BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1744
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GOVERNOR'S VETO
AB 1744 (Brown)
As Amended August 21, 2014
2/3 vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |76-0 |(May 29, 2014) |SENATE: |34-0 |(August 25, |
| | | | | |2014) |
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|ASSEMBLY: |77-0 |(August 27, | | | |
| | |2014) | | | |
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Original Committee Reference: AGING & L.T.C.
SUMMARY : Establishes the California Caregiver Act of 2014 which
directs the California Department of Aging (CDA) to convene a
task force and make recommendations relating to the needs of
unpaid family caregivers.
The Senate amendments revise funding thresholds from a specific
amount ($200,000) of private funds, to a "sufficient" amount of
private funds; and calls for assessments of information,
referral, and resource sharing systems used by family
caregivers.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes the Older Californians Act (OCA) and assures older
adults have equal access to programs and services provided
through the OCA regardless of physical or mental disabilities,
language barriers, cultural or social isolation.
2)Establishes CDA to provide leadership to 33 area agencies on
aging in developing systems of home-and community-based
services that maintain individuals in their own homes or least
restrictive, homelike environments.
3)Establishes the Title IIIE program, also known as the National
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Family Caregiver Support Program (NFCSP), to coordinate local
community-service systems for assisting caregivers of seniors.
4)Establishes Caregiver Resource Centers to deliver services to
and advocate for caregivers of cognitively impaired adults,
and enable them to make decisions related to care, respite,
and counseling in legal and financial aid.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill included the author's title
for the act, and included findings and declarations detailing
the intersection of a range of policy and population trends that
impact family caregivers.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, one-time costs up to $300,000 to provide staff
support to the task force and reimburse travel expenses for task
force members by CDA. (General Fund and private funds). Staff
anticipates that CDA may need up to two staff positions to
support the task force and about $25,000 to reimburse travel
costs.
COMMENTS : According to the author, families are the major
provider of long-term care, but research has shown that
caregiving exacts a heavy emotional, physical and financial
toll. Many caregivers who work and provide care experience
conflicts between their responsibilities. Almost half of all
caregivers are over age 50, making them more vulnerable to a
decline in their own health, and one-third describe their own
health as just "fair-to-poor." Women make up the majority of
the unpaid caregiver workforce, often interrupting work careers
to take on the burden of caring for a relative. Caregiving
women face uncertain economic futures due to breaks from
employment and the corresponding reductions to retirement plans
and the social security system.
At a joint hearing of the Assembly Aging and Long-Term Care and
the Assembly Human Services Committees in 2011, testimony about
caregiving in California revealed that while some people receive
care from paid caregivers, most rely on unpaid assistance from
families, friends and neighbors. The National Alliance on
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Caregiving and AARP report entitled: Caregiving in the United
States, 2009, estimates 31.2% of households in the United States
had at least one person who served as an unpaid family caregiver
during the course of the year. The same report estimates the
number of caregivers in California at any given time at 4.0
million, with an estimated 5.88 million people serving as
caregivers during the course of a year. The estimated value of
unpaid care in California is $47 billion, accounting for over
3.8 billion hours of care at $12.17, the average caregiver wage
in 2009. On the personal side, long-term caregiving has
significant financial consequences for caregivers, particularly
for women. Informal caregivers personally lose about $659,139
over a lifetime: $25,494 in social security benefits; $67,202 in
pension benefits; and $566,443 in forgone wages. Caregivers
face the loss of income of the care recipient, loss of their own
income if they reduce their work hours or leave their jobs, loss
of employer-based medical benefits, shrinking of savings to pay
caregiving costs, and a threat to their retirement income due to
fewer contributions to pensions and other retirement vehicles.
GOVERNOR'S VETO MESSAGE :
The bill would require the California Department of
Aging to establish and support a 13-member blue ribbon
task force on unpaid family caregiving, using only
non-state funds from private sources.
The California State Plan on Aging, the California
Plan for Alzheimer's Disease, the significant reports
and action plans developed by the 33 Area Agencies on
Aging, the Alzheimer's Association, the AARP and so
many others have produced ample evidence for
knowledgeable and caring people to recommend ways to
improve support for family caregivers.
Establishing another task force in state law simply
isn't necessary.
Analysis Prepared by : Robert MacLaughlin / AGING &
L.T.C. / (916) 319-3990
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FN: 0005693