Amended in Assembly May 7, 2015

Amended in Assembly April 27, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 38

Introduced by Assembly Member Brown

(Coauthors: Assembly Members Baker, Calderon, Dodd, Cristina Garcia, Lackey, McCarty, Steinorth, begin delete and end delete Waldron begin insert , Achadjian, Alejo, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Burke, Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O’Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Perea, Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Weber, Wilk, Williams, and Wood end insert )

(Coauthors: Senators Allen, Bates, Huff, and Liu)

February 27, 2015

Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 38—Relative to unpaid family caregivers.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

ACR 38, as amended, Brown. California Task Force on Family Caregiving.

This measure would establish the California Task Force on Family Caregiving, to meet monthly to examine issues relative to the challenges faced by family caregivers and opportunities to improve caregiver support, review the current network and the services and supports available to caregivers, and make policy recommendations to the Legislature. The task force would be required to submit an interim report to the Legislature no later than January 1, 2017, and a final report no later than July 1, 2018.

Fiscal committee: no.

WHEREAS, A caregiver can be any relative, spouse, partner,
friend, or neighbor who has a significant relationship with, and
who provides a broad range of assistance to, an older person or an
adult with a chronic or disabling condition; and

WHEREAS, Almost three-fourths of older people living in a
typical community who receive personal assistance rely exclusively
on unpaid caregivers for help; and

WHEREAS, At present, there is no complete inventory of
caregiving programs available to Californians performing unpaid
caregiving services for an aging or disabled family member, friend,
or neighbor; and

WHEREAS, An estimated 5.8 million adults in the state provide
care to adult relatives or friends, which equates to an estimated
3.9 billion hours a year at an estimated value of $47 billion each
year; and

WHEREAS, The economic value of caregivers’ unpaid
contributions is equivalent to 1.25 times the total Medi-Cal
spending, and 4.1 times the funding allotted to Medi-Cal long-term
services and supports; and

WHEREAS, If family caregivers were no longer available, the
economic cost to California’s health care and long-term services
and supports systems would increase astronomically; and

WHEREAS, Family support is a key driver in remaining in
one’s home and community, but it comes at substantial physical,
emotional, and financial cost to the caregivers, their families, and
to society; and

WHEREAS, Fifty-nine percent of all family caregivers are
employed full or part time and family caregivers typically spend
20 hours a week caring for a family member who needs help with
bathing, dressing, and other kinds of personal care, as well as
household tasks such as shopping and managing finances; and

WHEREAS, Seventy percent of people with Alzheimer’s disease
or a related disorder live at home and need assistance with activities
of daily living; and

WHEREAS, Testimony and data acquired during an Assembly
“Faces of Aging” hearing series in 2014, conducted by the
Assembly Committee on Aging and Long-Term Care, documented
variations in the way different populations respond to caregiving
needs and responsibilities, thus informing policymakers of specific
cultural competencies necessary to meet a diverse population’s
needs, as well as specific untapped resources and strategies that
could relieve caregiver stress; and

WHEREAS, It is critical to family caregivers for there to be a
state-led effort to compile an inventory of the resources available
to family caregivers, determine where access barriers in the current
system exist, and consider the cultural and linguistic factors that
impact caregivers and care recipients who are from diverse
populations; and

WHEREAS, Consistency of access across the counties is critical
for caregivers and the vulnerable population they serve, so the best
practices in California and in other states should be identified and
considered as means to improve caregiving programs; and

WHEREAS, Technology is a critical tool for family caregivers,
and the development of an internet Web site or portal that contains
information about California’s current resources and supports
available in the state’s family caregivers’ community will help
family caregivers better navigate current support services; and

WHEREAS, To successfully address the surging population of
older adults who have significant needs for long-term services and
supports, the state must develop methods to both encourage and
support families to assist their aging loved ones and develop ways
to recruit and retain a qualified, culturally competent, responsive
in-home care workforce; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate
thereof concurring, That the California Task Force on Family
Caregiving is hereby established, which shall consist of 20
members as follows:

(a) The Speaker of the Assembly and the Senate Committee on
Rules shall each appoint 10 members of the task force.

(b) These 20 members shall include some who have
demonstrated knowledge and expertise in any of the following:

(1) Family caregiving.

(2) Geriatric research.

(3) Alzheimer’s disease research.

(4) Senior advocacy; and be it further

Resolved, That the task force shall perform the following duties:

(a) Meet monthly to examine issues relative to the challenges
faced by family caregivers and opportunities to improve caregiver
support, review the current network and the services and supports
available to caregivers, and make policy recommendations to the
Legislature.

(b) Consult, as necessary, with a broad range of stakeholders,
including, but not limited to, family caregivers, community-based
and institutional providers, caregiving researchers and academics,
caregiver resource centers, and other state entities; and be it further

Resolved, That the task force is encouraged to partner, whenever
possible, with the California Commission on Aging in order to
link the efforts of the Legislature and the administration; and be
it further

Resolved, That state funds shall not be used to support task force
activities, but the task force may solicit and accept private funds
and in-kind donations from public and private foundations to pay
expenses incurred in conducting its business. These expenses
include, but are not limited to, staff, administrative, meeting, and
other expenses incurred by task force members in the performance
of their official duties; and be it further

Resolved, That the task force shall be subject to the
Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act (Article 9 (commencing with
Section 11120) of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of
the Government Code); and be it further

Resolved, That the task force shall submit one or more reports
to the Legislature and to the Governor, including an interim report
no later than January 1, 2017, and a final report no later than July
1, 2018; and be it further

Resolved, That the task force is authorized to act until July 31,
2018; and be it further

Resolved, That members of the task force shall serve without
compensation, but shall receive reimbursement for travel and other
necessary expenses actually incurred in the performance of their
official duties; and be it further

Resolved, That members of the task force shall be appointed to
serve for the duration of the task force; and be it further

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies
of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.