AB 1821, as amended, Gordon. Medical foster homes.
Existing law establishes the Department of Veterans Affairs, which is responsible for administering various programs and services for the benefit of veterans. Existing law, the California Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly Act, provides for the licensure of residential care facilities for the elderly by the State Department of Social Services. Existing law exempts from these provisions specified facilities, including general acute care hospitals, clinics, and recovery houses for individuals with drug or alcohol addiction. Existing law authorizes the California State Auditor, upon the request by the Joint Legislative Audit Committee and to the extent funding is available, to audit a state or local governmental agency, as defined, or any other publicly created entity.
This bill would establish the Medical Foster Home Pilot Program and would,begin insert commencing June 1, 2015, andend insert until January 1, 2018, authorize a United States Department of Veterans Affairs (USDVA) facility to establish a medical foster home that is not subject to licensure or regulation under the California Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly Act provided that specified federal requirements are satisfied, the USDVA facility establishing the home agrees to be subject to the jurisdiction of the California State Auditor, and the USDVA obtains criminal background information for caregivers and specified individuals residing in the home. The bill would state the intent of the Legislature that the California State Auditor, through a request to the Joint Legislative Audit Committee, conduct an audit evaluating thebegin insert pilotend insert program created by this bill no sooner than January 1, 2016, as specified.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
It is the intent of the Legislature to expand into
2California the United States Department of Veterans Affairs
3medical foster home program by authorizing the United States
4Department of Veterans Affairs facilities in the state to establish
5medical foster homes that are exempt from regulation under the
6California Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly Act.
Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 1850) is added
8to Division 8 of the Military and Veterans Code, to read:
9
This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the
13Medical Foster Home Pilot Program.
For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions
15shall apply:
16(a) “Medical foster home” has the same meaning as that term
17is defined in Section 17.73 of Title 38 of the Code of Federal
18Regulations.
19(b) “Medical foster home caregiver” means the primary person
20who provides care to a veteran resident in a medical foster home.
21(c) “USDVA facility” means a United States Department of
22Veterans Affairs facility.
23(d) “Veteran resident” has the same meaning as that term is
24defined in Section 17.73 of
Title 38 of the Code of Federal
25
Regulations.
A USDVA facility may establish a medical foster home
2program in this statebegin insert no sooner than June 1, 2015end insert. A medical foster
3home established pursuant to that program is not subject to
4licensure or regulation under the California Residential Care
5Facilities for the Elderly Act (Chapter 3.2 (commencing with
6Section 1569) of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code) if all
7of the following requirements are satisfied:
8(a) The medical foster home meets the requirements of Sections
917.73 and 17.74 of Title 38 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
10(b) The USDVA facility submits a proposal to establish a
11medical foster home program to the Director of Home and
12Community-Based Care in Geriatrics and Extended Care Services
13in the Central Office of the USDVA and that director authorizes
14the program.
15(c) The USDVA facility establishing the foster home agrees to
16be subject to the jurisdiction of the California State Auditor for
17the purpose of evaluating the program created under this chapter.
18Consistent with this agreement, the USDVA facility shall provide
19data, information, and case files as requested by the California
20State Auditor to perform all of his or her duties in evaluating the
21program created under this chapter.
22(d) The United States Department of Veterans Affairs obtains
23background information as required
under Section 1853.
It is the intent of the Legislature that the California State
25Auditor, through a request to the Joint Legislative Audit
26Committee, conduct an audit that assesses and evaluates the pilot
27program created by this chapter no sooner than January 1, 2016.
28It is the intent of the Legislature that the audit be used to do both
29of the following:
30(a) Evaluate the success of the pilot program by confirming that
31the USDVA facilities are meeting their goals and standards.
32(b) Make recommendationsbegin insert to the Legislatureend insert regarding the
33continuation of the program,
including, but not limited to,
34recommendations regarding changes or reforms needed for
35improvement of the program.
(a) For each medical foster home established under this
37chapter, the United States Department of Veterans Affairs shall
38submit to the Department of Justice fingerprint images and related
39information required by the Department of Justice of both of the
40following for the purposes of obtaining information as to the
P4 1existence and content of a record of state or federal convictions
2and state or federal arrests and also information as to the existence
3and content of a record of state or federal arrests for which the
4Department of Justice establishes that the individual is free on bail
5or on his or her own recognizance pending trial or appeal:
6(1) Medical foster home caregivers.
7(2) Individuals, other than veteran residents, who are over 18
8years of age and are residing in the medical foster home.
9(b) When received, the Department of Justice shall forward to
10the Federal Bureau of Investigation requests for federal summary
11criminal history information submitted pursuant to this section.
12The Department of Justice shall review the information returned
13from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and shall compile and
14disseminate a response to the United States Department of Veterans
15Affairs.
16(c) The Department of Justice shall provide a state or federal
17level response to the United States Department of Veterans Affairs
18pursuant to subdivision (p) of Section 11105 of the Penal Code.
19(d) The United States Department of Veterans Affairs shall
20request from the Department of Justice subsequent notification
21service, as provided pursuant to Section 11105.2 of the Penal Code,
22for the individuals described in subdivision (a).
23(e) The Department of Justice shall charge a fee sufficient to
24cover the reasonable costs of processing the request described in
25this section.
26(f) This section shall remain in effect until the date that the
27United States Department of Veterans Affairs receives federal
28authority to request criminal background checks of the individuals
29described in this section, or January 1, 2018, whichever date occurs
30first.
This chapter shall remain in effect only until January 1,
322018, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute,
33that is enacted before January 1, 2018, deletes or extends that date.
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