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 ****