SECTIONS 11020-11024 - California Statutes

UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE CODE

SECTION 11020-11024

11020. (a) There is hereby established a project known as the
Caregiver Training Initiative.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature that the Caregiver
Training Initiative develop and implement proposals to recruit,
train, and retain health care providers such as certified nurse
assistants, certified nurses, registered nurses, licensed vocational
nurses, and other types of nursing and direct-care staff.
(c) (1) An advisory council is hereby established for purposes of
the Caregiver Training Initiative.
(2) The advisory council shall develop goals, policies, and a
general work plan for the Caregiver Training Initiative. For purposes
of this paragraph, the advisory council shall consider the program
model set forth in Section 11024.
(3) The duties of the advisory council shall include all of the
following:
(A) Making recommendations regarding the identification of regions
of the state for purposes of the initiative.
(B) Making recommendations to the Employment Development
Department and the State Department of Social Services regarding the
number of regional collaborative programs that should be funded under
the initiative.
(C) Based on the number and size of the regions and programs to be
funded, making recommendations to the Employment Development
Department and the State Department of Social Services regarding the
number of staff that should be assigned to the regions to assist in
developing collaborative programs consisting of partnerships and
funding proposals.
(D) Making suggestions and recommendations to the Employment
Development Department and the State Department of Social Services
with regard to the selection of the collaborative programs to be
funded in each region under the initiative and of the contracts
entered into between the state and the local agencies representing
regional partners.
(E) Providing oversight of the progress of the initiative and
identifying any needed corrective actions.
(F) Designating a member of the advisory council to participate in
the work group established by the Employment Development Department,
in conjunction with the State Department of Social Services,
pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 11022.
(d) The advisory council shall consist of the following:
(1) Each director, or a designee of the director, of the following
departments in the California Health and Human Services Agency:
(A) Employment Development Department.
(B) Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development.
(C) State Department of Social Services.
(D) State Department of Health Services.
(E) California Department of Aging.
(2) A representative from each of the following:
(A) County Welfare Directors Association.
(B) State Department of Education.
(C) Chancellor's Office of the California Community Colleges.
(D) California Association of Health Facilities.
(E) California Association of Homes and Services for the Aging.
(F) American Red Cross.
(G) California Nurses Association.
(H) Service Employees International Union.

11022. (a) (1) The Employment Development Department, in
consultation with the State Department of Social Services, shall
administer regional collaborative program selection and funding under
the Caregiver Training Initiative.
(2) The Employment Development Department, in conjunction with the
State Department of Social Services, shall establish and lead a work
group that shall be responsible for staff support to the advisory
committee established pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 11020.
(3) The Employment Development Department, in conjunction with the
State Department of Social Services, shall be responsible for all of
the following:
(A) Under the direction of the California Health and Human
Services Agency, developing the criteria for regional collaborative
programs, the number of staff to be assigned to regions, and the
process for selecting regional collaborative programs to be funded.
(B) Assigning staff to each region to assist in developing
collaborative programs consisting of partnerships and proposals for
funding.
(C) Determining the date by which collaborative programs from each
region shall submit their proposals for consideration.
(D) Selecting the collaborative program proposal from each region
that best meets the criteria established by the department.
(E) Working with representatives from the health care provider and
caregiver industries and labor, negotiating contract terms that best
serve the initiative's goals.
(F) Approving all contracts for participation under the
initiative.
(G) Distributing funds to the appropriate local agencies to
commence the regional collaborative programs.
(H) Providing staff support to the advisory council established
under subdivision (c) of Section 11020.
(I) Carrying out state-level activities identified by the
department that are necessary for the initiative's success.
(b) The Employment Development Department, in conjunction with the
State Department of Social Services, shall evaluate or contract for
the evaluation of the regional collaborative programs funded under
the initiative. The evaluation of each program site funded under the
initiative shall include the following elements:
(1) A thorough assessment of implementation issues faced by
grantees.
(2) An analysis, using appropriate statistical techniques, of
identified outcomes of interest, including employment retention,
advancement, earnings, and worker well-being measures.
(3) Annual population-based surveys of current and former CalWORKs
recipients as they enter training programs and make choices about
employment or subsequent job change.
(4) Identification and collection of well-being data regarding
health care providers and caregivers and the recipients of their
care.
(5) Construction and analysis of longitudinal administrative data.
(6) In-depth interviews with workers, staff, health care
providers, and caregivers.
(c) The Employment Development Department shall develop a strategy
to improve understanding of the demand and supply of labor, and the
labor market dynamics for low-skilled workers who choose occupations
such as certified nurse assistants. To develop the strategy, the
department shall develop information about and analyze all of the
following:
(1) Alternative occupations competing for available labor.
(2) The effect of conditions in other occupations using similar
skill sets on the supply of labor in occupations related to health
care providers and caregivers.
(3) Occupational ladders for health care providers and caregivers.
(4) The efforts by county welfare departments to increase interest
in the health care provider and caregiver industry.
(5) Factors that draw individuals into or push them away from
entering the health care provider or caregiver industry.
(6) Ways that nursing homes, long-term care facilities, and
in-home care provider communities can improve the quality of
employment of health care providers and caregivers.
(7) The treatment of staff in nursing homes and long-term care
facilities.
(8) Worker compensation claims and claims of workplace violence
due to patients with Alzheimer's disease or dementia.
(9) Benefit packages.
(10) On-the-job training for career advancement as a health care
provider or caregiver in nursing homes or long-term care facilities
or advancement in fields related to an occupation as a health care
provider or caregiver.

11024. (a) The program model for implementation of the Caregiver
Training Initiative shall consist of a solicitation and competitive
selection process to identify proposals from regional collaborative
programs that offer the best solutions to removing barriers for
attracting and retaining qualified health care providers, such as
certified nurse assistants, certified nurses, registered nurses,
licensed vocational nurses, and other types of nursing and direct
care staff.
(b) Proposals for funding under the initiative submitted by
regional collaborative programs shall address all of the following
topics:
(1) Marketing and outreach strategies that will attract eligible
participants to begin careers in the health care provider industry
and promote public awareness, especially among employers, to the
opportunity to hire trained health care providers.
(2) Collaboration and agreements with state and local agency
partners to help identify, refer, and provide services to eligible
participants.
(3) Development and use of innovative training strategies, coupled
with industry cooperation, to provide matching career paths that
will enable participants to advance in the health care industry,
including in nursing occupations such as certified nurse assistants,
certified nurses, registered nurses, and licensed vocational nurses.
(4) Strategies for providing incentives to health care employers
to hire program participants, such as taking advantage of existing
tax credits, and incentives for participants to remain in and
graduate from the program, such as postemployment training and
support components.
(5) Leveraging additional resources to support activities that are
not allowable with local welfare-to-work (Article 3.2 (commencing
with Section 11320) of Chapter 1 of Part 3 of Division 9 of the
Welfare and Institutions Code) funds and Workforce Investment Act of
1998 (29 U.S.C. Sec. 2801, et seq.) funds and that will provide
flexibility in serving participants.
(c) The regional collaborative programs that compete for contracts
under the initiative may include partnerships of any combination of
local governmental entities, private nonprofit entities, and employer
or employee groups. In order to ensure oversight for funds used in
these contracts, fiscal agents representing these collaborative
programs shall demonstrate all of the following:
(1) The capacity to retain fiduciary responsibility for funds.
(2) That the fiscal agent was chosen by agreement of collaborating
partners.
(3) Previous experience using public funds for similar projects.
(4) The ability to properly account for and administer funds.