Aging and Disability Resource Connection program., the official text

An act to amend Section 9120 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to aging.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

Existing law establishes an Aging and Disability Resource Connection (ADRC) program, administered by the California Department of Aging, to provide information to consumers and their families on available long-term services and supports (LTSS) programs and to assist older adults, caregivers, and persons with disabilities in accessing LTSS programs at the local level. Existing law requires area agencies on aging and independent living centers to be the core local partners in developing and operating ADRC programs, and sets out their duties.
This bill would prohibit the California Department of Aging from revoking the designation of an ADRC program solely due to the revocation or voluntary termination of a designation, suspension, or temporary inability of either the area agency on aging or the independent living center partner to serve in its operator role, and would authorize the remaining partner to continue to operate the ADRC independently during a transition period, as specified.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.
Section 9120 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is amended to read:
9120.
(a) There is hereby established an Aging and Disability Resource Connection (ADRC) program to provide information to consumers and their families on available long-term services and supports (LTSS) programs and to assist older adults, caregivers, and persons with disabilities in accessing LTSS programs at the local level through ADRC programs operated jointly by area agencies on aging and independent living centers.
(b) This article shall be administered and implemented by the California Department of Aging, in collaboration with the Department of Rehabilitation and the State Department of Health Care Services.
(c) Area agencies on aging and independent living centers shall be the core local partners in developing ADRC programs. The California Department of Aging shall assist interested and qualified area agencies on aging and independent living centers in completing an application to be designated as an ADRC program.
(d) An ADRC program operated by an area agency on aging and an independent living center shall provide all of the following:
(1) Enhanced information and referral services and other assistance at hours that are convenient for the public.
(2) Options counseling concerning available LTSS programs and public and private benefits programs.
(3) Short-term service coordination.
(4) Transition services from hospitals to home and from skilled nursing facilities to the community.
(e) An ADRC program operated by an area agency on aging and an independent living center shall do both of the following:
(1) Provide services within the geographic area served.
(2) Provide information to the public about the services provided by the program.
(f) (1) The California Department of Aging, in consultation with the Aging and Disability Resource Connection Advisory Committee within the California Department of Aging, shall develop a core model of ADRC best practices. These best practices shall be implemented by July 1, 2022, by all ADRC programs operated by area agencies on aging and independent living centers. To the extent feasible, the best practices shall be considered in the development and continued updating of the master plan on aging. In the development of these best practices, the department and advisory committee shall consider, at a minimum, all of the following practices:
(A) A person-centered counseling process.
(B) Public outreach and coordination with key referral sources, including, but not limited to, caregiver resource centers, the medical centers of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, acute care systems, local 211 programs, local multipurpose senior service programs, Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE), adult day care services, and LTSS providers.
(C) A formal followup procedure to ensure that services for which a person received a referral were received and methods for correcting service provision if needed.
(D) A model for the best ways for area agencies on aging and independent living centers to share necessary data and client information.
(E) A model for the collection and reporting of data to the California Department of Aging, which shall include, but not be limited to, the demographic information for each individual counseled, the number of consumers served by category of service, and the number of caregivers served.
(2) The California Department of Aging shall review implementation of the ADRC Infrastructure Grants Program described in Section 9121 for consideration in developing and updating the best practices model.
(g) (1) Notwithstanding any other law, the California Department of Aging shall not revoke the designation of an ADRC program solely due to the revocation or voluntary termination of a designation, suspension, or temporary inability of either the area agency on aging or the independent living center partner to serve in its operator role. In those circumstances, either the area agency on aging or the independent living center may continue to operate the ADRC independently during a transition period of not less than one year and not more than two years, upon agreement of the California Department of Aging, the Department of Rehabilitation, and the Aging and Disability Resource Connection Advisory Committee, while a new or replacement partner is identified and designated.
(2) During the transition period described in paragraph (1), the services provided by the ADRC shall continue without interruption, and joint operation shall be reestablished upon designation of the replacement partner that serves older adults or is a peer-led disability organization.
(h) The implementation of this section is contingent on an appropriation in the annual Budget Act, or another act, for that express purpose.