(a) The Legislature finds and declares that the purpose of the Alzheimer’s Day Care-Resource Center Program is to provide access to specialized day care resource centers for individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia-related disorders and support to their families and caregivers.
(b) The following definitions shall govern the construction of this section:
(1) “Participant” means an individual with Alzheimer’s disease or a disease of a related type, particularly the participant in the moderate to severe stages, whose care needs and behavioral problems may make it difficult for the individual to participate in existing care programs.
(2) “Other dementia-related disorders” means those irreversible brain disorders that result in the symptoms described in paragraph (3). This shall include, but is not limited to, multi-infarct dementia and Parkinson’s disease.
(3) “Care needs” or “behavioral problems” means the manifestations of symptoms that may include, but need not be limited to, memory loss, aphasia (communication disorder), becoming lost or disoriented, confusion and agitation, with the potential for combativeness, and incontinence.
(4) “Alzheimer’s day care resource center” means a center developed pursuant to this section to provide a program of specialized day care for participants with dementia.
(c) The department shall adopt policies and guidelines to carry out the purposes of this section, and the adoption thereof shall not be subject to Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
(d) In order to be eligible to receive funds under this section, a direct services contract applicant shall do all of the following:
(1) Provide a program and services to meet the special care needs of, and address the behavioral problems of, participants.
(2) Provide adequate and appropriate staffing to meet the nursing, psychosocial, and recreational needs of participants.
(3) Provide physical facilities that include the safeguards necessary to protect the participants’ safety.
(4) Provide a program for assisting individuals who cannot afford the entire cost of the program. This may include, but need not be limited to, utilizing additional funding sources to provide supplemental aid and allowing family members to participate as volunteers at the applicant’s facility.
(5) Utilize volunteers and volunteer aides and provide adequate training for those volunteers.
(6) Provide a match of not less than 25 percent of the direct services contract amount consisting of cash or in-kind contributions, identify other potential sources of funding for the applicant’s facility, and outline plans to seek additional funding to remain solvent.
(7) Maintain family and caregiver support groups.
(8) Encourage family members and caregivers to provide transportation to and from the applicant’s facility for participants.
(9) Concentrate on participants in the moderate to severe ranges of disability.
(10) Provide or arrange for a noon meal to participants.
(11) Serve as model centers available to other service providers for onsite training in the care of these patients.
(12) Maintain a systematic means of capturing and reporting all required community-based services program data.
(e) To the extent possible within their resources, direct services contract applicants are encouraged to:
(1) Establish contact with local educational programs, such as nursing and gerontology programs, to provide onsite training to students.
(2) Provide services to assist family members, including counseling and referrals to other resources.
(3) Involve the center in community outreach activities and provide educational and informational materials to the community.
(f) A direct services contractor shall be licensed as an adult day program, as defined in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 1502 of the Health and Safety Code, or as an adult day health care center, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 1570.7 of the Health and Safety Code, and shall be subject to the requirements of this division, including this chapter, for purposes of operating an Alzheimer’s day care resource center. If the direct services contractor surrenders its adult day program or adult day health care center license, or if the license has been terminated as a result of noncompliance with applicable licensure or certification standards, these actions shall also serve to terminate the direct services contractor’s Alzheimer’s day care resource center contract.
(g) An Alzheimer’s day care resource center that was not licensed as an adult day program or adult day health care center prior to January 1, 2005, shall be required to be so licensed by January 1, 2008. A direct services program that qualifies to operate as an Alzheimer’s day care resource center after January 1, 2005, shall be required to be licensed as an adult day program or adult day health care center.
(h) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to prevent existing adult day care services, including adult day health care centers, from developing a specialized program under this chapter. The applicants shall meet all of the requirements for direct services contractors in this chapter and satisfactorily demonstrate that the direct services contract funding award shall be used to develop a distinct specialized program for this target population.
(Amended by Stats. 2009, 4th Ex. Sess., Ch. 4, Sec. 9. Effective July 28, 2009.)