(a) There is in the California Health and Human Services Agency, the California Department of Aging.
(b) The department’s mission shall be to provide leadership to the area agencies on aging in developing systems of home- and community-based services that maintain individuals in their own homes or least restrictive homelike environments.
(c) (1) In fulfilling its mission, the department shall develop minimum standards for service delivery to ensure that its programs meet consumer needs, operate in a cost-effective manner, and preserve the independence and dignity of aging Californians. In accomplishing its mission, the department shall consider available data and population trends in developing programs and policies, collaborate with area agencies on aging, the commission, and other state and local agencies, and consider the views of advocates, consumers and their families, and service providers.
(2) The department shall report the Elder Economic Security Standard Index data for each service area in its state plan and use it as a reference when making decisions about allocating its existing resources, but only if the Elder Economic Security Standard Index is updated and made available to the department, and if the available public data used to calculate each Elder Economic Security Standard Index data element is calculated and updated for each California county and made available to the department in a format that displays each county’s specific data.
(d) The minimum standards for the department programs shall ensure that the system meets all of the following requirements:
(1) Have the flexibility to respond to the needs of individuals and their families and caregivers.
(2) Provide for consumer choice and self-determination.
(3) Enable consumers to be involved in designing and monitoring the system.
(4) Be equally accessible to diverse populations regardless of income, consistent with state and federal law.
(5) Have consistent statewide policy, with local control and implementation.
(6) Include preventive services and home- and community-based support.
(7) Have cost containment and fiscal incentives consistent with the delivery of appropriate services at the appropriate level.
(Amended by Stats. 2011, Ch. 668, Sec. 4. (AB 138) Effective January 1, 2012.)