AB 392 Restores Partial Funding to Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program

According to the California Chronicle, California Assembly Bill (AB) 392 was signed by Governor Schwarzenegger on August 6, 2009 and took effect immediately. AB 392 restores a portion--$1.6 million--of the $3.8 million to the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program that was cut by the Governor in 2008.

Role of Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program
California's Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program, which operates under the California Department of Aging, is responsible for investigating and resolving complaints that are made by or on behalf of residents of long-term care facilities. Long-term care facilities include nursing homes, residential care facilities for the elderly, and assisted living facilities. Additionally, the Ombudsman Program advocates for resident rights in the long-term care system and its laws and policies.

With the population of adults over the age of 60 likely to rise dramatically to 6.5 million by 2010 and up to 9 million in 2020, the Ombudsman Program plays a critical role in protecting the safety of nursing home residents. Local Ombudsman programs make unannounced, monitored visits to long-term care facilities and respond to reports of allegations of nursing home abuse and neglect. Without Ombudsman programs, these long-term care facilities would only be reviewed only once each year by governmental inspectors.

AB 392
Back in May 2009, AB 392 was under consideration by the California State Legislature. The bill was proposed by Assembly Members Mike Feuer and Dave Jones after the Governor vetoed $3.9 million in funding for local Ombudsman programs, which was approximately half of the Ombudsman Programs' funding. The cuts led to staff lay offs and a reduction of services, such as monitoring facilities and responding to complaints.

The funding for AB 392 will come from penalties that long-term care facilities have paid from failing to comply with federal laws that protect long-term care facility residents. The new funding will be available for use by Ombudsman programs for the rest of the 2009-2010 fiscal year.

Types of Nursing Home Abuse or Neglect
Abuse of the elderly can range in conduct from verbal abuse to violent, physical abuse. Elder abuse can take a variety of different forms, such as:

• Physical abuse, including hitting, inappropriate use of restraints, and inappropriate use of drugs on the elderly individual;
• Neglect or abandonment is one of the most common forms of elder abuse, where caregivers fail to provide proper care and supervision of elderly individuals;
• Verbal abuse, including yelling, threats, humiliation, or habitual blaming;
• Sexual abuse, including sexual contact with the elderly person without his or her consent; and
• Financial abuse, including misusing the elderly individual's checks, credit cards, or bank accounts.

Nursing home abuse or neglect is a very serious matter that necessitates immediate action and attention by family members and friends of the elderly individual. If you suspect that you or a loved one has been the victim of nursing home abuse or neglect, contact The Law Offices of James R. Gillen to schedule a confidential consultation.

Pending California Bills Propose Funding for Senior Ombudsman Services

Two current bills under consideration by the legislature could increase the funding available for senior ombudsman services provided by the state. These bills follow the recent budget cuts from earlier this year that deeply affected the funding for these same services, as reported by the Times-Herald.

Senior ombudsman, who operate under the direction of the California Department of Aging, focus on investigating and resolving complaints made by, or on behalf of, individual residents in long-term care facilities. Nursing homes, residential care facilities, and assisted living facilities are all reviewed by ombudsmen. These individuals also pursue resident advocacy in the long-term care system through both legal and policy-oriented avenues. With the state population over 60 years old likely to reach 6.4 million by next year, senior ombudsman will continue to serve an important function in the years to come.

AB 392

AB 392 would restore $1.6 million to the Long-term Care Ombudsman Program to help make up for the $3.8 million the state legislature slashed from its budget this year.

AB 935

AB 935 would collect fines levied in senior home violations cases and direct those funds to local long-term care ombudsman programs. These additional funds would add to existing funding levels to allow the programs to prevent senior neglect and abuse.

Affect of the Existing Cuts

As a result of the budget cuts laid down by the state earlier this year, most senior ombudsman programs throughout the state had to face major staff reductions, while simultaneously being unable to recruit or train volunteers to bolster the programs. Since the cuts, ombudsman programs have had to use their limited resources to focus on enforcement issues, meanwhile neglecting advocacy, education and training on behalf of seniors. Even enforcement concerns have received reduced attention. Ombudsman programs have had to reduce visits to long-term care facilities considerably, changing regular visits from weekly to monthly, or monthly visits to yearly visits, in some cases.

Advocates for the senior ombudsman programs argue that the economic crisis that currently embroils the nation and California has increased the threat of elder abuse. Statistics are not available for senior abuse for the current year. For the previous two years, there were 93 criminal filings for senior abuse in 2007 and 74 filings in 2008, according to the California Attorney General. To maintain the state’s ability to track and research claims of elder abuse, advocates for the senior ombudsman program hope that the two bills being considered by the legislature receive approval.

Thank you for reading my blog. If you have a question or comment, feel free to respond to this posting, but keep in mind your response will not be confidential. If you or a loved one has been the victim of abuse, negligence, or neglect by a nursing home, contact an experienced elder law attorney to find out your legal rights and options. Contact the Law Offices of James R. Gillen to discuss your matter confidentially.