BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1863
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 1863 (Jones)
As Amended May 7, 2014
Majority vote
HUMAN SERVICES 5-0 APPROPRIATIONS 14-0
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|Ayes:|Stone, Maienschein, Ian |Ayes:|Gatto, Bocanegra, |
| |Calderon, Garcia, Hall | |Bradford, |
| | | |Ian Calderon, Campos, |
| | | |Eggman, Gomez, Holden, |
| | | |Jones, Linder, Pan, |
| | | |Quirk, Ridley-Thomas, |
| | | |Weber |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Amends the Home Care Services Consumer Protection Act
(Act) to include home care domestic referral agencies.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Defines a "domestic home care referral organization" (DHCRO)
as an employment agency that arranges for home care services
to be provided by a registered home care aide to a client, as
specified.
2)Defines a "domestic home care referral organization applicant"
as an individual who is at least 18 years of age or entity, as
specified, that is requesting to become a home care referral
agency and the Department of Social Services (DSS) has
received and is processing the application, as specified.
3)Provides that an "independent home care aide" may be
considered a "registered home care aide," and is an individual
who is at least 18 years of age or older who is listed on the
home care aide registry, is not employed by a home care
organization, but is providing home care services through a
direct agreement with the client.
4)Defines a "domestic home care referral organization
application" as the official form to request a DHCRO license,
as specified.
AB 1863
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5)Defines a "domestic home care referral organization licensee"
as an individual who is at least 18 years of age or entity, as
specified, that has been licensed to operate a licensed DHCRO.
6)Requires DHCROs to be licensed by DSS, as specified.
7)Requires licensees to undergo a criminal background check and
receive a background clearance prior to operation of a DHCRO.
8)Requires DSS to issue a civil penalty of $900 per day to an
entity that is operating as a DHCRO but is unlicensed, as
specified.
9)Requires licensees to post their licenses in a conspicuous
place, comply with existing bond requirements for purposes of
liability, and to act as mandatory reporters of suspected
child abuse or neglect, as specified.
10)Requires the state's General Fund to loan moneys to DSS for
implementation of the Act and for the establishment of the
DHCRO Fund in the State Treasury for the receipt of all
application fees and civil penalties.
11)Authorizes funds deposited into the DHCRO Fund to be used to
repay the General Fund for implementation of the Act, to
conduct outreach activities to identify and notice DHCROs of
their responsibility to be licensed, and to fund operational
costs incurred by DSS in administration of the Act.
12)Permits DSS to establish rules and regulations relating to
the receipt of complaints, investigation of complaints and
unannounced inspections, as specified.
13)Permits DSS to issue a civil penalty of $900 per day for each
violation committed by a DHCRO, as specified.
14)Authorizes DSS to adopt regulations to implement the Act, as
specified.
15)Implements the Act on January 1, 2016, and requires DHCROs to
comply with the Act no later than July 1, 2016.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, on-going costs to DSS, likely less than $100,000
AB 1863
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General Fund, for workload associated with adding 200 to 300
licensees to the framework established by last year's AB 1217
(Lowenthal), Chapter 790, Statutes of 2013. These costs could
be partially offset by fees DSS would be authorized to charge
under the proposed framework.
COMMENTS :
Regulating the home care market: Last year the Legislature
passed and the state adopted AB 1217 which sought to regulate
the home care industry, which has existed for many years, but
has begun to increase as the nation's elderly population expands
and the demand for in-home care increases to allow individuals
to live comfortably at home with the assistance of a day-to-day
home care provider. Home care providers provide basic daily
non-medical living assistance, such as cooking, cleaning,
dressing, feeding, and other regular daily needs. However,
unlike their In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) and Home Health
Agency (HHA) counterparts, there are no requirements in current
law that require home care aides to have minimum levels of
training, undergo a criminal background check, or comply with
basic standards of service.
Due to the lack of a regulatory structure and related
enforcement, until AB 1217 there was no framework or definition
for what is considered a home care aide. Although the title
"home care aide" implies a level of expertise and integrity
associated with a minimum level of care, any person may
represent him or herself as a home care aide. In some
instances, individuals may solicit their services through
notifications posted online on Web sites such as Craigslist or
in newspaper classified ads. This can place consumers who are
in need of day-to-day living assistance services in the home in
potentially vulnerable situations, as there are little to no
existing legal requirements and protections established. In
some respects, it is not unreasonable to associate home care
aides unaffiliated with reputable or established organizations
or who operate as independent contractors as part of an
underground home care industry whereby the public rests their
faith in the hope that the elderly and disabled are receiving
adequate and beneficial care in the home.
AB 1217 provided a structure by which established agencies and
individuals provide home care services are held accountable to
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the public demand for greater standards and accountability for
home care aides. As a result, AB 1217 enacted the Act to be
implemented January 1, 2015, which regulates the home care
industry, except home care/domestic referral agencies, by
addressing home care organizations, the home care aides they
employ, and independent home care aides.
Need for the bill: Stating the need for the bill, the author
writes:
Last year, the Legislature passed and the Governor
signed AB 1217 which enacted a series of consumer
protections for persons seeking home care services
from agencies that employ workers, but not from
referral agencies that refer independent workers to
clients that are seeking home care services. Both
agency models, prior to AB 1217, prescreen workers to
verify worker competence, references, work history,
background-checks before sending workers to the
client. This bill will extend similar additional
protections enacted by AB 1217 to the referral home
care agency, consistent with model's statutory,
Employment Development Department and Internal Revenue
Service requirements which govern independent workers.
It is appropriate that consumers enjoy a consumer
protection standard applied to the whole industry, not
just part of the industry to minimize "bad actors."
In addition, the entire industry, not just the
employer based model, should have access to the
proverbial "good housekeeping seal of approval"
accorded the employer based model. The referral based
model provides legitimate, cost-effective, and
flexibility of choice to the consumer while providing
the assurance that workers have been pre-screened.
Currently, referral agencies are exempted from [this
bill's] mandates that only Health Care Organizations
can provide specific home care services. To do so,
the Home Care Organization must meet certain
requirements in a certain form that runs afoul of
Civil Code 1812.5095 [Section] and IRS [Internal
Revenue Service] regulations that govern Domestic
Referral Agencies. This bill will impose similar
requirements, but consistent with the provision of law
AB 1863
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and federal regulation that govern Domestic Referral
Agencies. This will ensure a full breadth of industry
consumer protection and a level playing field for both
models.
Analysis Prepared by : Chris Reefe / HUM. S. / (916) 319-2089
FN: 0003555