BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 74 Page 1 GOVERNOR'S VETO AB 74 (Calderon) As Enrolled September 11, 2015 2/3 vote -------------------------------------------------------------------- |ASSEMBLY: | 80-0 |(June 1, 2015) |SENATE: |40-0 |(September 8, | | | | | | |2015) | -------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------- |ASSEMBLY: | 78-0 |(September 9, | | | | | | |2015) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | -------------------------------------------------------------------- Original Committee Reference: HUM. S. SUMMARY: Phases in annual unannounced inspection visits in licensed child day care centers and family day care homes. Specifically, this bill: 1)Requires the Department of Social Services (DSS) to increase the frequency of annual unannounced licensing visits of licensed child day care centers and family day care homes per the following: a) Between January 1, 2018, and January 1, 2019, requires DSS to conduct annual unannounced visits to at least a 20% random sample of facilities that are not otherwise subject AB 74 Page 2 to annual inspections to address compliance issues or meet federal funding requirements. Requires facilities to be visited at least once every two years. b) Requires DSS to conduct at least one annual unannounced visit in each licensed child day care center and family day care home on and after January 1, 2019. The Senate amendments: 1)Delete provisions related to community care facilities and residential care facilities for the elderly. 2)Establish a new phased-in schedule for annual unannounced inspections in licensed child day care centers and family day care homes beginning on January 1, 2018, and delete the previous phased-in schedule for such visits, which required annual unannounced visits in 40% of facilities by July 1, 2017, and annual unannounced visits in all facilities by July 1, 2018. 3)Clarify the timeline for phasing in annual visits, as specified. 4)Delete provisions related to additional unannounced visit requirements due to the number of citations issued by DSS. FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, this bill may result in first-year licensing costs to the DSS of $13.5 million and $10.5 million (General Fund) annually thereafter. COMMENTS:Background: The Community Care Licensing Division (CCLD) of the Department of Social Services is responsible for the regulatory and licensing activities related to residential AB 74 Page 3 and non-residential programs. CCLD is charged with providing preventative and protective services to people in "community care facilities" (24-hour senior, adult, and child residential care homes, as well as non-residential programs, such as child care centers and adult day programs). CCLD is responsible for conducting facility inspections within the facilities it licenses, pursuing administrative actions when licensing standards are not met and assisting providers to maintain compliance with licensing regulations. CCLD also conducts criminal background checks of licensees, employees and all adults providing direct services to, or having routine contact with, clients in care. Approximately 500 licensing analysts are employed by CCLD to conduct inspections and complaint investigations. Prior to 2003, annual inspections were required for most facilities; the 2003-04 state Budget Act reduced this to once every five years. The last two state budgets enhanced supports and made changes related to inspections. The 2014-15 Budget Act included a 10% increase in annual licensing and application fees, and investments in quality enhancement, including increased staff, training, a quality assurance unit, and centralization of application and complaint processes. The 2015-16 Budget Act adopted further supports and reforms, including enacting upcoming changes to the frequency of inspections: starting in January 2017, DSS will increase inspections to once every three years for all facilities, then to once every two years for all facilities except child care by 2018, then to annually for adult day care facilities and the California Residential Care Facility for the Elderly's by 2019. According to the author, "Increasing the frequency of licensing visits will demonstrate that California is serious about addressing the deficiency in our inspection process for Community Care Facilities and will put California on par with the inspection procedures of other states. Currently we have a complaint based oversight system that is reactive to issues in AB 74 Page 4 our facilities instead of being proactive to prevent issues or fix and stop these issues before they become deadly. By at least having a licensing program analyst, or inspector, in these facilities, boots on the ground, once a year we will be able to be proactive and no longer be operating under a complaints based system. Facilities are in need of frequent inspections because of the vulnerability of the clients these facilities serve and it is our job to make sure these individuals are being properly taken care of." GOVERNOR'S VETO MESSAGE: This bill would require the Department of Social Services to inspect licensed child care facilities once a year beginning January 1, 2019. Earlier this year, the 2015-16 Budget Act increased the frequency of inspections of licensed child care facilities to once every three years. Further increasing the frequency of these inspections may be a worthy goal, but the cost of this change should be considered in the budget process. Analysis Prepared by: Myesha Jackson / HUM. S. / (916) 319-2089 FN: 0002531 AB 74 Page 5