AB 614: Area agency on aging: Alzheimer’s disease and dementia: training and services.

Existing law establishes the California Department of Aging in the California Health and Human Services Agency. Existing law requires the department to designate various private nonprofit or public agencies as area agencies on aging to work for the interests of older Californians within a planning and service area and provide a broad array of social and nutritional services. Existing law requires the department to provide leadership to those agencies in developing systems of home- and community-based services that maintain individuals in their own homes or least restrictive homelike environments and requires those agencies to function as the community link at the local level for the development of those services. Existing law requires each area agency on aging to maintain a professional staff that is supplemented by volunteers, governed by a board of directors or elected officials, and whose activities are reviewed by an advisory council consisting primarily of older individuals from the community.

Existing law requires the department to adopt policies and guidelines to carry out the purposes of the Alzheimers Day Care-Resource Center program, whereby direct services contractors receive funding to provide services to meet the special care needs of, and address the behavioral problems of, individuals with Alzheimers disease or a disease of a related type.

This bill would require require, until July 1, 2023, each area agency on aging to develop an evidence-based or evidence-informed core training program for staff relating to Alzheimers disease and dementia, and any additional training based on local needs. The bill would also require each agency to maintain an Alzheimers and dementia specialist to provide information, assistance, referrals, and options counseling to families. If an agency lacks the capacity to maintain a specialist, the bill would authorize the agency to contract with a qualified local entity to provide these services, as specified. The bill would specify that it would be implemented only to the extent that funds are appropriated by the Legislature for its purposes. purposes, including funding to augment the administrative operations of the department that are necessary to implement these provisions.