California lawmakers consider home care licensing bill

By Allison Bell

June 12, 2013 at 09:34 AM

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The California Assembly Appropriations Committee is consider Assembly Bill 322, a bill that would create the Home Care Services Act of 2013.

The bill, introduced by Assemblymember Mariko Yamada, D-Davis, Calif., would create a new regulatory system for aides who provide non-medical services in the home for people who are elderly or disabled.

California already has regulatory structures in place for people who provide medical care in the home, but it has no training standards, background check standards, or other standards for the people and organizations that provide services such as cooking, cleaning, feeding and dressing, Chris Reefe, an Assembly analyst, wrote in an analysis of the bill.

Bill supporters have estimated that about 100,000 home care aides may be providing services in California, according to another Assembly analyst, Julie Salley-Gray.

A.B. 322 would put the State Department of Social Services in charge of administratering a new home care services law.

The bill would define a "home care aide" to be an "individual providing care services to a client in the client's residence," Reefe said.

Home care aides could include "personal attendants," as the term "personal attendant" is defined by state law, Reefe said.

The bill would impose a penalty of up to $400 per day on individuals and organizations that provide home care services without first getting a license.

A home care organization that employs the home care aides would have to post its license in a conspicuous location and maintain valid workers' compensation coverage and an employee dishonesty bond.

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