 Page 4 Analysis Prepared by : Laura Metune / HIGHER ED. / (916) 319-3960 FN: 0006176