BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2556
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Date of Hearing: April 29, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES
Mark Stone, Chair
AB 2556 (Chau) - As Introduced: February 21, 2014
SUBJECT : Home Care Organizations
SUMMARY : Delays implementation of the Home Care Services
Consumer Protection Act (Act) from January 1, 2015 until January
1, 2016 and makes technical changes to comply with the
Department of Justice's (DOJ) criminal background process.
EXISTING LAW
1)Establishes the Home Care Services Consumer Protection Act and
requires DSS to administer and enforce the law. (H&S Codes
1796.10 and 1796.11)
2)Defines "affiliated home care aide" as an individual, 18 years
of age or older, who is employed by a home care organization
to provide home care services to a client and is listed on the
home care aide registry. (H&S Code 1796.12(a))
3)Defines "home care organization" (HCO) as an individual, 18
years of age or older, firm, partnership, corporation, limited
liability company, joint venture, association, or other entity
that arranges for home care services by an affiliated home
care aide to a client, and is licensed. (H&S Code 1796.12(j))
4)Defines "home care services" as nonmedical services and
assistance provided by a registered home care aide to a client
who, because of advanced age or physical or mental disability,
cannot perform these services, as specified. (H&S Code
1796.12(m))
5)Defines a "home care aide applicant" as an individual, 18
years of age or older, who is requesting to become a
registered home care aide and DSS has received and is
processing the individual's complete home care aide
application and fees. (H&S Code 1796.12(g))
6)Defines a "home care aide registry" as a
department-established and department-maintained Internet Web
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site of registered home care aides and home care aide
applicants, which includes specified information. (H&S Code
1796.12(i))
7)Allows DSS to adopt rules and regulations to implement the
act; establish procedures for the receipt, investigation and
resolution of complaints; maintain a registry on its Internet
Web site of all certified home care aides, containing limited
information that includes their employers, their certification
status, and the status of disciplinary actions against them;
and, maintain a registry on its Internet Web site of all
licensed HCOs containing specified information. (H&S Code
1796.63)
8)Requires home care aides to receive a criminal background
clearance prior to being placed on the home care registry, as
specified. (H&S Code 1796.24)
9)Allows DSS to investigate complaints against an employment
agency if it fails to comply with the HCSA and levy civil
penalties of up to $900 per day per violation. (H&S Code
1796.55)
10)Requires DSS to conduct random, unannounced inspections once
every five years to ensure compliance with the HCSA. (H&S
Code 1796.52)
11)Establishes training requirements for home care aide
certification, including requiring home care aides to complete
five hours of training on job-related topics, as specified.
(H&S 1796.44)
12)Requires that DSS set a fee for a two-year certification to
be paid for by the home care aide. (H&S Code 1796.31)
13)Requires DSS to assess licensure and certification fees in
amounts sufficient to cover the costs of administering the
HCSA and prohibits the use of General Fund (GF) moneys for
purposes of funding activities under the HCSA unless
specifically transferred or appropriated by the Legislature.
(H&S Code 1796.47)
14)Establishes the Home Care Fund within the State Treasury and
requires that licensure and certification funds, as well as
fines and penalties, be deposited into the Fund, from which
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funds shall, upon appropriation by the Legislature, be made
available to DSS to administer the HCSA. (H&S Code 1796.47)
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
Regulating the home care market : Last year the Legislature
passed and the state adopted AB 1217 (Lowenthal), Chapter 790,
Statutes of 2013. AB 1217 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 in order 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 websites 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.
As a result, AB 1217 enacted the Home Care Services Consumer
Protection Act to be implemented January 1, 2015, which
regulates the home care industry, except home care/domestic
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referral agencies, by addressing home care organizations, the
home care aides they employ, and independent home care aides.
AB 1217 provided a structure by which established agencies and
individuals provide home care services are held accountable to
the public demand for greater standards and accountability for
home care aides.
Need for the bill : Stating the need for the bill, the author
writes:
"To address concerns about the need to ensure all consumers
of home care services have access to quality care from
properly screened and trained caregivers, Governor Brown
signed AB 1217 (Bonnie Lowenthal) in 2013 to establish the
licensure and regulation of private pay home care
organizations by the Department of Social Services (DSS)
and the registration of private pay home care aides.
However, when Governor Brown signed AB 1217 he stated he
was signing it because "legislative leaders committed to
delay the bill's effective date by one year to January 1,
2016." The Governor further stated the one year "delay,
coupled with other clarifying changes, will give the
Department of Social Services enough time to accomplish
what the bill seeks to achieve, and ultimately provide for
smoother implementation of these good consumer
protections."
Further, as a co-sponsor of the bill, the Service Employees
International Union, California writes:
The language in [this bill] is technical in nature and will
address the Governor's signing message by delaying the
requirement that the Home Care Service Providers be
licensed one year to give DSS more time to implement the
licensure provisions more effectively. It also makes
technical changes dealing with background checks so the
Department of Justice may comply with current law.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
SEIU California, co-sponsor
AB 2556
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Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Chris Reefe / HUM. S. / (916) 319-2089