AB 550: State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program: funding.

Existing law, as part of the Mello-Granlund Older Californians Act, establishes the Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman, under the direction of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman, in the California Department of Aging. Existing law provides for the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program under which funds are allocated to local ombudsman programs to assist elderly persons in long-term health care facilities and residential care facilities by, among other things, investigating and seeking to resolve complaints against these facilities. Existing law requires the department to allocate federal and state funds for local ombudsman programs according to a specified distribution, but prohibits the department from allocating less than $35,000 per fiscal year, except in areas with fewer than 10 facilities and fewer than 500 beds.

This bill would increase the base allocation for local ombudsman programs to $100,000 per fiscal year. The bill would appropriate $2,250,000 from the General Fund to the California Department of Aging for the purpose of increasing base allocation funding for that purpose. year in any year in which funds are made available for allocation, as specified.