BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 892|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 892
Author: Alquist (D)
Amended: 4/27/10
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 5-0, 4/20/10
AYES: Leno, Cedillo, Hancock, Steinberg, Wright
NO VOTE RECORDED: Cogdill, Huff
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
SUBJECT : Care facilities
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill adds additional specified crimes to
the Department of Social Services statutes governing
residential care facilities for the elderly.
ANALYSIS : Existing law requires a criminal record check
of applicants for a license, special permit, or certificate
of approval to operate a residential care facility for the
elderly, or for other persons, including nonclients who
reside in those facilities and staff and employees.
Existing law requires that an application be denied if it
is found that the applicant or any of the other designated
persons has been convicted of a crime, other than a minor
traffic violation. Existing law authorizes the Director of
Social Services to grant an exemption from disqualification
under these provisions, but prohibits the director from
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granting an exemption in the case of certain crimes.
This bill adds additional specified crimes with respect to
which the director is prohibited from granting an
exemption. This bill also adds specified crimes with
respect to which the director is prohibited from granting
an exemption within 10 years of either the date the person
was convicted of the offense or the date the person was
released from incarceration for the offense, whichever is
later.
Comments
According to the author's office:
On March 18, 2010, the California Senate Office of
Oversight and Outcomes issued a report, Dangerous
Caregivers: State Failed to Cross-Check Backgrounds,
Exposing Elderly to Abusive Workers , which was
completed at my request as Chair of the Senate
Subcommittee and Aging and Long-Term Care.
This report highlighted the problem of dangerous
caregivers being allowed to work in long-term care
facilities for the elderly and disabled because
different State departments have different standards
for approving care workers and do not share helpful
background check information with each other.
Specifically, nurse assistants with a history of a
serious criminal conviction or administrative action,
who had been decertified by the Department of Public
Health (DPH) to work in skilled nursing facilities,
are getting approved by the Department of Social
Services (DSS) to work in residential care facilities
for the elderly.
Oftentimes, this happens because current law differs
with respect to the non-exemptible crimes barring work
in residential care facilities for the elderly, as
licensed by the DSS, and the non-exemptible crimes
barring work in skilled nursing facilities, as
licensed by the DPH.
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For example, existing law (Health and Safety code
section 1569.17) allows DSS to approve (or "exempt")
caregivers to work in residential care facilities for
the elderly even though they have been convicted of
serious crimes like assault with a deadly weapon or
unlawful use of a debit or credit card, among others.
These serious criminal convictions, however, are
non-exemptible under DPH's nurse assistant
certification law (Health and Safety code section
1337.9), thus requiring DPH's denial or revocation of
a nurse assistant's certificate to work in a nursing
home.
SB 892 will protect vulnerable seniors and disabled
adults living in residential care facilities for the
elderly with the same principles governing the
protection of nursing home residents.
Specifically, SB 892 will change the DSS's list of
non-exemptible crimes for approved caregivers to work
in residential care facilities for the elderly to more
closely match the DPH's non-exemptible crimes for
nurse assistants to work in skilled nursing
facilities.
This will bring consistency to the background check
process for workers caring for our elderly and
disabled in the State's most utilized long-term care
facilities: skilled nursing facilities and
residential care facilities for the elderly.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/11/10)
Aging Services of California
Arc of California
California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform
California Assisted Living Association
California Police Chiefs Association
Congress of California Seniors
Crime Victims United of California
Disability Rights California
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Long-Term Care Services of Ventura County, Inc.
Ombudsman & HICAP Services of Northern California
OWL (Older Women's League of California)
Pathways
Service Employees International Union
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office:
By adding more crimes to the DSS statute governing
residential care facilities for the elderly (RCFEs),
SB 892 will protect vulnerable seniors and disabled
adults living in these facilities with the same
principles governing the protection of skilled nursing
facility residents. Specifically, SB 892 would add
those crimes that DPH considers as non-exemptible to
work as a certified nurse assistant in a skilled
nursing facility to DSS's list of non-exemptible
crimes to work in RCFEs. For less serious criminal
convictions, SB 892 would allow DSS to exempt someone
to work in an RCFE only after 10 years from the date
of conviction or the date of release from prison,
whichever is later. This bill would bring greater
consistency to the two departments that oversee direct
care workers in the State's most utilized long-term
care facilities: skilled nursing facilities and
residential care facilities for the elderly.
RJG:nl 5/12/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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