SB 547: Aging and long-term care services, supports, and program coordination.

Existing law establishes the California Health and Human Services Agency consisting of the Departments of Aging, Child Support Services, Community Services and Development, Developmental Services, Health Care Services, Managed Health Care, Public Health, Rehabilitation, Social Services, and State Hospitals, among other entities.

Existing law sets forth legislative findings and declarations regarding long-term care services, including that consumers of those services experience great differences in service levels, eligibility criteria, and service availability that often result in inappropriate and expensive care that is not responsive to individual needs. Those findings and declarations also state that the laws governing long-term care facilities have established an uncoordinated array of long-term care services that are funded and administered by a state structure that lacks necessary integration and focus.

This bill, among other things, would create the Statewide Aging and Long-Term Care Services Coordinating Council, chaired by the Secretary of California Health and Human Services, and would consist of the heads, or their designated representative, of specified departments and offices. The secretary would have specified responsibilities, including, but not limited to, leading the council in the development of a state aging and long-term care services strategic plan to address how the state will meet the needs of the aging population in the years 2020, 2025, and 2030. The bill would require the strategic plan to be submitted to the Secretary of the Senate, the Chief Clerk of the Assembly, and the chairs of specified policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature by July 1, 2018. The bill would authorize the Secretary of California Health and Human Services to accept grants or donations, real or in-kind, to support the operation of the Statewide Aging and Long-Term Care Services Coordinating Council and the development of the state aging and long-term care services strategic plan.