(a) The office shall be headed by an individual, to be known as the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman, who shall meet the qualifications established by the federal Older Americans Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 3001 et seq.) and be selected from among individuals with expertise and experience in the fields of long-term care and advocacy. Within the first year of appointment, the State Ombudsman shall complete the training described in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 9719, and a 10-hour internship performing ombudsman services in a long-term care facility.
(b) The State Ombudsman shall be located in Sacramento. Other staff employed by the office may be located elsewhere in the state.
(c) (1) The State Ombudsman shall possess at least a bachelor’s degree, and have a minimum of five years’ professional experience that shall include all of the following areas:
(A) Gerontology, long-term care, or other relevant social services or health services programs.
(B) The legal system and the legislative process.
(C) Dispute or problem resolution techniques, including investigation, mediation, and negotiation.
(D) Organizational management and program administration.
(2) The professional experience described in paragraph (1) requires any reasonable combination of the fields described in subparagraphs (A) to (D), inclusive, of that paragraph for a total of five years, and does not require five years’ experience in each area. At the discretion of the director, a master’s or doctoral degree relevant to a field described in paragraph (1) may be substituted for one or two years, respectively, of professional experience. However, the applicant’s professional experience and field of study leading to the master’s or doctoral degree shall, nevertheless, include all of the fields described in paragraph (1).
(d) The State Ombudsman may not have been employed by any long-term care facility within the three-year period immediately preceding his or her appointment.
(e) Neither the State Ombudsman nor any member of his or her immediate family may have, or have had within the past three years, any pecuniary interest in long-term care facilities.
(Amended by Stats. 2012, Ch. 649, Sec. 5. (SB 345) Effective January 1, 2013.)