BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



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          GOVERNOR'S VETO


          AB  
          74 (Calderon)


          As Enrolled  September 11, 2015


          2/3 vote


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          |ASSEMBLY:  | 80-0 |(June 1, 2015) |SENATE: |40-0  |(September 8,    |
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          |ASSEMBLY:  | 78-0 |(September 9,  |        |      |                 |
          |           |      |2015)          |        |      |                 |
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          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  








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               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  








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          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  








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          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
















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