BILL ANALYSIS ------------------------------------------------------------ |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2435| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ------------------------------------------------------------ THIRD READING Bill No: AB 2435 Author: Bonnie Lowenthal (D) Amended: 6/16/10 in Senate Vote: 21 SENATE BUSINESS, PROF. & ECON. DEVELOP. COMM : 5-2, 6/14/10 AYES: Negrete McLeod, Calderon, Correa, Florez, Yee NOES: Aanestad, Walters NO VOTE RECORDED: Wyland, Oropeza SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8 ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 70-2, 5/3/10 - See last page for vote SUBJECT : Elder and dependent adult abuse SOURCE : California Commission on Aging County Welfare Directors Association DIGEST : This bill requires psychologists, marriage and family therapists, clinical social workers, and professional clinical counselors to have instruction and training in the recognition and reporting of suspected elder and dependent adult abuse as requirements for licensure. ANALYSIS : Existing law: 1.Licenses and regulates the practice of marriage and family therapists (MFTs), licensed educational CONTINUED AB 2435 Page 2 psychologists, and licensed clinical social workers (LCSWs) by the Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS) within the Department of Consumer Affairs. Beginning January 1, 2012, the Board will additionally license professional clinical counselors. 2.Licenses and regulates the practice of psychologists by the Board of Psychology (BOP) within DCA. 3.Establishes specified coursework requirements, including child abuse assessment and reporting for psychologists, MFTs LCSWs and licensed professional clinical counselors, and authorizes the BOP and the BBS to exempt an applicant who applies for an exemption and who shows to the satisfaction of the board that there would be no need for the training in his or her practice because of the nature of that practice. This bill: 1.Encourages the BOP and the BBS to include coursework regarding the assessment and reporting of elder and dependent adult abuse in the required training on aging and long-term care issues prior to licensure or license renewal. 2.Adds instruction on the assessment, reporting, and treatment related to elder and dependent adult abuse and neglect, to the coursework required for licensure and to the continuing education requirements for license renewal for a psychologist, MFT, LCSW, or LPCC beginning January 1, 2012. 3.States that it is anticipated and encouraged that hours of experience gained prior to being licensed as an MFT will include working with elders and dependent adults who have physical or mental limitations that restrict their ability to carry out normal activities or protect their rights. 4.States legislative intent and findings. 5.Makes technical and conforming changes. AB 2435 Page 3 Prior Legislation SB 953 (Vasconcellos), Chapter 541, Statutes of 2002, required psychologists, marriage and family therapists, and social workers, to have training in aging and long-term care issues as part of their initial education, or continuing education. SB 33 (Correa), Chapter 26, Statutes of 2009, updated education and training requirements for MFTs and included required training on child abuse. SB 33 specified that MFTs should have training and education regarding older adults, but did not specifically require training on the assessment or reporting of elder and dependent adult abuse. SB 788 (Wyland), Chapter 619, Statutes of 2009, provides for the licensing and regulation of professional clinical counselors, by the Board of Behavioral Sciences beginning January 1, 2012. Although that bill required instruction in elder and dependent adult abuse for specified applicants, it did not do so uniformly for all applicants. FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: No SUPPORT : (Verified 6/29/10) California Commission on Aging (source) County Welfare Directors Association (source) Alzheimer's Association Board of Behavioral Services California State Association of Counties City and County of San Francisco Congress of California Seniors Contra Costa Advisory Council on Aging Los Angeles County District Attorney ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The author states that "according to the Attorney General's office, over 225,000 Californians are victims of elder and dependent adult abuse each year, with family members constituting more than two-thirds of the alleged abusers. However, the statistics for reports of elder abuse do not mirror the increasing occurrences of AB 2435 Page 4 elder abuse in California; experts estimate that only one in 14 cases is reported. For financial abuse, the statistics are even more startling with only an estimated one in 100 incidents ever reported." In describing the need for the bill, the author further states: "The aging of California residents will increase the demand for professionals with expertise in the aging process and abuse recognition and reporting. Health and mental health care providers are key to stopping elder and dependent adult abuse and helping families in crisis. Just like physicians, nurses, and health aides, psychologists, MFTs, LCSWs, and licensed professional counselors are mandated reporters for suspected elder and dependent adult abuse. In order to not only comply with abuse reporting laws, but also to adequately serve an aging population and their families and caregivers, providers need education and training on the aspects of aging, including the recognition and reporting of elder and dependent adult abuse. "Existing law for these licensees already includes requirements for education regarding the recognition and reporting of child abuse. However, in most cases, the codes do not specify education or training requirements relative to the recognition and reporting of elder and dependent adult abuse." ASSEMBLY FLOOR : AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Arambula, Bass, Beall, Blakeslee, Block, Blumenfield, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter, Chesbro, Conway, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon, Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani, Gilmore, Hagman, Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Lieu, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Monning, Nava, Nestande, Niello, Nielsen, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Silva, Skinner, AB 2435 Page 5 Smyth, Solorio, Audra Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Tran, Villines, Yamada NOES: Anderson, Norby NO VOTE RECORDED: Bill Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Cook, DeVore, Garrick, Hall, John A. Perez JA:nl 6/29/10 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE **** END ****