BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2385
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CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 2385 (John A. Perez)
As Amended August 17, 2010
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |62-13|(June 3, 2010) |SENATE: |30-3 |(August 23, |
| | | | | |2010) |
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Original Committee Reference: HIGHER ED.
SUMMARY : Establishes the Pilot Program for Innovative Nursing
and Allied Health Care Profession Education at the California
Community Colleges (Pilot Program) within the California
Community Colleges (CCC) Chancellor's Office (CCCCO) to
facilitate innovation in allied health and nursing educational
program delivery. Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires the CCCCO to establish Pilot Programs at up to five
CCCs throughout the state.
2)Requires the Pilot Program to test innovative program delivery
models through the use of tools such as technology and
flexible scheduling to expand the capacity of CCCs to offer
health care training programs for students in fields where
there is a substantial labor market demand.
3)Requires the CCCCO to pursue a variety of funding sources for
the Pilot Program.
4)Requires, contingent upon the CCCCO obtaining adequate
resources, the CCCCO to develop, in consultation with outlined
representatives, a request for application for CCCs to
participate in the Pilot Programs in high-demand allied health
care or nursing programs, commencing on or after the 2011-2012
academic year and requires the CCCCO to specify baseline
funding provided for Pilot Programs based upon funding
received by the CCCCO.
5)Requires the CCCCO to select Pilot Programs that provide
industry-recognized certified or degree training, demonstrate
capacity to train specified health care workers or the ability
to sustain or expand current programs with limited capacity,
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provide evidence of adequate clinical educational sites,
include high quality curriculum, provide flexibility in course
scheduling, offer coordinate student support services, and
identify financial resources. Requires the CCCCO to the
extent possible to select Pilot Programs that are
geographically distributed throughout the state.
6)Provides Legislative intent that the Pilot Programs attract a
diverse and talented pool of students and provides that Pilot
Program campuses may use the diagnostic assessment tool
identified by the CCCCO and allows impacted Pilot Programs to
administer the multicriteria screening process established in
existing law and/or give preference to students who have
participated in a health science pathway program.
7)Requires that Pilot Program participants are provided with
various student support services, including advisors, tutors,
mentors, financial assistance, and internships.
8)Provides Legislative intent that the Pilot Program be funded
with state apportionment funding, employer-based partnerships,
federal grants, and/or private philanthropic resources.
9)Requires the CCCCO to collect and analyze Pilot Program data
and contract with an external evaluator to conduct an
independent evaluation with findings and recommendations
related to the effectiveness of the Pilot Program, and report
to the Legislature by January 1, 2017.
10)Provides that the provisions of the bill shall be implemented
in any fiscal year only to the extent that the CCCCO
determines that sufficient moneys are available to administer
the program.
11)Repeals all of the aforementioned provisions on January 1,
2018.
The Senate amendments make various clarifying and technical
changes to the Pilot Program.
EXISTING LAW : Establishes an array of initiatives to address
the nursing shortage in California, including: nursing
educational loan assumption programs to provide loan assumption
for nurses who agree to work as nursing faculty or in specified
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nursing facilities; CCC faculty recruitment and retention
programs; grants for CCC nursing programs that have low
attrition rates; and programs to increase student participation
in clinical rotations.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill was substantially similar
to the version approved by the Senate.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, operation of the pilot would likely entail costs of
several hundred thousand dollars per campus, likely resulting
costs in the millions over the course of the pilot. Assuming a
cost of $100,000 to $200,000 per campus each year, costs would
range from $2.5 million to $5 million over five years.
Additionally, the CCCCO estimates that costs for the evaluation
would be approximately $85,000 (one time) while administrative
workload would be absorbed within the costs of existing
personnel. As specified in the bill, the CCCCO will seek a
variety of sources to offset costs.
COMMENTS : According to the 2007 Health Workforce Solutions
report Closing the Health Workforce Gap in California, the
allied health workforce represents more than 60 percent of the
health jobs in California and more than 200 different
occupations. Recent employment numbers available from
California Labor Market Information Division and Federal Bureau
of Labor Statistics show California has only has 73% of the
pharmacists, 65% of the Medical Lab Technologists, and 62% of
the Radiation Technologists and Technicians of the national
average per 100,000 people. The California Employment
Development Department projects that the state will need
approximately 240,000 RNs by 2014. However, in recent months
several news articles have identified newly graduated nurses
finding it difficult to secure employment. Articles pointed to
the economic downturn forcing veteran nurses to stay in their
jobs longer, and some retired nurses to return to work. The
stated goal of the bill is to pilot innovative program delivery
and curriculum models to enable students to earn degrees and
enter the workforce as quickly as possible and expand the
state's capacity to train a qualified health professional
workforce without compromising the integrity of program and
licensure requirements.
AB 2385
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Analysis Prepared by : Laura Metune / HIGHER ED. / (916)
319-3960
FN: 0006176