(1) Under existing law, a child may come within the jurisdiction of the juvenile court and become a dependent child of the court in certain cases, including when the child is abused, a parent or guardian fails to adequately supervise or protect the child, as specified, or a parent or guardian fails to provide the child with adequate food, clothing, shelter, or medical treatment. Existing law generally subjects any person under 18 years of age who commits a crime to the jurisdiction of the juvenile court, which may adjudge that person to be a ward of the court. Existing law requires the responsible local agency to make a diligent effort in all out-of-home placements of dependent children to place siblings together in the same placement, and to develop and maintain sibling relationships. This bill would extend that requirement to all out-of-home placements of wards in foster care. By imposing additional duties on local agencies, the bill would create a state-mandated local program. (2) Existing law permits any person to petition the juvenile court to assert a sibling relationship with a dependent child or a child who is the subject of a petition for adjudication as a dependent child and make certain requests, including a request for visitation with the dependent child. This bill would also authorize a dependent child or a nonminor dependent to request visitation with a sibling who is in the physical custody of a common legal or biological parent. The bill would authorize a court to grant those requests for visitation, unless it is determined by the court that visitation is contrary to the safety and well-being of any of the siblings. This bill would authorize any person, including a ward, a transition dependent, or a nonminor dependent of the juvenile court, to petition the court to assert a relationship as a sibling and make certain requests, including a request for visitation, with a sibling who is, or is the subject of an adjudication as, a ward of the juvenile court, as specified. The bill would authorize a ward, transition dependent, or nonminor dependent to assert a relationship as a sibling and request visitation with a nondependent sibling who is in the physical custody of a common legal or biological parent. The bill would authorize a court to grant those requests for visitation, unless it is determined by the court that visitation is contrary to the safety and well-being of any of the siblings. (3) Existing law requires, in order to maintain ties between the parent or guardian and any siblings and a child placed in foster care, an order placing a child in foster care and ordering reunification services to provide for visitation between the parent or guardian and the child and for visitation between any siblings and the child. This bill would additionally require an order placing a child in foster care and ordering reunification services to provide for review of the reasons for any suspension of sibling visitation at each periodic review hearing and for a requirement that, in order for the suspension to continue, a court make a renewed finding that sibling interaction is contrary to the safety or well-being of either child. (4) Existing law requires that the status of a dependent child in foster care be reviewed periodically, but no less frequently than once every 6 months. Existing law requires a court to determine specified information at that hearing, including whether the child has any siblings under the court's jurisdiction, and, if any siblings exist and are not placed with the child, the frequency and nature of the visits between siblings. Existing law requires a social worker or child advocate appointed by the court, when preparing certain social studies or evaluations, to include specified information, including whether the child has any siblings under the court's jurisdiction, and, if any siblings exist and are not placed with the child, the frequency and nature of the visits between siblings. This bill would additionally require, if any siblings exist and are not placed with the child, the court to determine, and require a social worker or child advocate appointed by the court to include in those social studies or evaluations, whether any visits between the siblings are supervised or unsupervised, and if visits are supervised, a discussion of the reasons why the visits are supervised, and what needs to be accomplished in order for the visits to be unsupervised, a description of the location and length of any visits, and any plan to increase visitation between siblings. By requiring county social workers to include additional information in certain social studies or evaluations, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (5) Existing law requires, after a minor is adjudged to be a ward of the court, the court to hear evidence on the question of the proper disposition to be made of the minor. Existing law requires the probation officer to prepare a case plan if placement in foster care is recommended by the probation officer, or if the minor is already in foster care placement or pending placement. Existing law requires the probation officer to include, among other things, scheduled visits between the minor and his or her family and an explanation if no visits are made. This bill would additionally require the probation officer to include specified information relating to the child's siblings. By imposing additional duties on probation officers, the bill would create a state-mandated local program. (6) This bill would incorporate additional changes to Sections 358.1 and 366.1 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, proposed by SB 977, that would become operative only if this bill and SB 977 are chaptered and become effective on or before January 1, 2015, and this bill is chaptered last. The bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 16002 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, proposed by SB 1460, that would become operative only if this bill and SB 1460 are chaptered and become effective on or before January 1, 2015, and this bill is chaptered last. The bill would also incorporate additional changes to Section 361.2 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, proposed by SB 977 and SB 1460, that would become operative only if this bill and either or both of those bills are chaptered and become effective on or before January 1, 2015, and this bill is chaptered last. (7) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.
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Existing law establishes state hospitals for the care, treatment, and education of mentally disordered persons. These hospitals are under the jurisdiction of the State Department of State Hospitals, which is authorized by existing law to adopt regulations regarding the conduct and management of these facilities. Existing law requires each state hospital to develop an incident reporting procedure that can be used to, at a minimum, develop reports of patient assaults on employees and assist the hospital in identifying risks of patient assaults on employees. Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of health facilities, including acute psychiatric hospitals, by the State Department of Public Health. A violation of these provisions is a crime. This bill would, commencing July 1, 2015, and subject to available funding, authorize the State Department of State Hospitals to establish and maintain pilot enhanced treatment programs (ETPs) , as defined, for the treatment of patients who are at high risk of most dangerous behavior, as defined, and when safe treatment is not possible in a standard treatment environment. The bill would authorize the State Department of Public Health to approve, on or after July 1, 2015, an ETP, which meets specified requirements and regulations, as a supplemental service for an acute psychiatric hospital that submits a completed application and is operated by the State Department of State Hospitals. The bill would authorize a state hospital psychiatrist or psychologist to refer a patient to an ETP for temporary placement and risk assessment upon a determination that the patient may be at high risk for most dangerous behavior. The bill would require the forensic needs assessment panel (FNAP) to conduct a placement evaluation to determine whether the patient clinically requires ETP placement and ETP treatment can meet the identified needs of the patient. The bill would also require a forensic needs assessment team (FNAT) psychologist to perform an in-depth violence risk assessment and make a treatment plan upon the patient's admission to an ETP. The bill would require the FNAP to conduct a treatment placement meeting with specified individuals prior to the expiration of 90 days from the date of placement in the ETP to determine whether the patient may return to a standard treatment environment or the patient clinically requires continued ETP treatment. If the FNAP determines that the patient clinically requires continued ETP treatment, the bill would require the FNAP to certify the patient for further ETP treatment for one year, subject to FNAP reviews at least every 90 days, as specified. The bill would require the FNAP to conduct another treatment placement meeting prior to the expiration of the one-year certification of ETP placement to determine whether the patient may return to a standard treatment environment or be certified for further ETP treatment for another year. The bill would also require, if the FNAP determines that the patient requires continued ETP placement, that the patient's case be referred to a forensic psychiatrist or psychologist outside of the State Department of State Hospitals for independent review, that a hearing be conducted, and notice given, as specified. The bill would require the State Department of State Hospitals to monitor the ETPs, evaluate outcomes, and report its findings and recommendations to the Legislature. Because this bill would create a new crime, it imposes a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of residential care facilities for the elderly by the State Department of Social Services. Violation of these provisions is a misdemeanor. Existing law authorizes the department to deny an application for a license or suspend or revoke a license issued by the department under specified circumstances. This bill would authorize the department to order a suspension of new admissions prohibiting a residential care facility for the elderly from admitting new residents if the facility has failed to pay a fine assessed by the department or if the department finds that the facility has violated applicable laws or regulations and the violation presents a direct or immediate risk to the health, safety, or personal rights of a resident or residents of the facility and is not corrected immediately. The bill would authorize a licensee to appeal the suspension and would require the department to adopt regulations that specify the appeal procedure. By expanding the scope of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
(1) Existing law, the California Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of residential care facilities for the elderly by the State Department of Social Services. A person who violates the act is guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to civil penalty and suspension or revocation of his or her license. Existing law requires an administrator of a residential care facility for the elderly to successfully complete a department-approved certification program prior to employment that requires, among other things, a minimum of 40 hours of classroom instruction on a uniform core of knowledge, which includes resident admission, retention, and assessment procedures, and passage of a written test administered by the department. This bill would change the minimum hours of classroom instruction to 80 hours, including 60 hours of in-person instruction, and would add additional topics to the uniform core of knowledge, including the adverse effects of psychotropic drugs for use in controlling the behavior of persons with dementia. The bill would also require the department to take specific actions with regard to the test, including ensuring that it consists of at least 100 questions. This bill would prohibit a licensee, or officer or employee of the licensee, from discriminating or retaliating against any person receiving the services of the licensee's residential care facility for the elderly, or against any employee of the licensee's facility, on the basis, or for the reason that, the person, employee, or any other person dialed or called 911. This bill would require a residential care facility for the elderly that accepts or retains residents with prohibited health conditions, as defined by the department, to assist residents with accessing home health or hospice services by appropriately skilled professionals, acting within their scope of practice, to ensure that residents receive medical care as prescribed by the resident's physician and contained in the resident's service plan. The bill would define an "appropriately skilled professional" as an individual who has training and is licensed to perform the necessary medical procedures prescribed by a physician, which includes, but is not limited to, a registered nurse, licensed vocational nurse, physical therapist, occupational therapist, or respiratory therapist. The bill would provide that an appropriately skilled professional is not required if a resident is providing self-care, as defined by the department, and there is documentation in the resident's service plan that the resident is capable of providing self-care. (2) Existing law requires the Director of Social Services to ensure that licensees, administrators, and staffs of residential care facilities for the elderly have appropriate training to provide the care and services for which a license or certificate is issued. Existing law requires the department to develop a uniform core of knowledge for the continuing education of administrators of residential care facilities for the elderly. This bill would also require the department to develop a uniform core of knowledge jointly with the California Department of Aging for the initial certification of administrators, and add additional topics to the uniform core of knowledge, including, but not limited to, applicable laws and regulations and residents' rights. (3) Existing law requires that employees who assist residents with the self-administration of medications at a licensed residential care facility for the elderly, which provides care for 16 or more persons, complete 16 hours of initial training, consisting of 8 hours of hands-on shadowing training and 8 hours of other training or instruction, to be completed within the first 2 weeks of employment. If that facility provides care for 15 or fewer persons, existing law requires employees to complete 6 hours of initial training, consisting of 2 hours of hands-on shadowing training and 4 hours of other training or instruction, to be completed within the first 2 weeks of employment. This bill would require employees at a licensed residential care facility for the elderly that provides care for 16 or more persons, to complete 24 hours of initial training, consisting of 16 hours of hands-on shadowing training and 8 hours of other training or instruction, to be completed within the first 4 weeks of employment. For facilities providing care for 15 or fewer persons, the bill would increase those training requirements to 10 hours of initial training, consisting of 6 hours of hands-on shadowing training, and 4 hours of other training, to be completed within the first 2 weeks of employment. This bill would require all residential care facilities for the elderly to provide training to direct care staff on postural supports, restricted conditions or health services, and hospice care that includes 4 hours of training on the care, supervision, and special needs of those residents, prior to providing direct care to residents. The bill also would require 4 hours of training thereafter of in-service training per year on the subject of serving those residents. (4) Because a violation of any of the above provisions would be a misdemeanor, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. (5) This bill would make its provisions operative on January 1, 2016. (6) This bill would become operative only if AB 1570 is enacted and takes effect on or before January 1, 2015.
Existing law, the Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of residential care facilities for the elderly by the State Department of Social Services. A violation of these provisions is a misdemeanor. This bill would establish specified rights for residents of privately operated residential care facilities for the elderly, including, among other things, to be accorded dignity in their personal relationships with staff, to be granted a reasonable level of personal privacy of accommodations, medical treatment, personal care and assistance, and to confidential treatment of their records and personal information, as specified. The bill would require, at admission, a facility staff person to personally advise a resident and the resident's representative, as described, of these and other specified rights and to provide them with a written copy of these rights. By expanding the scope of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Existing law establishes the Department of Veterans Affairs, which is responsible for administering various programs and services for the benefit of veterans. This bill would require, by July 1, 2015, the Department of Veterans Affairs to develop a transition assistance program for veterans who have been discharged from the Armed Forces of the United States or the National Guard of any state, as specified. The bill would require the program to include certain California-specific transition assistance information.
Existing law provides for the establishment and operation of the Veterans Home of California at various sites for aged and disabled veterans who meet certain eligibility requirements. Existing law requires members of the homes to pay fees and charges as determined by the department, but prohibits the total of the member's fees and charges for specified types of care for any fiscal year to be greater than a certain percentage of the member's annual income. Existing law also requires nonveteran spouses who become members of the home on or after July 1, 2009, to pay fees and charges based on the level of care, as specified, or an amount equal to the annual amount of federal per diem received for a veteran member in domiciliary care, whichever is greater, as provided. This bill would instead require nonveteran spouses to pay the same fees and charges as paid by the veteran members of the home, as determined by the department and subject to the same prohibitions. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 1012.3 of the Military and Veterans Code proposed by AB 614 that would become operative if this bill and AB 614 are both chaptered and this bill is chaptered last.
Existing law makes it unlawful for a person, at the time of sale of a commodity, to charge an amount greater than the price that is advertised, posted, marked, displayed, or quoted for the commodity. Existing law requires the Department of Food and Agriculture and each county sealer to enforce these provisions. A violation of provisions governing weights and measures is a misdemeanor, except as otherwise provided. Existing law, the California Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act, requires a beverage distributor to pay a redemption payment in a specified amount for every beverage container sold or offered for sale in the state to the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, for deposit in the California Beverage Container Recycling Fund. The act authorizes a dealer, as defined, to separately identify the amount of any redemption payment on the customer cash register receipt provided to the consumer by the dealer that is applied to the purchase of a beverage container. This bill would prohibit a dealer from charging an amount for a redemption payment for a beverage container that is greater than the amount set forth in the act. The bill would provide that a violation of this provision is an infraction punishable by a fine of not more than $100 when the overcharge is $1 or less. Because a violation of this provision would be a crime, this bill would create a state-mandated local program. In a specified report required to be submitted to the Department of Food and Agriculture, the bill would require a sealer to separately report any action taken to enforce this provision that results in a penalty being levied for a violation of the provision. This bill would require the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery to notify the Department of Food and Agriculture of any changes to the California Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act, or regulations issued pursuant to the act, that affect refund values, redemption payments, or the responsibilities of a dealer. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Existing law establishes the Department of Food and Agriculture, which is tasked with, among other things, promoting and protecting the agricultural industry of the state, and seeking to enhance, protect, and perpetuate the ability of the private sector to produce food and fiber in a way that benefits the general welfare and economy of the state. Existing law also establishes the California Healthy Food Financing Initiative for the purpose of promoting healthy food access in the state. This bill would create the Office of Farm to Fork within the department, and would require the office, to the extent that resources are available, to work with various entities, including, among others, the agricultural industry and other organizations involved in promoting food access, to increase the amount of agricultural products available to underserved communities and schools in the state. The bill would require the office to, among other things, identify urban and rural communities that lack access to healthy food, and to coordinate with local, state, and federal agencies to promote and increase awareness of programs that promote greater food access. The bill would create the Farm to Fork Account in the Department of Food and Agriculture Fund that would consist of money made available from federal, state, industry, and other sources, and would continuously appropriate the money deposited in the account without regard to fiscal years to carry out the purposes of the Office of Farm to Fork. By creating a continuously appropriated fund, the bill would make an appropriation. The bill, until January 1, 2020, would also require the department, in any year in which funds are received into or expended from the Farm to Fork Account, to submit to the Legislature an overview of the account's income and expenditures.
Existing law, the federal Telecommunications Act of 1996, establishes a program of cooperative federalism for the regulation of telecommunications to attain the goal of local competition, while implementing specific, predictable, and sufficient federal and state mechanisms to preserve and advance universal service, consistent with certain universal service principles. The universal service principles include the principle that consumers in all regions of the nation, including low-income consumers and those in rural, insular, and high-cost areas, should have access to telecommunications and information services, including interexchange services and advanced telecommunications and information services, that are reasonably comparable to those services provided in urban areas and that are available at rates that are reasonably comparable to rates charged for similar services in urban areas. Existing law authorizes the Public Utilities Commission to supervise and regulate every public utility in the state, including telephone corporations, and to fix just and reasonable rates and charges for the public utility. Existing law establishes the state's 6 universal service funds in the State Treasury, including the California High-Cost Fund-A Administrative Committee Fund and the California High-Cost Fund-B Administrative Committee Fund, and provides that moneys in each of the state's universal service funds are the proceeds of rates and are held in trust for the benefit of ratepayers and to compensate telephone corporations for their costs of providing universal service. Moneys in the funds may only be expended to accomplish specified telecommunications universal service programs, upon appropriation in the annual Budget Act or upon supplemental appropriation. Existing law, until January 1, 2015, requires the commission to develop, implement, and maintain a suitable program to establish a fair and equitable local rate structure aided by universal service rate support to small independent telephone corporations that serve rural areas and are subject to rate-of-return regulation by the commission (the CHCF-A program) . Existing law, until January 1, 2015, requires the commission to develop, implement, and maintain a suitable, competitively neutral, and broad-based program to establish a fair and equitable local rate support structure aided by universal service rate support to telephone corporations serving areas where the cost of providing services exceeds rates charged by providers, as determined by the commission (the CHCF-B program) . This bill would delete the provision stating that moneys in each of the state's universal service funds are the proceeds of rates and are held in trust for the benefit of ratepayers and to compensate telephone corporations for their cost of providing universal service and would instead provide that moneys in the funds are held in trust. The bill would encourage the commission, in administering the universal service program funds, and in administering state participation in federal universal service programs, to maximize the amount of federal funding to California participants in the federal programs. The bill would extend the repeal date of the CHCF-A program and CHCF-B program requirements until January 1, 2019. The bill would renumber the statute establishing the programmatic requirements for the CHCF-B program so that it is located in the code adjacent to the statute establishing the California High-Cost Fund-B Administrative Committee Fund, would delete outdated language, and would make other conforming changes. Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or an order or direction of the commission is a crime. Because the CHCF-A program and CHCF-B program, that are extended under the provisions of this bill, are within the act and a decision or order of the commission implements the programs' requirements, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program by expanding the definition of a crime. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.