OWL California

THE OLDER WOMEN’S LEAGUE OF CALIFORNIA’S
2OTH ANNUAL MOTHER’S DAY PROGRAM AT THE CAPITOL
May 7, 2009

Assemblymember Mike Feuer, author of our bills, spoke with our group

AB 392 (Feuer/Jones)
AB 935 (Feuer/Jones)
Funding for State Long-Term-Care Ombudsman Program

What are AB 392 and AB 935?

AB 392 and AB 935 are components of a two-bill package intended to restore and provide for the continued funding of the State Long-Term-Care (LTC) Ombudsman Program.
AB 392 (an urgency measure) would appropriate $1.6 million from the Federal Health Facilities Citation Penalties Account to support the Ombudsman Program for the 2009-2010 Fiscal Year.
AB 935 would authorize the future use of both the state and the federal penalty accounts for the continued support of the Program.

Background:

In September of 2008, Governor Schwarzenegger, using a line-item veto, eliminated California’s share of cost for the state’s LTC Ombudsman Program. This budget cut represented about half of local ombudsman program funding and had a devastating effect on the ability of the program to carry out its mandate to protect seniors, the disabled and other residents of assisted living facilities from abuse and neglect. Although seniors were not the only vulnerable group harmed by the Governor’s action, seniors have been disproportionately affected by the cuts in many services and safeguards at a time when this segment of the population is growing exponentially.

Elder and dependent adult abuse is a serious and growing problem. More than 225,000 Californians become victims of such abuse each year
Women constitute the largest population in LTC nursing and assisted living facilities.
Women comprise the majority of elder abuse cases.
With more than 3.7 million Californians 65 or older, and an expected population growth to 6.3 million by 2018, the incidence of elder and dependent adult abuse is likely to grow. (California Department of Justice.)
The fastest growing segment of California’s population is individuals over the age of 80.
While approximately 628,000 Californians are 85 or older today, by 2050 an estimated 2.9 million individuals will be in this age group.
Those 85 and older have a significantly higher rate of severe chronic health conditions and functional limitations that result in the need for more health and supportive services.

The LTC Ombudsman Program

The LTC Ombudsman Program, administered by the California Department of Aging, is a community-supported program that uses volunteers who are trained and certified to investigate complaints, monitor facilities and advocate on behalf of LTC facility residents. There is no other program or agency that provides this critical advocacy service, which significantly improves residents’ quality of life and quality of care.

By passing and implementing AB 392 and 935, California will be acknowledging the importance of the LTC Ombudsman Program as a way to ensure that older Americans will live with dignity, integrity and safety, and without abuse, neglect, and exploitation.

We gave him our rapt attention

Linda Roberts takes notes

This was the twentieth year that we have come to the Capitol to remind the legislators and the governor about showing appreciation for the Mothers of California. We know they share our concerns for the health, safety and welfare of California women. To that end, we asked them to accept their responsibility to protect vulnerable seniors and the disabled in nursing homes and other facilities from abuse and neglect by restoring funding for the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program.
Our enthusiastic members had a great time and we had terrific conversations with our Legislators.