The California Department of Aging.

Existing law, the Mello-Granlund Older Californians Act, establishes the California Department of Aging in the California Health and Human Services Agency, and sets forth its mission to provide leadership to the area agencies on aging in developing systems of home- and community-based services that maintain individuals in their own homes or least restrictive homelike environments. Existing law requires the department to develop minimum standards for service delivery, and requires those standards to ensure that a system meets specified requirements, including that it has cost containment and fiscal incentives consistent with the delivery of appropriate services at the appropriate level. This bill would delete that cost containment and fiscal incentives requirement. The act establishes the Community-Based Services Network, administered by the department, which requires the department to enter into contracts with local area agencies on aging to carry out the requirements of various community-based services programs, including Alzheimer's day care resource centers, the Brown Bag Program, the Foster Grandparent Program, the Linkages Program, the Respite Program, and the Senior Companion Program. This bill would additionally require the department to provide the area agencies on aging with flexibility to develop and manage programs based on need, including the block granting of funds to administer the above programs. The bill would also recast and revise the parameters of specified community-based services programs. Existing law, the Senior Center Bond Act of 1984, provided for the sale of general obligation bonds, the proceeds of which were to be used, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to make awards to private nonprofit agencies for the purpose of acquiring, renovating, constructing, and purchasing of equipment for senior centers, funding startup costs of programs, or program expansion of senior center programs. This bill would repeal those provisions.