BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 897
Page 1
Date of Hearing: July 13, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
SB 897 (Leno) - As Amended: May 17, 2011
Policy Committee: Human
ServicesVote:6 - 0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill requires licensed residential care facilities for the
elderly (RCFEs) to notify the California Department of Social
Services (DSS), the state's Long-Term Care Ombudsman and the
facility's residents when the property is subject to foreclosure
or certain other events occur due to financial distress.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)Costs associated with the increased notification requirements
would be minor and absorbable within DSS resources.
2)To the extent this advanced notification prevents Adult
Protective Services from needing to find emergency placements
for residents, and the Attorney General from becoming involved
in litigation surrounding the closure, it could result in
savings to the state.
COMMENTS
1)Rationale . The intent of this bill is to protect residents
from the disruption caused by the sudden and unexpected
closure of an RCFE. According to the administration, there
have been cases where RCFEs have become involved in
foreclosure proceedings and the licensees did not inform the
residents or DSS until the end of the proceedings. This delay
forced the residents to relocate on short notice.
According to DSS data, 41 RCFEs were in foreclosure or had
been foreclosed between January 2009 and March 2010, out of 65
foreclosures for all DSS-licensed residential facilities
SB 897
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statewide. RCFEs do not currently report any annual financial
information to DSS' Community Care Licensing Division.
2)Background . RCFEs serve persons 60 and older. They provide
room, board, housekeeping, supervision, and assistance with
basic activities like personal hygiene, dressing, eating, and
walking. These facilities often store their residents'
medication in a central location and assist the residents with
self-administering their medication.
These facilities are designed for people who are unable to
live by themselves but who do not need 24-hour nursing care.
They are considered non-medical facilities and are not
required to have nurses, certified nursing assistants or
doctors on staff.
The Department of Social Services Community Care Licensing
Division is responsible for licensing and monitoring all RCFEs
in the state. According to recent data, there are
approximately 7,800 RCFEs throughout the state, housing
165,000 residents.
3)Related Legislation . This bill is substantially similar to SB
1322 (Leno) from 2010. That bill was vetoed. In his veto
message, Governor Schwarzenegger wrote, "While I appreciate
the author's continued effort to improve protections for
residential care facilities, this bill would represent a new
unfunded workload and redirect scarce resources that are
currently dedicated to immediate health and safety issues."
Analysis Prepared by : Julie Salley-Gray / APPR. / (916)
319-2081