LOCAL
PARATRANSIT:
The
MOU between the Paratransit broker, providers, and adult day
services agencies was approved and sent out in May.
A
waiver form, which would allow agencies to receive information
on clients' Paratransit eligibility status, was also sent out
in May. This form would enable the Paratransit broker to send
a letter to the agency at the time that a client needs to reapply
for Paratransit services.
Currently,
the Network is working on acceptance of ADHC eligibility requirements
for Paratransit Group Van Services eligibility requirements.
Acceptance of ADHC eligibility requirements would streamline
the application process for Paratransit Group Van Services.
If you have questions about this issue, please call Abby Lamb
at (415) 750-5330 x.362 or email her at: alamb@ioaging.org
TRANSITIONAL
CARE: Coordinated Services
for Seniors - In the coming months, the San Francisco Senior
Center will take on the role of a broker of social services
for elder patients leaving hospitals. The San Francisco Senior
Center will work with other agencies in a transitional care
"network." The primary function of the transitional
care network will be to set up an array of coordinated services
for aging adults leaving hospitals. The transitional care network
also aims to build capacity for transitional care in all hospitals
in the city; in the past, the San Francisco Senior Center's
Homecoming Services program worked with only two hospitals.
Hospitals will refer patients to the Network Coordinator, who
will then refer the patient to a member agency's service based
on the patient's neighborhood or cultural background.
Currently,
the following agencies with adult day services are already part
of the San Francisco Senior Center's transitional care network:
Kimochi, Catholic Charities, and Self-Help for the Elderly.
The requirements for being part of this project are: (1) Dedicate
some staff time (could be 10% of a staff person's time) and
(2) signing an MOU with the San Francisco Senior Center. If
you would like to become part of the San Francisco Senior Center's
network, please contact Kathleen Mayeda at: (415) 923-4490.
DAAS
Intake and Referral Services: The Network is also
working on ensuring that the DAAS Information and Referral (I&R)
Department is aware of screening requirements for the different
kinds of adult day services. DAAS' I&R Department currently
takes phone calls from the community and conducts screenings
for various services, then refers the callers to these services
in the community. The Network will be training DAAS I&R
staff in October.
City
Budget: On Monday, June 2, Mayor Newsom released
his proposed budget for San Francisco. The following proposed
cuts, increases, "no changes," and additions related
to services for aging adults and people with disabilities are
included in the Mayor's budget.
Cuts:
· The Health-at-Home program, in which Public Health
Nurses visit aging adults
and connect them to social and health services, would be cut
$3.6 million from last year's proposal.
· Health promotion and prevention through the Department
of Public Health would be cut $1.4 million from
last year's proposal.
· Openhouse would be cut $20,000 for a program in which
LGBT senior and persons with disabilities receive
support services.
· Bayview Hunters Point MSSC would lose $15,000, the
whole program, for money management for 30 consumers.
· 30th Street congregate meals would $30,000, which would
mean that the meal program would not happen on Saturdays.
Increases:
· Community care mental health services would increase
by $7.4 million.
· In-Home Support Services, wages and benefits would
increase by $9 million.
No
changes:
The Community Living Fund would receive $3 million, the same
as last year. The performance measure of the CLF is for 70 percent
of clients to successfully continue to live in the community
for a period of six months after beginning to receive support
from the CLF.
Additions:
·
$100,000 for Alzheimer's and Dementia
Planning
·
$30.8 million for Senior Affordable Housing
Development, expected to develop 410 rental units
·
$385,000 for a Diversion and Community
Integration Program (DCIP) to support Laguna Honda
Hospital clients in community settings (a result of the
Chambers lawsuit).
For
more information on the Chambers settlement, see: http://www.bazelon.org/newsroom/2007/Chambers12-07.htm
For
more details, on the budget proposal for aging adults, please
see: http://208.75.85.105/ebudget/seniors.html
(if link does not work, cut and paste into browser).
STATE
IS THERE A CHANCE TO RESTORE THE FULL
10% RATE? There is always a chance. It now appears more
likely that the full legislature may agree to restore some portion
of the rate cut, but at what level and for which providers?
The final result will not be known for several months. Thanks
for everyone's help You can still contact your local legislator
with the following key points:
Read
the Top Ten Reasons Not To Cut Medi-Cal 2008
Click
Here to Find your local legislators!
WE SUPPORT:
AB 317 - San Francisco
Adult Day Services Network supports AB 317. The California Association
for Adult Day Services (CAADS, http://www.caads.org) sponsored
this bill. Assembly Member Berg (D-Eureka) introduced this bill
on February 13, 2007. Most recently, in legislative committee,
it was referred to the Assembly Committee on Appropriations
on August 30, 2007. Originally emphasizing training and technical
assistance for ADCRCs, amendments in progress would provide
ADHCs with emergency flexibility due to the cuts and delays
in Medi-Cal reimbursements. Specifically, this legislative amendments
propose the following two changes to ADHC requirements:
(1) ADHCs can reduce the number of hours or days in operation
without the California's Department
of Aging approving this change beforehand.
(2) The minimum average number of therapy hours per month would
be a regulation that is suspended;
the individual participant's needs would be provided
through required core services.
To read the text of this bill, please see: http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/07-08/bill/asm/ab_0301-0350/ab_317_bill_20070703_amended_sen_v95.pdf
AB 572 - San Francisco
Adult Day Services Network supports AB 572. The California Association
for Adult Day Services (CAADS, http://www.caads.org) sponsored
this bill. Assembly Member Berg (D-Eureka) introduced this bill
on February 21, 2007. It was passed by the Assembly on January
29, 2008 with 79 ayes and 0 noes. Most recent action to this
bill occurred on May 19, 2008, when it was amended and re-referred
to the Senate Committee on Health. The purpose of this bill
is to clarify and update existing ADHC practices, terms, and
requirements specified in SB 1755 (Chesbro - Chapter No. 691
statutes 2006). It is a "clean-up" bill for SB 1755.
The modifications that would be made to the Health and Safety
Code and Welfare and Institutions Code include:
(1) The definition of core staff in the legal codes would be
congruent with the mandated
core services that went into effect on February 1, 2008.
(2) The "core" daily meal requirement would be modified
to allow a participant to decline
a meal when medical contraindications exist.
(3) The most common flexibility requests would be allowed by
the law without being approved
by the Department of Public Health Licensing Division.
(4) ADHCs would be able to transport participants for more than
one hour except when there
are medical contraindications.
To read the text of this bill, please see: http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/07-08/bill/asm/ab_0551-0600/ab_572_bill_20080519_amended_sen_v96.pdf
_________________________________________________________________
FEDERAL
COMING SOON!
