WELCOME EVERYONE BUSINESS. MY
GOD! YOU CAN HEAR ME FIND WELL
WELCOME TO THE SUNNY SAN
FERNANDO VALLEY. REMEMBER DOING
THAT? SORRY IN HOSTING WHITE
MIKE, WHAT MIGHT BE ONE OF MY
FINAL LAST HEARINGS WITH AGING
COMMITTEE SO I WELCOME YOU ON
BOTH COUNTS, BOTH AS ONE OF MY
FINAL COMMITTEE HEARINGS AS WELL
AS TO THE SUNNY CENTRAL VALLEY.
TAKE A BRIEF MOMENT AND THINK
THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE BEEN
WORKING BEHIND THE SCENES TO
MAKE SURE THAT THIS BECOMES A
REALITY. BUT THIS BUILDING HERE
IS THE. ONE OF THE FEW STATE
BUILDINGS IN LOS ANGELES, AND IT
HOSTS MULTIPLE DIFFERENT
AGENCIES. UM AND THIS IS WHERE
MY DISTRICT OFFICE HAS BEEN FOR
THE LAST 10 YEARS. UM AND AGAIN
, THANK YOU TO ALL EVERYONE
WHO'S TRAVELED FROM NEAR AND FAR
TO BE HERE AND TO MAKE THIS
COMMITTEE HEARING THE REALITY.
WANT TO TAKE A BRIEF MOMENT ALSO
, AND THE OPPORTUNITY TO WELCOME
JUDY G. ON WHO IS SITTING OVER
THERE AS TO THE AGING AND LONG
TERM CARE COMMITTEE. JUDY IS
TRANSITIONING FROM MY CAPITAL
OFFICE AS MY SCHEDULE ER TO, UH
TO COMMITTEE SECRETARY, UM, ALSO
LIKE TO THANK THE LEGISLATIVE
WOMEN'S CAUCUS FOR PARTNERING
WITH THE AGING COMMITTEE ON THIS
HEARING. YOUR COLLABORATION IS
CRITICAL, ESPECIALLY ON THE
TOPIC AREAS THAT WE'RE GOING TO
BE ADDRESSING, AND YOUR INPUT IS
GOING TO BE KEEP AND MOVING
ISSUES FORWARD. TODAY'S HEARING
IS ON THE MASTER PLAN FOR AGING
, WITH A STRUCTURED FOCUS ON M
P, A GOLD FOUR CAREGIVING THAT
WORKS AS WE START TO HEARING THE
WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF AGING
DIRECTOR SUSAN MORRIS. I WANT
ALL OF US TO RECOGNIZE THE
ENORMOUS LIFT BEYOND BEING DONE
BY THE DEPARTMENT. FOUR YEARS
AGO WHEN I CAME TO THIS
COMMITTEE, UM I QUICKLY LEARNED
ABOUT THE ISSUES IMPACTING THE
AGING. COMMUNITY. AH SO QUICKLY
LEARNED ABOUT THE LACK AND THEN
TREMENDOUS NEEDS IN THE ISSUE
SPACE AS WELL AND ALSO NOTICED
HOW IMPORTANT IT WAS TO
STRENGTHEN THE QUILT OF THE
ISSUES SPACE. THAT'S WHEN PUT
TOGETHER OVER. THE DECADES
BECAUSE THERE'S BEEN A LACK OF A
COMPREHENSIVE PLAN. TO MOVE
pSTARTED WORKING AND MOTIVATING
FOR ALL OF US IN THE UNITED WAY
TO WORK TOWARDS ESTABLISHING THE
MASTER PLAN. AND THANKFULLY THAT
YEAR, GOVERNOR NEWSOM RAN,
ELECTED BECAME GOVERNOR, AND
HE'S DONE TREMENDOUS WORK. UM
THROUGH HIS ADMINISTRATION TO
MOVE THE BALL FORWARD, AND I
THANK HIM FOR THAT, AS WELL AS
THOSE HE'S APPOINTED WHO ARE
HERE WITH US? UM BUT OUR WORK
DOESN'T END THERE. WE NEED TO
ALSO RESPECT THE BRAIN TRUST
THAT'S GONE INTO ESTABLISHING
THE MASTER PLAN AND MAKE SURE
THAT WE'RE FULFILLING THE
OBLIGATIONS OF THE FIVE SPACES
THAT IT'S CREATED. SO IT WAS
SOMETHING THAT I HAVE
CONTINUOUSLY TALKED ABOUT DURING
THE TIME THAT I'VE BEEN SHARED
BECAUSE I THINK IT'S THE MOST
POIGNANT ASSERTION TO MAKE TO
BRING LIGHT TO THIS ISSUE AREA
IS THAT THE DEMOGRAPHIC CIRCLE
OF CALIFORNIA ARE CHANGING AND
AT THE END OF THIS DECADE 25% OF
CALIFORNIA'S POPULATION WILL BE
60 YEARS AND OLDER 25% RIGHT NOW
IT'S 14. BY THE WAY THAT'S
CHANGED BY 3% POINTS JUST IN THE
LAST ABOUT FOUR YEARS PERIOD. IT
WAS ABOUT 11% JUST ABOUT FOUR
YEARS AGO. SO WITH THAT GROWTH
WE KNOW WHAT'S COMING AHEAD. NOT
ONLY ARE THERE GOING TO BE
HEALTHCARE NEEDS, NOT ONLY ARE
THERE GOING TO BE CARRIED
RELATED NEEDS, BUT HOW ARE WE
GOING TO BE ABLE TO ALSO PAY FOR
AND ADDRESS ALL THESE ISSUES?
BECAUSE WE'RE SEEING RIGHT NOW.
WE'RE STRUGGLING WITH THE
WORKFORCE. RIGHT NOW. WE DON'T
HAVE ENOUGH PEOPLE PROVIDING THE
SERVICES THAT ARE NECESSARY. SO
TODAY'S FOCUS IS ON CAREGIVING
THAT WORKS AND I LOOK FORWARD TO
WHAT EACH OF THE PRESENTERS WILL
BE TELLING US. BECAUSE AS
ADVOCATES THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT
YOU DO AND WHAT YOU ARE WHAT YOU
HAVE BEEN ALL THIS TIME, YOU'RE
INTERESTED TO TEACH US TO SHARE
YOUR EXPERIENCE O THE
EXPERIENCES OF THOSE WHO
REPRESENT AND I LOOK FORWARD FOR
ALL OF US TOGETHER COMING TO
SOLUTIONS. WHILE I'M SHIFTING
FOCUS AT THE END OF THIS YEAR,
FROM MY TIME IN THE ASSEMBLY, I
REMAIN STEADFAST IN MY
COMMITMENT TO THE ISSUES OF
OLDER CALIFORNIANS AND
INDIVIDUALS LIVING WITH
DISABILITIES. SO I WILL ASK SOON
OF MY COLLEAGUES TO IF THEY HAVE
ANYTHING TO ADD TO DO SO, BUT I
WANT TO TAKE A MOMENT AND
RECOGNIZE EVERYONE. ALL OF OUR
PANELISTS HER. SUSAN DEMOREST,
DIRECTOR OF CALIFORNIA
DEPARTMENT OF AGING, THANK YOU
FOR BEING HERE WITH US. JASMINE
PELLET, SENIOR POLICY ADVOCATE
JUSTICE AND AGING. THANK YOU FOR
BEING HERE WITH US. DONNA BENTON
PH, D DIRECTOR CAREGIVER
RESOURCE CENTER. THANK YOU. UH
TIFFANY WITTEN, LONG TERM CARE
DIRECTOR S. C I U STATE COUNCIL
AND I WANT TO TAKE A BRIEF
MOMENT AND RECOGNIZE THE
BALANCING ACT OF TIFFANY. UM
SHE'S A FIERCE ADVOCATE THAT WE
ALL KNOW FOR LONG TERM CARE
WORKERS. BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY,
SHE'S ALSO WORKING A WORKING
MOTHER WHO CARES FOR HER
DAUGHTER AS WELL AS HER MOTHER.
AND BECAUSE OF THESE
RESPONSIBILITIES, SHE'S GOING TO
BE JOINING US VIA WEBEX. UM AND
LAST BUT NOT LEAST WANNA
HIGHLIGHT DOCTOR SARITA MOHANTY
. THANK YOU FOR BEING WITH US
TODAY. CEO OF SCAN FOUNDATION.
THANK YOU ALL. FOR THOSE OF YOU
IN THE ROOM. WE WILL ALLOW
ADDITIONAL TIME AT THE END OF
THE PRESENTATIONS FOR IN PERSON.
PUBLIC TESTIMONY. PLEASE SIGN IN
USING THE PAPERWORK IN THE BACK
OF THE ROOM. I LOOK FORWARD TO
HEARING FROM ALL OF YOU AND AS
AND LET ME START BY SAYING
ASSEMBLYMEMBER'S, UH. MAJORITY
LEADER LEADER ELOISE REYES AND
CHRISTINA AND ASSEMBLYWOMAN
CRISTINA GARCIA HAVE JOINED ME.
WHY DON'T WE START WITH SOME
OPENING REMARKS AND COMMENTS
FROM YOU? WHO WOULD LIKE TO GO
FIRST? THANK YOU. I WANT TO
START OFF BY THANKING MY
COLLEAGUE FOR HIS LEADERSHIP IN
THISSPACE AND EVERYONE THAT'S
WORKED ON THIS MASTER PLAN. IT
BECOMES A ROADMAP FOR THE WORK
WE HAVE TO DO IN THE LEGISLATURE
THROUGH LEGISLATION THROUGH
BUDGET AS WE TRY TO ENSURE THAT
WE, UM WE'RE PREPARED. WE KNOW
THAT CARRIED THIS
PROPORTIONATELY FALLS ON A
WOMAN. WE KNOW IT FROM THE DATA
AND WE KNOW FROM EXPERIENCE. A
LOT OF US ARE CARETAKERS
OURSELVES, INCLUDING MYSELF OUT
THERE. SO ON BEHALF OF THE
WOMEN'S CAUCUS, WE APPRECIATE
THE WORK AND HAPPY TO BE HERE
AND LOOK FORWARD TO THE
PARTNERSHIP AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
THANK YOU. I, TOO WANT TO THANK
OUR CHAIR ASSEMBLYMEMBER'S DREAM
NAZARIAN AND WHO'S TAKEN NOT
JUST THAT LEADERSHIP ROLE AS A
CHAIR OF THIS COMMITTEE BUT ALSO
HAS DONE SO MUCH MORE. WITH THE
INFORMATIONAL HEARINGS AND
REALLY TAKING AN INTEREST IN
MAKING SURE THAT NOT JUST FOR
HIS DISTRICT. HE HAS CARED FOR
ALL OF LOS ANGELES AND ALL OF
THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA, AND
THAT'S HIS A LOT ABOUT HIM IN
THIS LEADERSHIP POSITION. WE
CERTAINLY ARE GOING TO MISS HIM
IN THE ASSEMBLY AND LOOK FORWARD
TO ANYTHING HE DECIDES TO DO
HERE IN HIS AREA. THE ISSUE OF
MASTER PLAN. ASSEMBLYMEMBER'S
GARCIA'S MENTIONED IS THE ROME
ROADMAP. AND FROM THIS WE GET TO
TAKE WHATEVER NUGGETS WE NEED IN
ORDER TO MOVE FORWARD WITH
LEGISLATION, BUT ALSO AS
ASSEMBLYMEMBER'S GARCIA HAS
MENTIONED, OFTENTIMES WHEN WE'RE
TALKING ABOUT CARE, GIVING
CARETAKERS IT IS
DISPROPORTIONATELY THE WOMEN WHO
ARE TAKING ON THESE ROLES SO
BRINGING THE SUBJECT TODAY AND
BRINGING THE EXPERTS TO TALK TO
US AND SHARE INFORMATION THAT WE
NEED TO TAKE BACK TO SACRAMENTO
IS GOING TO BE OF GREAT
ASSISTANCE TO ALL OF US. SO I
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SCHEDULING
THIS INFORMATIONAL HEARING, AND
I THANK THEE. THE EXPERTS FOR
COMING TODAY TO PROVIDE
INFORMATION TO US. THANK YOU.
THANK YOU, MR MAJORITY LEADER
AND SOME OF US MAY NOT BE HRE.
BUT THE WORK CONTINUES BECAUSE
THE INSTITUTION CONTINUES AND
THE NEEDS CONTINUE. SO SOME OF
THE QUESTIONS THAT WE'RE GOING
TO BE BRINGING FORWARD TODAY AND
THE RESPONSES WE GET FOR IT IS
GOING TO BE INCUMBENT UPON THOSE
OF US THAT ARE CONTINUING IN
THIS SPACE TO, UH, TO TAKE UPON
THEMSELVES AND TO MOVE IT
FORWARD AND FOR ALL OF US TO
HELP COMPLEMENT THOSE EFFORTS,
SO THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENTS,
AND, UH LET'S GET STARTED. FIRST
QUESTION WILL BE FOR AND BY THE
WAY, THESE ARE JUST THE WE'VE
PREPARED A FEW QUESTIONS THAT
WE'RE GOING TO BE THAT I'M GONNA
BE POSING AND THIS IS GOING TO
OPEN IT UP FOR SOME OF THE
DIALOGUE AND SOME OF THE
STATEMENTS THAT ARE GOING TO BE
MADE. UH AND THEN WE'RE GONNA BE
INVITING FOR QUESTIONS TO BE
ASKED FROM, UH, FROM THE
AUDIENCE AS WELL AT THE END. AH
SO FIRST QUESTION FOR DIRECTOR
DE MORRIS. OF THE FIVE BIG LIFTS. WE HAVE CHOSEN TO FOCUS ON
CAREGIVING. TODAY ALL OF THE
FIVE AREAS ARE INCREDIBLY
IMPORTANT AND MUST BE IN PLACE
TO AGE WELL. IT PARALLELS A
HIERARCHY OF NEEDS. WHAT DO YOU
THINK IS THE MOST IMPACTFUL
THING LEGISLATORS CAN DO TO GIVE
THIS ISSUE TO GIVE CAREGIVING
THE RESPECTED DESERVES TO BOTH
THE PAID AND UNPAID CAREGIVERS.
FIRST I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR
CONVENING THIS HEARING AND THIS
ALLIANCE OF AGING HEALTH, HUMAN
SERVICES LEADERSHIP AND
ESPECIALLY THE WOMEN'S CAUCUS,
BECAUSE TODAY REFLECTS THE
INTERSECTION OF ALL OF THOSE
ISSUES, AND THEY REALLY DO COME
TOGETHER, NOT JUST IN THIS ROOM
BUT IN POLICY AND IN THE BUDGET
PROCESS AND REGULATION. TODAY
WE'RE FOCUSED ON GOLF GOLF, FOUR
OF THE MASTER PLAN FOR AGING
CAREGIVING THAT WORKS AND THAT
INCLUDES THE PAID WORKFORCE AND
THE UNPAID. FAMILY CAREGIVERS.
SO TO YOUR QUESTION ABOUT WHAT
IS THE ONE ONE POLICY ITEM THAT
WE COULD ADVANCE. UM WE ARE SO
GRATEFUL TO THE GOVERNOR AND THE
LEGISLATURE AND THE
ADMINISTRATION FOR NEARLY FOR
OVER $2 BILLION AND INVESTMENTS
IN OUR DIRECT CARE WORKFORCE.
THIS INCLUDES I. H S S WORKERS.
HOME HOME CARE AIDES HOME HEALTH
AIDES CERTIFIED NURSE ASSISTANTS
UM, THESE INVESTMENTS ARE SO
CRITICAL, UM TO COMPENSATE AND
TRAIN OUR DIRECT CARE WORKFORCE
AND TO RECRUIT AND RETAIN
WORKERS. UM GOING FORWARD. WE
KNOW THAT ABOUT 65% OF ALL OF
LONG TERM SERVICES AND SUPPORTS
IN OUR STATE AND NATION ARE
PROVIDED BY UNPAID FAMILY
MEMBERS, SO MY SUGGESTION WOULD
BE TO FOCUS ON UNPAID FAMILY
CAREGIVERS. UM WE KNOW THAT
OLDER ADULTS AND PEOPLE WITH
DISABILITIES WANT TO REMAIN IN
THEIR HOMES AND IN THEIR
COMMUNITIES. AND FAMILY
CAREGIVERS PROVIDE A CRITICAL
ESSENTIAL ROLE. UM THAT ENABLES
OLDER ADULTS AND PEOPLE WITH
DISABILITIES TO REMAIN AT HOME.
SO LOOKING AT OUR CAREGIVER
RESOURCE CENTERS ARE AREA
AGENCIES ON AGING ARE TRIPLE A'S
AND OUR STATE ARE AGING AND
DISABILITY RESOURCE CONNECTIONS
. ALL OF THOSE SETTINGS PROVIDE
RESOURCES TO FAMILY CAREGIVERS
TRAINING RESPITE, SO WE WOULD
ENCOURAGE, YOU KNOW, ESPECIALLY
AS WE FACE THE WORKFORCE CRISIS.
WE KNOW THAT FAMILY CAREGIVERS
ARE PICKING UP THE SLACK WHEN
THERE ARE NOT PAID WORKERS
AVAILABLE. UM IN THEIR COMMUNITY
, AND WE KNOW COMING OUT OF THE
PANDEMIC THAT MANY FAMILIES
STILL PREFERRED IT. UM TO NOT GO
TO CONGREGATE SETTINGS OR TO NOT
GO TO COMMUNITY CENTERS AND
PREFER TO GET THEIR CARE IN THE
HOME AND TYPICALLY THAT FALLS ON
FAMILY CAREGIVERS SO WE WOULD
ENCOURAGE YOU TO FOCUS ON UNPAID
FAMILY CAREGIVERS OF ALL AGES.
WE KNOW THAT THE AVERAGE AGE OF
, UM A TYPICAL FAMILY CAREGIVER
IS A 47 YEAR OLD WOMAN. WHO'S IN
THE WORKFORCE. AND I HAVE SOME
QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT. BUT MAYBE
I'LL KEEP IT TOWARDS THE END AND
WE'LL HAVE A LIVELIER DISCUSSION
AT THAT POINT, SO QUESTION TO,
UH. TWO YES, MEN, AND BEFORE I
DO, IS THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS
THAT YOU'D LIKE TO ASK AT THIS
POINT? JUST ONE FOLLOW UP
QUESTION IF I MAY. FOR THIS
AVERAGE CAREGIVER 47 YEAR OLD
WOMAN, YOU SAID IN THE WORKFORCE
, SO IT'S A WOMAN WHO IS LEAVING
THE WORKFORCE TO STAY HOME TO
TAKE CARE OF. THE EITHER THE
DISABLED. FAMILY MEMBER OR THE
ELDERLY FAMILY MEMBERS THAT
CORRECT. DATA SUGGESTS THAT IT'S
IT IS THAT MANY WOMEN DO LEAVE
THE WORKFORCE OR THEY REDUCE
THEIR HOURS. THEY GO TO PART
TIME JOBS, THEY LOSE BENEFITS
THEY LOSE RETIREMENT. BUT MANY
WOMEN AREN'T ABLE TO LEAVE THE
WORKFORCE AND FOR THEM. IT'S A
PARTICULAR BURDEN BECAUSE THERE
THEY HAVE THREE SHIFTS A DAY
BEFORE WORK AT WORK. AND AFTER
WORK, UM PROVIDING CHILDCARE AND
CARE TO AN OLDER ADULT OR PERSON
WITH DISABILITY. THANK YOU. SOME
MEMBER GARCIA. YOU'RE GOOD NOW.
UM WELL, YOU KNOW, SINCE WE'RE
ON THE TOPIC, LET ME JUST JUMP
IN AND SAY IF YOU WERE TO PUT A
DOLLAR FIGURE WHAT IS THE COST?
THE FOREGONE COST OR THE EARNED
REVENUE LOST EARNED REVENUE OR
AND I'M SORRY I'M POSING IT THIS
WAY. BUT I'M TRYING TO GIVE A
BREATH OF THE DIFFERENT NUMBERS
IMPACTING. AH, JUST THE OVERALL. BENEFIT THAT THE STATE DERIVES
FROM THIS UNPAID CAREGIVING IS
THERE AND IT'S A VERY HARD
QUESTION TO ANSWER. BUT IS THERE
A NUMBER THAT COULD BE ASSIGNED
OR OFFERED? DONNA. THANK YOU FOR
ASKING. I AM HERE BECAUSE WE
HAVE ABOUT WHAT 4.7 MILLION
FAMILY CAREGIVERS. AND THEY'RE
CONTRIBUTING ABOUT IN THE STATE
OF CALIFORNIA. FOUR BILLION
HOURS OF CARE. UNPAID WHICH
TRANSLATES TO ABOUT $63 BILLION
ANNUALLY. SO, YEAH, I THINK
THERE THERE'S A LITTLE
CONTRIBUTION THERE. AND JUST TO
PUT IT IN PERSPECTIVE, BY THE
WAY, OUR STATES HEALTHCARE COST
BETWEEN FEDERAL AND STATE
DOLLARS IS ROUGHLY ABOUT 400
BILLION. A LITTLE UNDER 400
BILLION. AND THAT DOESN'T EVEN
ACCOUNT FOR THE 63 BILLION. YOU
JUST MENTIONED. SO, UM. THE MORE
TO BE DISCUSSED ABOUT THIS, SO
LET ME LET ME NOT TAKE IT TOO
MUCH OUT OF ORDER. UH, NEXT
QUESTION IS TO JASMINE. UM JUST
JUSTICE AND AGING IS IN A UNIQUE
POSITION AS A RESPECTED ADVOCACY
ORGANIZATION AND A RESOURCE TO
POLICYMAKERS. WHAT CAN WE
JUSTICE AND AGING DUE TO
ENCOURAGE COLLABORATION. AWESOME
WELL, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR
HAVING ME HERE TODAY, UM, JUST
BEING PELTED WITH JUSTICE AND
AGING. I THINK IT'S A GREAT
QUESTION. I THINK THIS IS A
GREAT EXAMPLE OF BEGINNING THAT
COLLABORATION CONTINUING TO HAVE
THESE CONVERSATIONS BETWEEN THE
LEGISLATURE AND THE DEPARTMENT
OF AGING AND ADVOCATES ON HOW WE
CAN CONTINUE TO IMPLEMENT AND
GROW THE MASTER PLAN, I THINK,
IS, UH, VERY IMPORTANT. NO CDVA
JUST HELD A DAY OF ACTION A FEW
WEEKS AGO, WHICH WAS 500, AGING
ADVOCATES, AGING AND DISABILITY
ADVOCATES IN A ROOM
BRAINSTORMING AND COMING UP WITH
HOW TO CONTINUE IMPLEMENTATION
OF THE MASTER PLAN FOR THE NEXT
TWO YEARS, SO I THINK THAT'S A
GREAT START. UM AND IT'S ABOUT
KEEPING THE CONVERSATION GOING,
UH AND NOT AND CONTINUING AND
CONTINUING TO WORK ON THESE
THINGS TOGETHER WITH
INTERSECTIONS, NOT STYLE, OWING
WOMEN FROM OLDER PEOPLE FROM
PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES THAT'S
IMPORTANT TO REPRESENT TO
ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THERE ARE ALL
THESE GROUPS INTERSECT. AND JUST
BECAUSE YOU'RE A WOMAN DOESN'T
MEAN YOU DON'T SUFFER. FROM
HOMELESSNESS OR YOU DON'T SUFFER
FROM, UH, YOU KNOW. HAVING TO
PROVIDE. AH BOTH CAREGIVING AND
WORKING IN THE, UH, HAVING A
FULL TIME JOB. I MEAN, EVERYONE
CONTAINS MULTITUDES, AND WE NEED
TO RECOGNIZE THAT AS WE'RE
WORKING TOGETHER. OKAY? UM BY
THE WAY, I ALSO KNOW THAT YOU
ALL HAVE YOUR PRESENTATIONS. SO
THE QUESTION I SHOULD HAVE
PREFACED SAYING THAT THE
QUESTION IS FOR YOU TO ALSO
START ANSWERING. AFTER YOUR
PRESENTATION IS MADE, SO PLEASE
ICORPORATE THE QUESTION INTO
YOUR PRESENTATION. UM. WE AND WE
CAN GO BACK TO SUSAN. IF YOU'D
LIKE TO START WITH THE
PRESENTATION. PLEASE START. I'M
HAPPY TO DO THAT. IF IT WORKS
WITH THE FORMAT, PLEASE. FEW
BASIC FACTS. AND I'M SO GRATEFUL
TO DONNA BENTON THAT SHE KNEW
THE ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION
ABOUT THE ECONOMIC VALUE OF
FAMILY CAREGIVERS. THAT WAS NOT
WHEN I HAD IN IN THE SLIDES
HERE, UM SO WE'LL GO AHEAD AND
I'LL MOVE QUICKLY THROUGH THESE.
JUST TO SHARE SOME KEY DATA
POINTS. UM SO AS YOU SAID
ASSEMBLYMEMBER'S NAZARIAN IN
EIGHT YEARS, EIGHT YEARS FROM
TODAY, ONE IN FOUR CALIFORNIANS
WILL BE AGED 60 OR OLDER AND WE
ALREADY SEE SIGNS THAT THIS IS
CHANGING OUR ECONOMY, OUR
FAMILIES AND OUR STATE. THIS WAS
A QUOTE FROM THE GOVERNOR ON THE
DAY OF ACTION JUST A FEW WEEKS
AGO IN SACRAMENTO. AH FOR THOSE
WHO AREN'T FAMILIAR WITH THE
MASTER PLAN FOR AGING. TODAY WE
ARE FOCUSED ON GOAL NUMBER FOUR,
BUT WE HAVE FIVE BOLD GOALS.
IT'S A COMPREHENSIVE 10 YEAR
STRATEGY FOR OUR STATE, AND IT
INCLUDES PUBLIC AND PRIVATE
INITIATIVES. UM FOR ALL
CALIFORNIANS. A FEW DATA POINTS
. WE KNOW THAT WOMEN LIVE LONGER
THAN MEN BY ABOUT FIVE YEARS IN
THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA, AND THE
YEARS SEVEN UH, THE AVERAGE AGE
OF A MAN IN CALIFORNIA IS 78.4
YEARS AND FOR A WOMAN, IT'S 83.1
YEARS AND WHAT THAT MEANS, IF
YOU THINK OF THOSE FIVE YEARS OF
LIFE AND THE HEALTHCARE ISSUES
THE COSTS THOSE ARE THOSE ARE
THE RISK FOR CONDITIONS LIKE
ALZHEIMER'S. THOSE ARE HIGH RISK
YEARS FOR WOMEN TO LIVE IN
ADDITIONAL FIVE YEARS. UM WE
ALSO KNOW GLOBALLY NATIONALLY
AND HERE IN OUR STATE, TWO
THIRDS OF PEOPLE LIVING WITH
ALZHEIMER'S AND DEMENTIA ARE
WOMEN. WE KNOW THAT IN OUR LONG
TERM CARE SETTINGS AND HOME IN
THE COMMUNITY ABOUT 70 80% OF
WORKERS ARE WOMEN, AND WE ALSO
KNOW THAT IN THE HOME ABOUT TWO
THIRDS OF CAREGIVERS ARE WOMEN.
AND FOR THE REASONS WE JUST
TOUCHED ON WOMEN HAVE FEWER
YEARS OF EARNED INCOME AND LESS
RETIREMENT INCOME. IN FACT, ON
AVERAGE WOMEN STEP OUT OF THE
WORK. WOMEN WHO WORK UM, LOSE
ABOUT NINE YEARS IN THE
WORKFORCE, UM, DUE TO CAREGIVING
, CHILDCARE AND ELDERCARE, AND
IN THOSE NINE YEARS, THEY DON'T
ACCUMULATE INCOME. BENEFITS OR
RETIREMENT. AND AS I STATED THE
AVERAGE CAREGIVERS, A 49 YEAR
OLD WOMAN. WE KNOW THAT, UM, I
SHARED THIS. PREVIOUSLY THAT, UM
THE VAST MAJORITY OF LONG TERM
CARE IN OUR NATION IS PROVIDED
BY FAMILY MEMBERS AND FRIENDS.
AND I ALREADY STATED THAT IT'S
PROVIDED PREDOMINANTLY BY WOMEN.
THIS IS OF GREAT CONCERN IN THE
STATE OF CALIFORNIA, WHERE IT'S
BECOMING INCREASINGLY DIFFICULT
TO AFFORD THE COST OF AGING. UM
AS YOU CAN SEE HERE THAT WOMEN
ESPECIALLY WOMEN, 80 AND ABOVE,
AND YOU JUST HEARD THAT WOMEN
HAVE THE LONGEST HAVE LONGER
LONGEVITY LIVING ON AVERAGE INTO
THEIR EIGHTIES, UM, THAT HAS
SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF WOMEN. UM
LIVE TO AT BELOW 200% OF THE
FEDERAL POVERTY LIMIT AND FOR
THOSE WHO DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT
DOLLAR AMOUNT IS AT THE 100% OF
POVERTY. UM IT'S $1261 A MONTH.
SO TO PROVIDE HOUSING,
TRANSPORTATION, HEALTH FOOD.
UTILITIES ON $1261 A MONTH. WE
KNOW TOO, THAT WOMEN OF COLOR
ARE MORE LIKELY TO LIVE IN
POVERTY BY A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER
AS THIS CHART ILLUSTRATES. AND
WE KNOW THAT THE CARROT KANA ME
IS DRIVEN. BY WOMEN. UM, IF YOU
LOOK HERE AT THESE COLORED
BOXES, WOMEN WOMEN POPULATE THEM
ALL, WHETHER IT'S HOUSEHOLD
MANAGEMENT. WOMEN ARE PROVIDING
THE BULK OF HOUSEHOLD MANAGEMENT
PAID AND UNPAID INFANT AND CHILD
CARE. BUT AS YOU CAN SEE, IN THE
YELLOW AND GREEN BOXES THAT
REFLECTS LONG TERM SERVICES AND
SUPPORTS SO THE HIGH HIGH COST
OF NON HOME LONG TERM CARE. THIS
WOULD BE ASSISTED LIVING BOARD
AND CARE, RESIDENTIAL CARE,
SKILLED NURSING, AND THEN THE
COST OF AGING IN PLACE TO BRING
SERVICES INTO THE HOME OR TO
ACCESS ADULT DAY HEALTH CARE,
ADULT DAY CARE PASTE SITES. UM
IT'S A SIGNIFICANT ECONOMY. UH A
NATIONAL PART OF OUR ECONOMY,
BUT THE GREATEST COSTS ARE BY
FAR IN THE LONG TERM SERVICES
AND SUPPORT SECTOR. TO GIVE YOU
A SENSE IN OUR STATE. THIS IS A
2021 JANUARY 8TH STUDY THAT
SHOWS THE AVERAGE COST SO
THINKING BACK TO THE 100% OF THE
FEDERAL POVERTY LIMITS SOMEONE
WHO'S EARNING, BRINGING IN ABOUT
$1200 A MONTH. UM TO HIRE A HOME
HEALTH AIDE ON AN ANNUAL BASIS
IN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA IS
$73,000 A YEAR. UM ASSISTED
LIVING $63,000 A YEAR. A SEMI
PRIVATE ROOM AND SKILLED NURSING
$117,000 A YEAR. IT'S VERY
DIFFICULT FOR OLDER ADULTS WHO
EARN UNDER 400% OF THE FEDERAL
POVERTY LIMIT TO PAY FOR THESE
COSTS OUT OF POCKET. OFTEN
REFERRED TO AS THE MISSING
MIDDLE OR THE NEAR DUELS. SO WE
ARE SO EXCITED TO CONTINUE
WORKING WITH THE AGING AND LONG
TERM CARE COMMITTEE, THOUGH WE
WILL MISS VERY MUCH WORKING WITH
THE CHAIR WHEN HE DEPARTS THE
LEGISLATURE. AND WE LOOK FORWARD
TO WORKING WITH THE HEALTH AND
HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE, THE
HEALTH COMMITTEE, HUMAN SERVICES
COMMITTEE, THE HEALTH COMMITTEE
AND ALL OF THE CAUCUSES TO
ADVANCE THE GOALS AND
INITIATIVES OF THE MASTER PLAN
FOR AGING TO HELP OLDER ADULTS.
ALL OLDER ADULTS, ESPECIALLY
WOMEN, AND PEOPLE WHO ARE AT OR
NEAR POVERTY TO AFFORD HOUSING
TO AFFORD RENT. TO ACCESS
CAREGIVER SUPPORTS IN THEIR
HOME. AND TO BUILD OUT CAPACITY
AND INFRASTRUCTURE STATEWIDE SO
THAT PEOPLE CAN ACCESS MORE HOME
AND COMMUNITY BASED SERVICES. WE
WANT TO THANK THE LEGISLATURE
AND THE GOVERNOR FOR THE
INCREDIBLE RECORD INVESTMENTS
THAT HAVE BEEN MADE IN ALL OF
THESE AREAS TO DATE. AND WE LOOK
FORWARD TO IMPLEMENTING AND
DELIVERING RESULTS TO THE
LEGISLATURE IN THE COMING YEARS.
AND I'LL JUST CLOSE. I WANT TO
BE SURE ANYONE WHO'S LISTENING
AND WHO'S HERE KNOWS THAT WE DO
HAVE A STATEWIDE RESOURCE NUMBER
AND OUR STATE'S AREA AGENCIES ON
AGING THE TRIPLE A'S, UM, COVER
THE ENTIRE STATE, AND IT'S AN
EXCELLENT PLACE TO GET STARTED.
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR
NEED ASSISTANCE AT HOME OR IN
THE COMMUNITY, THANK YOU. THANK
YOU, SUSAN. VERY MUCH.
APPRECIATE YOUR PRESENTATION AND
APOLOGIES FOR THROWING YOU OFF
WITH MY QUESTION FROM THE
BEGINNING FROM THE GET GO. NO
PROBLEM. YES MAN. WHY DON'T WE
GO BACK TO YOU ALSO SO YOU CAN
MAKE YOUR PRESENTATION. UM WELL,
THANK YOU AGAIN FOR HAVING ME SO
I'LL BUILD ON WHAT SOME OF THE
STATISTICS THAT SUSAN ALREADY
SHARED. UH AND, UM I'LL SAY THAT
IN CALIFORNIA A LITTLE OVER HALF
THE POPULATION. 60 TO 84 ARE
WOMEN, UH, ABOUT 55% WHEN YOU
LOOK AT THOSE OVER THE AGE OF 85
AT 65% OF THOSE OVER THE AGE OF
85 ARE WOMEN. ABOUT 40% OF
WOMEN. 65 OLDER ARE WIDOWED AND
RELATED. LEE AS SUSAN SAID WOMEN
ON AVERAGE LIVE ABOUT FIVE YEARS
LONGER THAN MEN AND LIKE, SUSAN
SAID, AND AS THE REST OF THE
PANEL WILL DISCUSS WOMEN ARE
MORE LIKELY TO BE CAREGIVERS AND
THAT'S STILL FALLS ON OLDER
WOMEN. OLDER WOMEN COULD BE
TAKEN CARE OF A SPOUSE. THEY
COULD BE TAKEN CARE OF A
DEVELOPMENTALLY DISABLED CHILD.
THEY COULD BE A YOUNGER, OLDER
ADULT TAKING CARE OF AN OLDER
PARENT. SO THIS ISN'T WHEN WE
TALK ABOUT CAREGIVING. OLDER
ADULTS AREN'T JUST RECIPIENTS OF
CAREGIVING THERE, THERE COULD
STILL BE PROVIDING CAREGIVING.
AND AS SUSAN SAID, OLDER WOMEN
ARE MORE LIKELY, UH, TO HAVE
LESS SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS
THAN MEN. AND THAT REALLY, UH,
LEADS TO SOME FINANCIAL
INSTABILITY AS WELL. SUSAN HAD
MY SAME SLIDES ON THE POVERTY
RATE AND SPECIFICALLY, UH, THOSE
FOR OLDER WOMEN OF COLOR, WHICH
INEQUITABLE AND NEEDS TO BE
REMEDIED SHOULD I'D ALSO LIKE TO
NOTE THAT IN THIS YEAR, THE
RECENT CENSUS DATA THAT JUST
CAME OUT ABOUT A WEEK OR TWO
AGO. OLDER ADULTS WERE THE ONLY
POPULATION TO HAVE THEIR POVERTY
RATES INCREASED SINCE THE LAST
YEAR. SO EVERY OTHER AGE GROUP
THEIR POVERTY RATES DECREASED,
BUT OLDER ADULTS INCREASED THE
POVERTY RATE. AND SO THAT'S A
REALLY ALARMING STATISTIC AND
COULD BE A REALLY FRIGHTENING
TREND. IF WE DON'T TAKE ACTION
TO CHANGE THAT. SO I'M GOING TO
FOCUS. THE REST OF MY COMMENTS
ABOUT THE INTERSECTION BETWEEN
POVERTY AND AGING AND WOMEN. UH,
WE? WE NEED TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT
DISCRIMINATION HAS CAUSED A LOT
OF THIS. WOMEN WOMEN CONTINUE TO
BE DISCRIMINATED AGAINST WHEN IT
COMES TO PAY, ESPECIALLY WOMEN
OF COLOR. THERE'S AN EVEN LARGER
WAGE GAP AND THIS LIFETIME OF
PAY DISCRIMINATION ADDS UP AND
IT IMPACTS YOUR SAVINGS AND
RETIREMENT. WE ALSO NEED TO
ACKNOWLEDGE THE LOW PAYING WORK
THAT WOMEN OFTEN END UP DOING
AND WOMEN ARE OVERREPRESENTED IN
LOW WAGE JOBS. UM AND THIS IS
ALSO DUE TO DISCRIMINATION
BECAUSE OFTENTIMES LOW WAGE JOBS
ARE LOW WAGE BECAUSE IT'S WOMEN
AND WOMEN OF COLOR. WHO
PERFORMED THOSE JOBS. UM AND
THEN UNPAID CAREGIVING, AND NOW
WE'RE GOING TO SPEND THE REST OF
TODAY TALKING ABOUT THAT, SO I
WON'T GET INTO IT TOO MUCH. UM,
BUT THIS, UH, LACK OF PAYING
INTO SOCIAL SECURITY. MEANS THAT
THE AVERAGE MAN HAS ABOUT $1600
A MONTH AND SOCIAL SECURITY
BENEFITS AND THE WOMAN HAS ABOUT
$1300 A MONTH. WOMEN ALSO HAVE
LESS IN RETIREMENT SAVINGS
OVERALL, BECAUSE THEY COULD BE
WORKING JOBS THAT DON'T HAVE A
FOUR OH ONE K OR A PENSION AND
AGAIN, WOMEN OF COLOR HAVE LESS
SAVINGS THAN WHITE WOMEN, UH,
THAT DO HAVE RETIREMENT SAVINGS.
AND WOMEN ALSO END UP PAYING
MORE FOR MEDICARE AND SOME
CIRCUMSTANCES BECAUSE THEY
HAVEN'T PAID INTO MEDICARE FOR
ENOUGH QUARTERS, SO THEY END UP
WITH MORE COST SHARING. AND SO
MEDICARE BECOMES MORE EXPENSIVE
FOR THEM, UM, RATHER THAN THEIR
MALE COUNTERPARTS. AND WOMEN
HAVE LONGER LIFESPANS, WHICH
ALSO CONTRIBUTES TO HIGHER
HEALTHCARE COSTS. AN OLDER WOMAN
WILL SPEND APPROXIMATELY 47,000
MORE $47 MORE ON RETIREMENT, UM
OF THEIR RETIREMENT ON THEIR
HEALTH CARE EXPENSES THAN A MAN
WILL. AND WE KNOW THIS IS EVEN
MORE FOR WOMEN OF COLOR WHO HAVE
BEEN DISCRIMINATED AGAINST THEIR
WHOLE LIVES AND THEREFORE MAY
HAVE POORER HEALTH OUTCOMES AS
THEY AGE. UM AND THEN WHEN WE
TALK ABOUT FINANCIAL
EXPLOITATION AND ELDER ABUSE,
THIS IS ALSO A REAL ISSUE FOR
OLDER WOMEN. WOMEN ARE OLDER
WOMEN ARE 35% MORE LIKELY THAN
MEN TO EXPERIENCE ELDER ABUSE.
UH AND WOMEN OVER THE AGE OF 80
OR TWO TIMES MORE LIKELY TO
EXPERIENCE FINANCIAL
EXPLOITATION. AH AND WOMEN IN
GENERAL ACROSS THEIR WHOLE LIFE
SPIN ARE MORE TARGETED. FOR
FINANCIAL EXPLOITATION AND THIS
PERSISTENT OLDER AGE, AND WE
KNOW THAT SOCIETAL EVENTS LIKE
THE COVID 19 PANDEMIC, THE GREAT
RECESSION, ALL OF THESE SOCIETAL
EVENTS IMPACT WOMEN AND OLDER
WOMEN MORE THAN MEN. AH AND SO
ALL OF THESE FACTORS THEY
INTERSECT, AND THEY COMPOUND ON
EACH OTHER. AND SO WHEN I SAY
THAT WE HAVE TO BE WORKING WITH
THAT INTERSECTIONAL LENS, AND WE
CAN'T VIEW ALL OF THIS WITHIN A
SILO. I THINK THIS IS A GOOD
EXAMPLE OF WHY ALL OF THESE
ISSUES ARE CONNECTED. AND I
WOULD BE, UH, REMISS IF I DIDN'T
TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT
HOMELESSNESS. UM HERE IN THE
STATE. AH HOMELESSNESS AMONG
OLDER ADULTS IS A REAL PROBLEM
IN THE STATE. OLDER ADULTS ARE
THE FASTEST GROWING GROUP
EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS IN
CALIFORNIA WITH ABOUT 45% OF ALL
HOMELESS INDIVIDUALS IN THE
STATE BEING OVER THE AGE OF 50.
THERE'S NOT A LOT OF DATA
SPECIFICALLY IN THAT GROUP
BROKEN DOWN BETWEEN, UH, SEX,
BUT I WILL SAY FROM THE DATA
THAT WE DO HAVE A WOMAN LEAVING
INCARCERATION IS MORE LIKELY TO
BECOME HOMELESS WITHIN TWO YEARS
THAN A MAN LEAVING
INCARCERATION. AND THIS IS EVEN,
UH BUT THERE'S MORE POSSIBLE FOR
WOMEN OF COLOR. HERE IN LOS
ANGELES, BUT 24% OF THE UNHAPPY
HOUSED ARE WOMEN, WHICH IS A 5%
INCREASE. UM FROM THE LAST
SURVEY. SO THAT 24% FROM 2022,
THEN THE LAST SURVEY WAS IN 2020
BEFORE THE PANDEMIC. STATEWIDE
WOMEN ACCESS TO ABOUT 40% OF
HOMELESS SERVICES IN THE STATE.
UM SO WE KNOW THAT THE ISSUE OF
HOMELESSNESS IS IMPACTING OLDER
WOMEN AND A LOT OF THE HOMELESS
INITIATIVES THAT THE STATE IS
UNDERTAKING AND THEY'VE
UNDERTAKEN A LOT. THAT MONEY IS
NOT NECESSARILY DIRECTLY
TARGETED TO OLDER ADULTS. AND SO
THAT IS AN AREA FOR POTENTIAL.
UM CONSIDERATION AS A AS WE KNOW
THAT THIS GROUP IS CONTINUING TO
GROW YEAR AFTER YEAR. AND I
DON'T WANT TO END MY REMARKS
WITHOUT TALKING ABOUT HOW ALL OF
THESE ISSUES WITH OLDER ADULTS
AND OLDER WOMEN. UM DON'T ALSO
IMPACT LGBTQ INDIVIDUALS. TRANS
WOMEN ALSO FEEL THESE ALL OF
THESE, YOU KNOW PIECES OF
DISCRIMINATION IN OTHER ACUTE
AND DIFFERENT WAYS. UH,
IMMIGRANTS, EXPERIENCED
DISCRIMINATION AND THESE ISSUES
COMPOUND FOR THEM, FOLKS THAT
ARE HAVE LIMITED ENGLISH
PROFICIENCY ALSO HAVE YOU KNOW
HAVE ANOTHER BARRIER TO OVERCOME
WHEN ACCESSING SOME OF THESE
SERVICES AND GETTING, UH, YOU
KNOW, HELP FROM THE STATE. AH
THERE ARE LOTS OF POLICY. UH,
INTERVENTIONS THAT COULD BE
TAKEN AND WE CAN TALK ABOUT THEM
LATER ON, BUT I THINK THAT THAT
GIVES JUST SORT OF AN OVERVIEW
OF HOW OLDER WOMEN ARE FARING IN
THE STATE. SO I THANK YOU AGAIN
FOR HAVING ME HERE. THANK YOU
VERY MUCH. DO WE WANT TO ASK ANY
QUESTIONS AT THIS TIME? PLEASE.
HI, JESS. I'M LOOKING AT THE
GRAPH YOU HAVE HERE ON OLDER,
HOMELESS ADULTS AND THE SHIP
WE'VE SEEN IN THE LAST FIVE
YEARS. YEAH I THINK I EXPECTED
SOME OF THE SHIFTS IN THE
PANDEMIC, BUT YOU HAVE TO GET IT
WAS FASTER. WHAT'S WHAT'S SHIFT
IT IN CALIFORNIA THAT WE SEE
SUCH AN EXPONENTIAL GROWTH THAT
IT'S NOT JUST BECAUSE OF THE
PANDEMIC. WHAT ARE SOME OF THE
FACTORS THAT HAVE SHIFTED? GOT
IT. HAVE LED TO THIS HUGE GROWTH
SUDDENLY THE LAST FIVE YEARS. I
THINK, UM, THE COST OF HOUSING
AND THE LACK OF HOUSING FOR
OLDER ADULTS IS A REAL PROBLEM.
A LOT OF OLDER ADULTS LIVE ON
FIXED INCOMES, AND THERE HASN'T
BEEN A BIG CHANGE IN, YOU KNOW
THE AMOUNT OF SOCIAL SECURITY
BENEFITS THAT FOLKS GET THIS
COMING YEAR. THERE WILL BE A
COLA. UM, BUT IT'S THE COOLER IS
NOT GOING TO KEEP UP WITH
INFLATION. IT'S NOT GONNA KICK
UP. KEEP UP WITH THE RENT
INCREASES SO PEOPLE WILL STILL
BE STRUGGLING, SO I THINK
THERE'S A REAL DISCONNECT
BETWEEN THE AMOUNT OF MONEY
PEOPLE HAVE IN THE BANK AND HOW
MUCH THEY HAVE TO PAY FOR RENT
OR THEIR MORTGAGE IN THE SLIDES
THERE, UM THERE'S DATA FROM U C
L A ABOUT HOW PEOPLE HOW MANY
PEOPLE NEEDED TO UM CUT BACK ON
THEIR RENT OR MORTGAGE PAYMENTS
AS A RESULT OF THEIR FINANCIAL
INSTABILITY. AND SO THERE ARE A
SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF PEOPLE
THAT AREN'T MAKING RENT OR ARE
MAKING THEIR MORTGAGE PAYMENTS
AND THEN YOU KNOW, THEY
ULTIMATELY END UP. HOMELESS
BECAUSE THEY HAVE NO OTHER
OPTIONS. THIS GROUP LESS LIKELY
OR JUST AS LIKELY TO BE ABLE TO
ACCESS UM THEN YOUR PRIZE. WE
HAVE TO HELP PAY RENT AND
MORTGAGES AND WE WERE CERTAINLY
CREATE THOSE BRIDGES. ARE THEY
ABLE TO ACCESS THIS AS WELL? OR
THERE'S A HARDER FOR THEM TO
ACCESS THAT TODAY AND WE DO. WE
NEED TO HAVE SOMETHING TARGETED
JUST TO THEM. WE WOULD ARGUE
THAT THERE NEEDS TO BE A
TARGETED RENTAL ASSISTANCE FOR
OTHER ADULTS. UM MR NAZARIAN
CARRIED A BILL FOR US THIS PAST
YEAR, UM, DIDN'T GET FUNDED IN
THE BUDGET, BUT IT'S AN ISSUE
THAT WE WANT TO KEEP WORKING ON
NEXT, YOU KNOW THE NEXT
LEGISLATIVE SESSION. UM A LOT OF
THE HELP. THAT'S OUT THERE ISN'T
TARGETED TO OLDER ADULTS. UH AND
SO WE THINK THAT THERE NEEDS TO
BE A YOU KNOW, TARGETED HELP FOR
OLDER ADULTS.UM THERE'S ALSO
NOT A WHOLE LOT OF MONEY FOR
RENTAL ASSISTANCE. UM THERE'S UH
, A PILOT PROGRAM GOING ON IN
SAN DIEGO RIGHT NOW, UM, THERE,
YOU KNOW A FEW LOCAL PROGRAMS,
BUT RENTAL SUBSIDIES ARE NOT, UM
WIDESPREAD. SO. SO WHY DO YOU?
WHY DO YOU THINK THAT THE OLDER
ADULTS DO NEED A TARGETED
PROGRAM. SURVEY DATA SHOWS THAT
, UH, TARGET RENTAL ASSISTANCE
IS THE MOST THE NUMBER ONE THING
YOU CAN DO TO KEEP A PERSON IN
THEIR HOUSE OR IN THEIR HOME. UM
SURVEY DATA ALSO SHOWS THAT WHEN
YOU YOU KNOW, PULL OLDER ADULTS
WHEN YOU SAY IF YOU'VE GOT
ANOTHER $300 A MONTH. WOULD THAT
HELP YOU? THEY SAY TO PAY YOUR
RENT. THEY SAID YES. AND SO, UM
THERE'S YOU KNOW, THERE'S DATA
SHOWING THAT THIS IS A PROVEN
METHOD. AND THAT IT WOULD HELP
PEOPLE. UM, BECAUSE A LOT OF THE
BEST WAY TO STOP HOMELESSNESS IS
TO PREVENT IT RIGHT TO PEOPLE
THAT ARE ALREADY IN THEIR HOMES
BUT ARE ON THE EDGE IF THEY CAN
BE PROVIDED WITH A LITTLE BIT OF
EXTRA HELP. UM THEY'RE LESS
LIKELY TO END UP ON THE STREETS
OR IN THE SHELTER SYSTEMS. YEAH,
AND MAYBE I NEED TO ASK THE
QUESTION DIFFERENTLY. WE GET
INTO THIS, UM, SEVERAL SOME GAME
WITH BUDGET DOLLARS OFTEN TIMES.
AND WE GET ASKED TO PRIORITIZE
ONE GROUP OVER ANOTHER GROUP,
AND IT'S A BAD PLACE TO BE ALL
THE GROUPS SHOULD BE MERITED,
AND WE SHOULDN'T HAVE THEM IN IN
THAT COMPUTING. SPACE BUT I
REPRESENT AND ACTUALLY NOT VERY
DIFFERENT THAN WHERE WE'RE AT.
AT THE LOW INCOME COMMUNITY OF
COLOR WERE PROBABLY MOST OF MY
CONSTITUENTS ARE STARTING TO GET
PAST THE PRICE OUT BECAUSE OF
GENTRIFICATION AND OTHER ISSUES.
AND SO AGE DOESN'T FACTOR INTO
THAT LENGTH. UH AND I'M JUST
TRYING TO AS A POLICYMAKER OR
FROM MY PEERS. AND I SAY, WHY
DOES THIS LANCE MATTER? MAYBE A
LITTLE BIT MORE OR DOESN'T
MATTER JUST AS MUCH AN APP TO
FIND A WAY TO MULTITASK. WHICH
IS SOMETHING I THINK WHAT WE
NEED TO DO. BUT THE REALITY WHEN
WE HAVE LIMITED FUNDS IS THAT WE
GET ASKED THESE QUESTIONS. AND
SO WHAT I WORRY ABOUT IS IF I
HAVE A GENERAL GENERIC PART WILL
SENIOR CITIZENS PEOPLE TO ACCESS
IT IN MY OFFICE. MY EXPERIENCE
IS THAT SENIOR CITIZENS ARE NOT
ON THE INTERNET AND NOT ABLE TO
FILL OUT THESE FORMS, AND
THERE'S A LOT OF REASONS THAT
THEY HAVE BURGERS AND SO FORTH.
ANECDOTALLY, I CAN SAY I'VE
EXPERIENCED WHY WE NEED
SOMETHING FOR THEM. BUT YEAH,
AND THAT'S A PART OF THE MASTER
PLAN FOR AGING IS TRYING TO
STREAM STREAMLINE, YOU KNOW,
GETTING INFORMATION IN ONE
PLACE. THERE ARE NOWRONG DOOR
APPROACH. SO THAT WAY THAT'S UH
YOU KNOW, ENSURING THAT PEOPLE
AREN'T OVERWHELMED BY THE SYSTEM
AND ALL OF THE OPTIONS. PEOPLE
ARE ABLE TO GET THE HELP THAT
THEY NEED. SO THAT IS PART OF
THE MASTER PLAN FOR AGING AS
WELL. MAYBE SUSAN CAN TALK MORE
ABOUT THAT. WE DO. WE'RE VERY
PROUD THAT THE FIRST GOAL IN THE
MASTER PLAN IS HOUSING FOR ALL
AGES AND STAGES OF LIFE. UM AND
I THINK THAT IN TERMS OF, UM
RENTAL ASSISTANCE IF SOMEONE IS
NOT ABLE TO PAY THEIR RENT, AND
THERE'S A DIFFERENCE OF A FEW
$100, THEY ARE UNLIKELY TO BE
ABLE TO RELOCATE AND PAY FIRST
LAST IN A DEPOSIT SOMEWHERE
ELSE. AND THEY'RE MORE LIKELY AT
RISK OF BEING PLACED IN SKILLED
NURSING FACILITY. UM OR TO BE
HOMELESS OR IN A SHELTER SYSTEM.
THEY'RE MORE LIKELY TO HAVE NEED
ASSISTANCE WITH ACTIVITIES OF
DAILY LIVING. OR HAVE CHRONIC
HEALTH CONDITIONS. TO THAT. I
THINK TO YOUR BOTH YOUR POINTS.
I THINK THAT DATA THAT I'VE SEEN
AROUND RENTAL ASSISTANCE. WHY IT
WORKS IS BECAUSE LOT OF TIMES
PEOPLE HAVE TO PRIORITIZE PAYING
RENT OVER THINGS LIKE PAYING FOR
THEIR MEDICATION PAYING FOR, UM,
SO OFTEN TIMES WE SEE THAT
THEY'RE NOT OBTAINING MEDICATION
, NOT BECAUSE THEY DON'T WANT
TO, BUT THEY HAVE TO PRIORITIZE
OTHER THINGS. AND THEN, THEN THE
DOWNSTREAM EFFECTS ARE MORE
CHRONIC DISEASE BURDEN. AND THEN
YOU KNOW THINGS LIKE HAVING TO
BE GO TO AN EMERGENCY
DEPARTMENT, THEN TO A SKILLED
NURSING FACILITY AND SO I THINK
THIS IS COMPOUNDS AND I THINK
ANOTHER RATIONALE TO YOU KNOW
WHY I THINK TO YOUR
ASSEMBLYMEMBER'S GARCIA'S
COMMENT ABOUT THE PRIORITIZATION
AROUND THE OLDER ADULT SECTOR,
THEY WILL HAVE MORE CHRONIC
DISEASE BOARD AND MORE, UM, JUST
, UM, ISSUES WITH DISABILITY AND
SO TO BE ABLE TO GIVE THEM THAT.
SUPPORT IS GOING TO BE EVEN MORE
ESSENTIAL. PLEASE THINK THAT.
THE KEY THAT FROM WHAT YOU SAID
YASMIN, IS THAT FOR THOSE WHO
ARE AT RISK OF BECOMING
HOMELESS. SO WE NEED TO DO
WHATEVER WE CAN TO KEEP THEM SO
THAT THEY DON'T BECOME HOMELESS.
UM BECOMING HOMELESS, THE FIRST
TIME BECOMES SUCH AN ISSUE AND
THE LONGER WE WAIT, THEN IT'S
CHRONIC HOMELESSNESS. AND THEN
THE ISSUE REALLY BECOMES EVEN
MORE SERIOUS. UM THERE WAS
LEGISLATION THAT I ALSO THAT I
INTRODUCED MADE IT TO THE
GOVERNOR'S DESK, BUT IT WAS
VETOED. YES GOVERNOR WILL BE
TALKING TO YOU AGAIN. UM, BUT IT
PROVIDED. RENTAL ASSISTANCE AND
IT WAS FLEXIBLE BECAUSE IT ISN'T
ONE SIZE FITS ALL. BUT I THINK
SOMETHING THAT WE DID MISS AND
I'LL MAKE SURE AND I KNOW THAT
ASSEMBLYMEMBER'S KAZARIAN AND
SIMPLY MEMBER GARCIA WILL REMIND
ME THAT WE DO NEED TO INCLUDE
PART OF THAT FOR OUR OLDER
THAT WITHIN THE FORMULA THAT IS
INCLUDED. BUT IT WAS VERY
SPECIFIC WAS RENTAL ASSISTANCE
FOR THOSE WHO ARE AT RISK. OF
BECOMING HOMELESS BECAUSE WE
WERE PROVIDING ASSISTANCE FOR
THOSE WHO WERE HOMELESS FOR
TRANSITIONAL HOUSING AND THEN
PERMANENT HOUSING. BUT TO MAKE
SURE WE DIDN'T ALLOW PEOPLE TO
TRANSITION FROM BEING HOUSED. AT
RISK OF LOSING THEIR HEALTH,
THEIR HOUSING AND THEN TO
HOMELESSNESS TO CATCH THEM
BEFORE THEY BECAME HOMELESS. AND
I KNOW THAT, UM THESE ARE
SUBJECTS THAT I KNOW ARE NEAR
AND DEAR TO THE HEART OF ALL OF
US, AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO WORK
ON THAT. DO WE HAVE ANY DATA
THAT, UM FOR OLDER SENIORS. THE
HEALTHY THING, UH, ISSUE BECOMES
AN ISSUE OF HEALTHCARE AND AN
ISSUE OF SEEN A LIFE FOR A LOT
OF THEM, AND IT TRIGGERS A LOT
OF TIMES END UP IN THE HOSPITALS
WITH REALLY EXPENSIVE DO WE HAVE
ANY DATA OF WHAT THOSE
HEALTHCARE COSTS ARE A LOT OF
THEM ON MEDICARE MEDIC! MEDIC!
AL BUT THOSE ARE TWO US VERSUS
WHATEVER IT COSTS TO HOUSE THEM.
I MEAN, I'M GONNA IMAGINE IT'S
MUCH MORE AFFORDABLE TO HOUSE
THEM AND KEEP THEM HOUSE THEN TO
PAY FOR THE HEALTH CARE SIDE OF
THINGS. WE HAVE ANY OF THOSE
NUMBERS AVAILABLE. I DON'T HAVE
THOSE DATA WITH ME, BUT THEY ARE
THEY ARE. THERE IS DEFINITELY
DATA AND WE CAN CERTAINLY SHARE
THOSE, UM, OBTAINED THOSE AND
SHARE. I MEAN, I THINK
COLLECTIVELY I'M SURE WE ALL
HAVE THAT INFORMATION. BUT TO
YOUR POINT, IT'S EVIDENT THAT
THEIR HOUSING IS PERHAPS ONE THE
MOST SUBSTANTIVE ISSUE THAT
AFFECTS HEALTH. I MEAN, IF YOU
LOOK AT ALL THE SOCIAL DRIVERS,
THAT IS ONE OF THE YOU KNOW SO
THAT IS AN AREA AND THERE ARE
CONCOMITANT COSTS ASSOCIATED
LIKE AVOIDABLE HOSPITALS, YOU
KNOW, UM, INSTITUTIONALIZATION?
ABSOLUTELY SO THERE'S DEFINITELY
THAT COULD BE. I DON'T KNOW IF
ANYBODY HAS THOSE DATA AVAILABLE
RIGHT NOW, BUT I CAN CERTAINLY
GET THOSE WOULD MAKE A STRONG
CASE AS WE'RE LOOKING AT BUDGET
DOLLARS SHRINKING AGAIN. AH
RIGHT, MAKING THE CASE OF ITS A
WISE INVESTMENT AS WE'RE TRYING
TO REIN IN HEALTHCARE COSTS AS
WELL. ADD TO THAT THAT
CALIFORNIA'S, UM THE MEDICAL
KELLY IN PROGRAM WITH THE
COMMUNITY SUPPORTS THERE ARE
HOUSING ASSISTANCE WERE ONE OF
THE I THINK WE'RE PROBABLY THE
ONLY STATE THAT'S REALLY FOCUSED
ON THOSE SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF
HEALTH, AND I'LL ALSO ADD THAT
THE INTERAGENCY COUNCIL ON
HOMELESSNESS UM JUST FORMED AN
ADVISORY COMMITTEE THAT STARTED
FOR THE FIRST TIME THIS WEEK.
AND THERE ARE A NUMBER OF PEOPLE
REPRESENTING THE AGING AND
DISABILITY SECTORS ON THAT
ADVISORY COMMITTEE. AND SO I
COMMEND THE ADMINISTRATION AND
THE LEGISLATURE WHO APPOINTED
THOSE SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS TO
ADVISE THE HOUSING AND HEALTH
AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY'S
ON THIS TOPIC. THANK YOU VERY
MUCH, EVERYONE. UM. NEXT. WHY
DON'T WE GO TO DONNA BENTON.
THANK YOU. YOU WANT TO MAKE YOUR
PRESENTATION AND I'LL KEEP THE
QUESTION UNTIL AFTER YOU'RE DONE
WITH YOUR PRESENTATION. OKAY,
THAT'S FINE. THANK YOU. FIRST OF
ALL, THANK YOU FOR INVITING ME
HERE, AND I REALLY APPRECIATE IT
. I ALSO WANT TO THANK MY
PANELISTS FOR SAVING ME HAVING
TO DO DATA, WHICH IS USUALLY
WHAT A PROFESSOR DOES, AND I SO
I DON'T HAVE TO TALK ABOUT DATA
RIGHT NOW. SO I'M GOING TO MOVE
INTO MORE OF MY RECOMMENDATIONS
AND GIVE YOU A PICTURE OF WHAT
FAMILY CAREGIVING IS LIKE FOR
THE AVERAGE FAMILY CAREGIVER. I
DO WANT TO START WITH THE DATA
THAT YOU ACTUALLY BROUGHT OUT
RIGHT AT THE BEGINNING, WHICH IS
THAT WE HAVE 4.7 MILLION
CAREGIVERS WHO CONTRIBUTE THAT
FOUR BILLION HOURS OF CARE,
WHICH COMES OUT TO ANOTHER FULL
TIME JOB ALMOST FOR MOST
CAREGIVERS. AND THERE THAT
CONTRIBUTES ABOUT 63 BILLION
ANNUALLY. TO OUR STATE COFFERS.
SO WHEN YOU WANT TO THINK ABOUT
THAT, IT'S LIKE WHAT? HOW DOES
THE STATE RECOGNIZE AND SUPPORT
THIS ECONOMIC ENGINE THAT IS
BEING GIVEN TO THEM BY FAMILIES
AND, YOU KNOW ONE OF THE THINGS
WE THINK ABOUT WITH FAMILIES AS
WELL. THIS IS KIND OF WHAT IT'S
A PRIVATE AFFAIR. IT'S SOMETHING
THAT WE ALL DO. IT'S YOU KNOW,
YOU START AND YOU GROW UP AND
YOU SAY I'M GOING TO TAKE CARE
OF YOU FOREVER. MOM DAD, SISTERS
, AND SO THE STATE HAS BEEN VERY
HAPPY TO LOOK AND SAY, YEAH.
IT'S PRIVATE. BUT IS IT REALLY
IN A PRIVATE AFFAIR AT ALL
TIMES? WHEN WIND HAS THIS TURNED
INTO A PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUE FOR
US, AND I THINK THAT'S WHERE
DATA IS SHOWING HOW THIS IS
TRANSFORMED FOR WOMEN AND WOMEN
OF COLOR, SO THAT NOW IT ISN'T A
PRIVATE AFFAIR BECAUSE FAMILIES
HAVE CHANGED. OUR FAMILY SIZE
HAS CHANGED. OVER THE DECADES.
WE'VE GONE FROM A SUPPORT OF
ABOUT 7 TO 17 ADULTS WHO CAN FOR
ONE ADULT OLDER ADULT TO, UM
IT'S GOING TO BE PROJECTED. THAT
WILL BE CLOSER TO LIKE 2.5. I
DON'T KNOW WHERE THE 0.5 PERSON
IS, BUT 2.5 PEOPLE. TO ONE AND
FAMILIES HAVE CHANGED. THEY
DON'T LIVE CLOSE TO EACH OTHER.
FAMILIES HAVE CHANGED THE VALUES
CHANGE, BUT THERE'S STILL LOVE
WITHIN FAMILIES AND PEOPLE ARE
FAMILY CAREGIVERS, AND THAT'S
WHERE I'LL BE TALKING ABOUT.
THEY ARE ASKING FOR A LOT. THEY
AREN'T SAYING GIVE, YOU KNOW YOU
TAKE IT OVER. I DON'T WANT TO
TAKE CARE OF MOM. DAD SIBLINGS.
THAT'S NOT WHAT THEY WANT, BUT
THEY DO WANT SUPPORT. AND SO I'M
GOING TO GET TO THAT. UM ONE
CAREGIVER STATED, SHE SAID,
QUOTE MY MOTHER HAS M S AND
DEMENTIA. SHE ISN'T ELIGIBLE FOR
MEDICAID, AND SHE DOESN'T HAVE
THE WEALTH TO AFFORD LONG TERM
CARE. PIECING TOGETHER HER CARE
HAS FALLEN ON ME FOR 24 YEARS.
NOW SHE IS VERY TYPICAL OF
FAMILY CAREGIVERS. THIS IS M S,
BUT WHEN WE LOOK AT WHAT'S
CHANGED IN OUR SOCIETY, MORE
PEOPLE ARE LIVING LONGER WITH
CHRONIC DISEASES. SO YOU LIVE
WITH ALZHEIMER'S FOR 10 YEARS.
YOU LIVE WITH EM S FOR 24 YEARS
. YOU'RE LIVING WITH AIDS FOR
MANY DECADES NOW. SO WITH THIS
CHANGE, THE CAREGIVERS ARE
STRUGGLING, AND ABOUT ONE OUT OF
FOUR, AS YOU'VE ALREADY
MENTIONED ARE REPRESENTING THOSE
WHO ARE WORKERS AND YOU'RE
BALANCING THIS FAMILY CAREGIVING
WITH YOUR WORK. ABOUT 24% OF
MILLENNIALS. SO EVERYBODY
EVERYBODY KNOWS WHAT A
MILLENNIAL IS. WE ALWAYS SAY WE
JUST USE THAT WORD. BUT I'LL
TELL YOU WHO THEY ARE. THEY'RE
BORN BETWEEN 1981 AND 1996. SO
THEY'RE LIKE 26 TO 41 YEARS OLD.
THAT'S PRIME WORKING TIME YOU'RE
GOING INTO WHEN YOU'RE SUPPOSED
TO BE BUILDING YOUR LIFE, AND
THEY'RE DOING CAREGIVING AT THE
SAME TIME. AND SO THESE ARE OUR
FAMILY CAREGIVERS. THAT'S A
QUARTER OF THE PEOPLE AND THEN
HALF OF THOSE ARE REALLY UNDER
60. SO WHAT WE HAVE ARE THIS
THIS GROUP OF CAREGIVERS WHO
NEEDS SOME TYPE OF SUPPORT. AND
WHAT ARE THEY ASKING FOR?
THEY'VE USED UP THEIR PERSONAL
SAVINGS TO HELP. PAY FOR THINGS
LIKE GROCERIES, RENT MEDICAL
SUPPLIES, OR THEY HAVE TO LEAVE
THE WORKFORCE TO HELP CARE FOR
THEIR RELATIVES. THIS IS NOT AN
UNUSUAL SCENARIO. AT THE SAME
TIME, WHEN, UM AARP WHEN THEY'RE
LOOKING AT SURVEYS, THEY FOUND
THAT CAREGIVING SPENDING TIME
AND MONEY ON CAREGIVING,
SOMETIMES FOR SOME FAMILIES,
IT'S AN AVERAGE ABOUT 7000, BUT
FOR LATINO AND AFRICAN AMERICAN
FAMILIES, THAT NUMBER CAN GO UP
TO 13 AND 24,000 SO AND THIS IS
OUT OF POCKET EXPENSES. WHICH
ARE MAKING YOU KNOW, SO THEY'RE
NOT JUST CONTRIBUTING TIME THERE
CAN DISTRIBUTING EXPENSES OUT OF
POCKET AND THEY'RE BALANCING
THIS WITH THEIR OWN NEEDS. UM 34
5% OF CAREGIVERS WHO ACCESS THE
CAREGIVER RESOURCE CENTERS IN
2021 REPORTED THAT THEIR THEIR
HEALTH HAD WORSENED. AND SO NOW
YOU DON'T JUST HAVE THE OLDER
ADULT WHO HAS AN ILLNESS. YOU
HAVE YOUNGER PEOPLE. WHO ARE
EXPERIENCING HEALTH CONDITIONS.
AND SO WHAT? WHAT HAPPENS FOR
THE STATE DOLLARS? THIS IS OUR
HEALTHCARE SYSTEM BEING IMPACTED
NOW BY TWO PEOPLE, WHICH MEANS
THAT IF WE CAN PROVIDE TAT
PHYSICAL, EMOTIONAL. FINANCIAL
SUPPORT TO OUR CAREGIVERS. WE
CAN HELP REDUCE SOME OF THE
HEALTH CARE COSTS IN OUR STATE.
AND THEY HAVE THE DATA. I'M
GIVING YOU THE PICTURE. SO UM, I
JUST WANT TO GO TO STRAIGHT TO
MY RECOMMENDATIONS. BECAUSE
REALLY WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE
HEALTH CARE COSTS, AND I WANT TO
GIVE ANOTHER CAREGIVER QUOTE,
SHE SAID. MY PARENTS ARE OLD AND
NEED HELP TO SURVIVE THEIR
LIMITATIONS. I LOVE THE WAY SHE
PHRASED THAT. TO HELP SURVIVE
THEIR LIMITATIONS. WE DON'T WANT
PEOPLE DYING YOUNGER. BUT WE
WANT TO HELP SO SHE WANTS TO
HELP. I TRY TO BALANCE THEIR
NEEDS WITH MY OWN. ALWAYS BEING
MINDFUL OF EVERYBODY'S DIGNITY
AND ROLLS. SO MOST CAREGIVERS
DON'T SELF IDENTIFY, BECAUSE
WE'RE WE'RE SPOUSES WERE PARENTS
WHERE SOMEONE ELSE'S LOVED ONE,
BUT WE WANT TO HAVE THAT BALANCE
AND WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO
SUPPORT THAT IN OUR SOCIETY. SO
WHAT ARE CAREGIVERS ASKING FOR
UM, EDUCATION ABOUT DISEASES AND
ABOUT DIRECT CARE AND MEDICAL
NEEDS, AND NOT JUST A PIECE OF
PAPER THAT USED TO BE CALLED
MIMEOGRAPH. THAT'S HOW OLD I AM.
BUT YOU KNOW, NOT THAT THEY
DON'T WANT A BROCHURE OR JUST
KIND OF HERE'S A PIECE OF PAPER.
READ IT. THEY CAN'T ALWAYS LEARN
THAT WAY. NOT EVERYBODY LEARNS
THAT WAY, SO THEY REALLY NEED
HANDS ON EDUCATION AND DIFFERENT
MODALITIES. DIFFERENT LANGUAGES.
AND A DIFFERENT HEALTHCARE
LITERACY LEVELS. WE CAN HELP
SUPPORT RESPITE. RESPITE MEANS
BEING ABLE TO TAKE A BREAK.
THEY'RE NOT ASKING TO STOP
CAREGIVING. THEY WANT TO DO THIS
. BUT CAN I AT LEAST EVERY
COUPLE OF MONTHS HAVE A COUPLE
OF DAYS OFF. CAN I HAVE A LITTLE
TIME? HOW MANY OF YOU WANT TO
WORK? AND NEVER TAKE A VACATION
FOR FIVE YEARS. I KNOW YOU WOULD
DO THAT. BUT MAYBE YOU WOULDN'T
AND SO THEY'RE ASKING FOR A
LITTLE BIT OF TIME. THAT'S ALL.
WE NEED TRAINING ON HOW TO
MANAGE ACTIVITIES OF DAILY
LIVING AND HOME SAFETY SO YOU
DON'T FALL INTO SITUATIONS OF
NEGLECT OR ABUSE. THEY WANT TO
LEARN ABOUT BEHAVIOR MANAGEMENT
AND HOW TO HELP THAT OLDER
ADULTS WHEN THEY'RE FEELING
DEPRESSED OR ANXIOUS OR WHEN
THEY DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY THEY
CAN'T GO OUT THE DOOR. AND WHAT
CAN THEY CAN THEY OLDER? WHAT
CAN THE CAREGIVER DO? THE
CAREGIVER THEMSELVES, USUALLY
AROUND 40 TO 50, WHO HAVE
SYMPTOMS OF DEPRESSION, WHICH
THEN CAN LEAD TO POOR CARE ON
THEIR PART, THEY NEED ATTENTION
TO THEIR MENTAL HEALTH NEEDS,
WHICH CAN BE HAD BY A LOT OF
OTHER DIFFERENT SYSTEMS,
CALIFORNIA ALSO, I THINK WE
COULD HAVE WE NEED THAT KIND OF
LIKE A UNIVERSAL TRAINING FOR
PEOPLE WHO COME IN TO PROVIDE
RESPITE. AND IF THEY HAVE A
UNIVERSAL TRAINING SO THAT THEY
UNDERSTAND DEMENTIA. THEY
UNDERSTAND WHAT THE FAMILIES
NEED, AND WE HAVE A WORKFORCE
THAT IS REPRESENTATIVE OF OUR
POPULATION IN CALIFORNIA WHO ARE
WELL TRAINED. THEN THERE WILL BE
TRUST WHEN THE CAREGIVERS ALLOW
THESE PEOPLE TO COME IN THEIR
HOMES, AND THAT SAVES THE STATE
BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT GOING TO
PREMATURELY PLACE OR LOOK FOR
INSTITUTIONALIZATION FOR THEIR
LOVED ONE. TO QUOTE AN AARP
STUDY. UM IT SAID INVESTMENT IN
FAMILY CAREGIVING SUPPORT. TODAY
WILL BUILD A MORE CARING SOCIETY
FOR OUR FAMILIES AND OURSELVES
TOMORROW AND THAT'S WHAT WE
WANT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU VERY
MUCH. UM. I HAVE A COUPLE OF
QUESTIONS, BUT FIRST I WANT TO
SEE IF MY COLLEAGUES HAVE ANY
QUESTIONS THAT THEY WOULD LIKE
TO PURSUE RIGHT NOW, THE LAST
THING THAT YOU MENTIONED
UNIVERSAL TRAINING FOR RESPITE
WORK. IT SORT OF REMINDS ME OF A
SUBSTITUTE TEACHER. THE TEACHER
IS GOING TO BE OUT FOR JUST A
LITTLE BIT. THEY DON'T NEED
SOMEBODY TO TAKE OVER FOREVER.
BUT JUST DURING THAT TIME, AND
IF YOU KNOW THAT THAT PERSON HAS
THE QUALIFICATIONS, YOU'RE RIGHT
. THERE'S GREATER TRUST. I THANK
YOU. I LIKE THAT. THANK YOU. I
APPRECIATE THAT AS WELL. ALWAYS
THINKING THAT'S GOOD. UM I VERY
MUCH APPRECIATE THE POINTS THAT
YOU MADE. I I'VE BEEN
EXPERIENCING ACTUALLY ALL POINTS
OF THESE IN THE LAST TWO YEARS
PERIOD AS WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO
TRANSITION MY FATHER FROM HOME
TO A PLACE WHERE HE CAN GET
BETTER CARE. AND THE IMPACT THAT
HAS HAD ON MY MOTHER BECAUSE AT
84 85, SHE STILL FELT THAT SHE
COULD TAKE CARE OF HIM. UM UNTIL
THE PHYSICAL, UH, ASPECT OF
DOING THE DAILY WORK HAD BECOME
SO OVERWHELMING. SO LET ME GO
BACK TO SOME OF THE NUMBERS THAT
YOU PROVIDED EARLIER. AND YOU
CONTINUE TO DO SO NOW, UM WOULD
YOU BE ABLE TO OFFER? HOW IT
HAPPENED AT CALIFORNIA IT'S $63
BILLION. THE UNSPOKEN OF COST
AND IMPACT. WOULD YOU BE ABLE TO
SAY WHAT THAT COST IS IN
NATIONALLY? UH, OF WHAT. I KNOW
NATIONALLY BECAUSE WE WERE THIS
WAS 70. OH, GOSH. DO I THINK
IT'S $470 BILLION, OR IS THAT
THE MY MIXING IT UP WITH THE
AMOUNT OF PEOPLE UM, NO. IT'S
$470 BILLION NATIONALIST WERE
LARGE PART OF THAT. WE ARE SO
HERE HERE'S AND I DON'T MEAN TO
BE PUTTING ANYONE ON THE SPOT.
SO MY APOLOGIES. THE REASON WHY
ACCURATE NUMBER LATER. I
APPRECIATE THAT. I APPRECIATE
WELL OR WELL TO ALL THE
COMMITTEE MEMBERS AS SOME OF US
ARE GOING TO BE CONTINUING, AND
THESE ARE GOING TO BE IMPORTANT
THINGS TO CONSIDER. BECAUSE I
ALMOST FEEL LIKE IN CALIFORNIA.
WE PROBABLY ARE PAYING LESS PER
CAPITA OR THE COST IS LESS PER
CAPITA BECAUSE OF THE DIVERSE
POPULATION. AND BECAUSE THROUGH
THAT DIVERSITY YOU HAVE AND, UM
MAKING ASSUMPTIONS HERE, SO
CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG? BUT
BECAUSE OF THE DIVERSITY, WE
ALSO HAVE VARIOUS CULTURES WHO
APPROACH AGING NEEDS
DIFFERENTLY. A LOT MORE
INDIVIDUALS. WHO COME FROM, UH,
VARIOUS DIFFERENT BACKGROUNDS. I
WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE
BECAUSE OF LANGUAGE BARRIERS,
CULTURAL NEEDS OR WHATEVER ELSE
YOU WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THE
GRANDPARENTS IS AT HOME. THAT'S
WHY IT BECOMES A THREE
GENERATION HOME. UM SO I WOULD
ASSUME THERE'S CERTAIN
UNRECOGNIZED BENEFITS. IN COST
SAVINGS THAT HAPPENED IN
CALIFORNIA PROBABLY MORE SO PER
CAPITA THAN ANY OTHER STATE.
MAYBE SAY FOR IT. NEW YORK WORK
FLORIDA. I THINK, CALIFORNIA I
WOULD AGREE WITH YOU THAT WE, UM
BECAUSE OF OUR DIVERSITY AND THE
VALUES ACROSS THE DIFFERENT
CULTURAL COMMUNITIES. WE KNOW
THAT CAREGIVING. UM IT'S NOT
EQUAL AND ALL CULTURES AND IT'S
HIGHER AMONG OUR ETHNIC CULTURES
, THE FAMILY CAREGIVING SO
THEY'RE MORE LIKELY TO LEAVE THE
WORKFORCE. WHICH IMPACTS OUR
ECONOMY. THEY'RE MORE LIKELY TO
BE CARING FOR SICKER POPULATIONS
, AND THEY'RE MORE LIKELY TO
HAVE THEIR OWN HEALTHCARE
IMPACTED AND THEN FINANCIALLY,
YOU'RE GONNA END UP WITH MORE
GENERATIONAL. UM POVERTY BECAUSE
THEY'VE WITHDRAWN FROM THE
WORKFORCE. SO WE ARE ABSOLUTELY
YOUR ASSUMPTION IS NOT THE BAD
WORD ASSUMPTION, BUT ONE THAT'S
BUILT OFF OF REASONABLE KIND OF
X. YOU'RE INTERPRETING. I HATE
THAT WORD EXTRAPOLATING
CORRECTLY. I APPRECIATE THAT.
AND SO 63 BILLION AGAIN. ROUGH
MATH. IT'S COMING OUT TO ABOUT
1516 A LITTLE UNDER 1600 PER
CAPITA, WHICH SEEMS TO BE JUST
VERY LITTLE MONEY. UM HMM.
SHOCKING HOW SMALL. THAT IS,
ACTUALLY, SO, UM AND WHAT DO WE
INVEST IN THAT RIGHT NOW? WE
HAVE, UM THE CAREGIVER RESOURCE
CENTER SYSTEMS, WHICH ARE A
COUPLE OF MILLION DOLLARS TO
HELP THESE PEOPLE. THAT'S A WE
HAVE SOME WITH OUR TRIPLE A'S
THAT ARE COMING THROUGH FEDERAL
DOLLARS, SOME IN THE HEALTHCARE
FIELD, BUT OVERALL, WE'RE
NOWHERE CLOSE TO THAT INVESTMENT
. WE PROBABLY ARE GIVING TWO
CENTS. PER CAREGIVER. IT WOULD
BE NICE TO GET FIVE. IMAGINE
WHAT WE COULD DO WITH FIVE UH,
I'M HEARING YOU. THANK YOU. UM.
SO WHY DON'T WE. WHY DON'T WE GO
TO TIFFANY? AT THIS POINT, UH,
AND HER PRESENTATION THROUGH
WEBEX. UM. AND THEN AFTER THAT,
WE WILL TURN TO, UM DR MOHANTY.
MR CHAIR. OUR WAITING. MR CHAIR
WHILE WE'RE WAITING. MAY I NEVER
MIND. I THINK WE'RE SET. I WAS
GOING TO DO A LITTLE PUBLIC
SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT. WHY DON'T
YOU GO AHEAD AND DO SO WHILE
THEY'RE STILL WORKING EVERYTHING
OUT? WELL, I WANTED TO. THIS IS
SO TIMELY IN THE TIMES TODAY,
AND I HOPE YOU'LL GET YOUR COPY
. THERE'S AN ARTICLE ENTITLED LA
COUNTY GIVES COVID SHOTS AT
HOME. ADVOCATES FEAR PEOPLE JUST
DON'T KNOW ABOUT THIS. AND I
WANTED TO REMIND THIS IS, UM
HERE IN L. A COUNTY WITH THERE
ARE A NUMBER OF ADVOCATES HAVE%
BEEN FIGHTING AND TRYING TO GET,
UM EVERYBODY TO KNOW THAT THIS
IS BEING OFFERED. I DO WANT TO
GIVE A SHOUT OUT TO, UH, A DEAR
FRIEND WHO HAS BEEN AT THE
FOREFRONT OF THAT, AND THAT IS
ERNIE POWELL, WHO WAS PRESIDENT
OF THE ADVOCACY GROUP. SOCIAL
SECURITY WORKS, CALIFORNIA HE'S
BEEN TRYING TO GET THIS
INFORMATION OUT TO THE COMMUNITY
TO LET THEM KNOW THAT VACCINES
ARE AVAILABLE IN YOUR HOME.
VACCINES CAN BE GIVEN TO YOU IN
THE COMFORT OF YOUR OWN HOME AND
THE PHONE NUMBER TO CALL IF I
MAY, MR CHAIR IS 83354. AND YOU
CAN FILL OUT A FORM ONLINE AND
YOU CAN GET YOUR VACCINE IN THE
COMFORT OF YOUR HOME. THIS IS
REALLY IMPORTANT, ESPECIALLY FOR
OUR FOR THOSE WHO ARE HOMEBOUND
WHO FIND IT VERY DIFFICULT TO
DRIVE TO GET THE VACCINE OR TO
HAVE TO CALL A FAVOR OF, UM FROM
SOMEONE TO GET YOU TO WHERE
YOU'RE GOING TO GET YOUR VACCINE
. THAT NUMBER AGAIN IS 833540.
AND IT'S IN THE L A TIMES TODAY.
THANK YOU. I APPRECIATE THE
REPETITION. I WAS ACTUALLY GOING
TO ASK FOR A THIRD TIME BECAUSE
IT'S A REPETITION IS THE BEST
EDUCATION. SO THANK YOU. ARE WE
READY AT THIS POINT? OR DO WE
NEED A LITTLE MORE TIME? ANOTHER
PUBLIC? WELL, WHY DON'T WE GET
TO QUESTION THEN WHY DON'T WE AH
, MISS BENTON. WHY DON'T WE GO
BACK TO YOU AGAIN AND NOW
INFUSED THE QUESTION THAT WE
WERE I WAS GOING TO ASK FROM THE
BEGINNING, WHICH WAS THE ROLE OF
THE UNPAID CAREGIVER IS
FOUNDATIONAL IN THE STATE. AS WE
ARE ALL BEING TOLD TO PREPARE
FOR ECONOMIC DOWNTURNS. WHAT IS
THE MOST IMPORTANT TO ENSURE THE
NEEDS OF FRIENDS AND FAMILY
CAREGIVERS ARE MET. UH I THINK
WE HAVE TO CONTINUE TO NOT SEE
THIS IS THE FIRST LINE TO CUT
ANY SERVICES THAT ARE CURRENTLY
COMPREHENSIVE FOR THE CAREGIVERS
. UM, SO THAT WE DO HAVE SEVERAL
STATEWIDE PROGRAMS THAT ARE
SUPPORTING FAMILY CAREGIVERS AND
IN WHEN THEY GOT CUT DURING THE
LAST FISCAL DOWNTURN. 9 10? YES
YOU PROBABLY REMEMBER THAT THAT
TAKES AWAY THE EDUCATION THAT
TAKES AWAY THE LEGAL SUPPORTS
THE RESPITE SUPPORTS AND THEN
THEY'RE GOING TO, YOU KNOW,
AGAIN MOVE OUT OF THE WORKFORCE,
AND WE FOUND FOR THE FIRST TIME
IN OUR DATA, WE ACTUALLY SAW A
MORE WOMEN WHO LEFT THE
WORKFORCE. AND SICKER CAREGIVERS
WHO REPORTED MORE HEALTH
CONDITIONS THAN IN ANY OF OUR 20
YEARS AND COLLECTING DATA ON
CAREGIVERS. WHAT PERCENTAGE OF
THAT HAD TO DO, POSSIBLY WITH
MENTAL HEALTH RELATED. OH
PROBABLY DON'T CAN'T, YOU KNOW,
BUT BEING IN A PROFESSOR, YOU
CAN'T SPECULATE, BUT SO I DON'T
WANT TO GIVE YOU THE PERCENT.
BUT WE KNOW THAT THE MENTAL
HEALTH AND THE STRESS BECAUSE
YOU'RE TAKING CARE OF MORE
COMPLEX PEOPLE. YEAH. SO WE
DON'T WANT TO DO THAT. WE WANT
TO KEEP OUR PAID FAN OUR WORK.
FAMILY LOSS, MAKE SURE THAT THE
PFL LAWS ARE STRENGTHENED DURING
THAT TIME SO PEOPLE CAN TAKE
OFF. UM, SO THAT THEY CAN HAVE
THAT FLEXIBILITY. SO WE NEED TO
LOOK AT THOSE TWO AND WE DON'T
WANT TO HAVE, UM SERVICES CUT.
WE WANT TO SEE THEM AS ESSENTIAL
WORKERS ALWAYS REMEMBER AT THE
BEGINNING OF THE PANDEMIC.
CAREGIVERS WERE CALLING US
SAYING I CAN'T GET TO THE
GROCERY STORE FOR MY PARENTS.
BECAUSE I NEED TO DO IT BECAUSE
THEY ARE REALLY HIGH RISK. I'M
THE PERSON CARING FOR THEM, BUT
I'M NOT CONSIDERED A CENTRAL
WORK BECAUSE I'M ONLY 45 I'M
ONLY 35. AND THEY WERE NEVER
SEEN AS A CENTRAL WORKERS, BUT
THEY'RE THE ONES TO THIS DAY
THAT CONTINUE TO PROTECT OUR
OLDER ADULTS AS WE'RE STILL
SUFFERING WITH THE COVID
REPERCUSSIONS. SO UNTIL WE
REALLY SEE THEM AS ESSENTIAL.
PART OF THE WORKFORCE, EVEN
THOUGH THEY'RE UNPAID, AND WE
MAKE SURE THAT POLICIES DON'T UM
HINDER THEM FROM DOING THIS. SO
WE DON'T WANT THOSE KIND OF
CHANGES DURING A DOWNTURN,
EITHER. DOES THAT MAKE SENSE?
YOUR YES. WE'VE TALKED A LOT
ABOUT THE UNPAID CAREGIVER. BUT
EVEN THE CAREGIVERS WHO ARE
BEING PAID ARE CERTAINLY NOT
BEING PAID. WHAT THEY ARE WORTH
AND WHAT THEY SHOULD BE PAID.
AND THEY'RE RECEIVING SOME
PAYMENT. AND SO, YES, THEY DO
HAVE, UM, SOCIAL SECURITY.
THEY'RE PAYING INTO THE SYSTEM.
BUT NOT NEARLY ENOUGH. SO I
THINK JUST IN GENERAL WHEN WE'RE
TALKING ABOUT CAREGIVERS PAID
AND UNPAID, WE HAVE TWO. THERE'S
MUCH MORE ATTENTION THAN IT
NEEDS TO BE GIVEN TO THIS. AND
I'M REALLY GLAD THAT THIS THE
THIS PANEL HAS BEEN CONVENED
SPECIFICALLY FOR THAT. THANK
YOU. EQUITY. REPEATED IF YOU
WOULD WE NEED RESPECT AND PAY
EQUITY. THANK YOU. OKAY OKAY, SO
WHILE WE'RE WORKING THROUGH SOME
OF OUR CHALLENGES, WHY DON'T WE
GO TO DR MOHANTY. FOR HER
PRESENTATION. AND, UH, AND THEN
I'LL ASK THE QUESTION LATER.
THANK YOU. THANK YOU. GOOD
AFTERNOON. UM SO I'M SORRY TO
MOHANTY I SERVE AS THE
PRESIDENT AND CEO OF THE SCAN
FOUNDATION, WHICH IS A
CALIFORNIA PUBLIC CHARITY. WE
ARE FOCUSED ON IMPROVING THE
LIVES OF OLDER ADULTS IN
CALIFORNIA AND NATIONALLY
FOCUSED ON GRANT MAKING OTHER
PROGRAM RELATED INVESTMENTS
INVESTING COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.
AH POLICY INFORMING, AND SO WE
REALLY SEE THIS AS A WAY THIS
THESE CONVERSATIONS ARE
CRITICALLY IMPORTANT BECAUSE WE
WANT TO MAKE SURE WE SUPPORT AND
CATALYZE WHATEVER WE CAN TO HELP
ADVANCE THESE IMPORTANT TOPICS
THAT HAVE BEEN ADDRESSED TODAY.
AND I REALLY APPRECIATE THIS
PANEL BECAUSE I HAVE THE
FORTUNATE OPPORTUNITY TO WORK
WITH EACH OF THEM. AND, OF
COURSE, APPRECIATE.
ASSEMBLYMEMBER'S NAZARIAN FOR
INVITING ME HERE AND THE WOMEN'S
CAUCUS. THIS IS A REALLY
IMPORTANT TOPICS. SO, UM, I KNOW
FOR TIMING SAKE, I WON'T. I'LL
PROBABLY CUT MORE TO THE CHASE
IN TERMS OF SOME CORE
RECOMMENDATIONS, BUT A FEW
THINGS I'M I JUST WANT TO MAKE
SURE THAT YEAH, WHEN WE TALK AND
AT THE SCAN FOUNDATION AND WITH
OUR PARTNERSHIPS, CROSS SECTOR
PARTNERSHIPS IT IS ABOUT HOW CAN
WE START TO DEVELOP? LOOK AT
EXPANDING I EVER EXPANDING
CHOICES IN IN, UM HOW PEOPLE CAN
AGE WELL IN THEIR HOME AND IN
THEIR COMMUNITY, AND THAT'S
REALLY I THINK WHEN YOU'RE
HEARING THE TENOR, THE WHAT I'M
BRINGING FORTH IT'S REALLY ABOUT
THAT. AND UM, I THINK YOU KNOW
ONE THING THAT WAS HIGHLIGHTED,
AND I THINK YES, ME AND OTHERS
IS THE DIVERSITY OF THE OLDER
ADULT POPULATION HERE IN
CALIFORNIA. I THINK AS WE SEE
THIS RISE, YOU KNOW, UP TO FOUR
MILLION PLUS BY 2030 OF THOSE 65
OLDER, THE FASTEST GROWTH IS
AMONG LATINOS AND ASIANS SO
KEEPING THAT AS WE THINK ABOUT
THE KID THE TYPES OF SERVICES WE
DELIVER THE CULTURALLY SENSITIVE
, LINGUISTICALLY SENSITIVE CARE
THAT IS CRITICALLY IMPORTANT AND
JUST ALSO WHEN WE THINK ABOUT
LONG TERM SERVICES AND SUPPORTS
, UH THIS IS A AS AND I DON'T
NEED TO REHASH THIS. BUT AS
PEOPLE ARE LIVING LONGER AND
NEEDING HAVING MORE MEDICAL
NEEDS AND NON MEDICAL NEEDS LIKE
HOUSING AND TRANSPORTATION AND
FOOD. THEIR DEMAND FOR LONG TERM
SERVICES SUPPORT IS GOING TO
INCREASE. THERE'S A STATISTIC
THAT SAYS THAT MORE THAN 70% OF
AMERICANS AGE 65 OLDER WILL NEED
LONG TERM SERVICE AND SUPPORT AT
SOME POINT, UM AND THAT'S THAT'S
HALF AND HALF TURNING 65 TODAY
WILL NEED A HIGH LEVEL OF HELP
WITH BASIC ACTIVE DAILY
ACTIVITIES SUCH AS EATING AND
BATHING. AND THEN WE ALSO HEARD
FROM OUR ESTEEMED PANELISTS THAT
YOU KNOW MOST PEOPLE ADULTS WANT
TO BE IN THEIR HOMES AND IN
THEIR COMMUNITIES. SO WHAT CAN
WE DO THAT AND THE OTHER PIECE
THAT I WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT JUST
IN TERMS OF IMPORTANCE? IS THIS
GROWING DEMOGRAPHIC THAT, UM,
THAT SUSAN ALSO MENTIONED WHICH
IS THE SUBMITTED MISSING MIDDLE
HIDDEN MIDDLE NEAR DUELS? WE
SOMETIMES HAVE HEARD THEM AS THE
FORGOTTEN MIDDLE UH, WE ACTUALLY
COMMISSIONED A REPORT FROM NORTH
IN CHICAGO THAT REVEALED THAT
MOST OF CALIFORNIA'S MIDDLE
INCOME OLDER ADULTS WILL HAVE
TROUBLE MAJORITY OF THEM WILL
HAVE TROUBLE AFFORDING THE CARE
THEY NEED IN THE NEXT DECADE,
AND THAT'S GOING TO PLACE A
SIGNIFICANT DEMAND ON UNPAID
CAREGIVERS, UM, THAT THAT THAT
WON'T BE AVAILABLE TO THEM. AND
YOU KNOW, THE OTHER THING YOU
YOU MENTIONED WAS THIS ISSUE
AROUND THE WORKFORCE. THE PAID
CAREGIVERS. I DON'T I WANNA BE.
THERE WAS A RECENT WASHINGTON
POST AND OTHER ARTICLES THAT
CAME OUT THAT SHOWED THAT PEOPLE
ARE LIVING LEAVING THE HOME CARE
WORKFORCE IN DROVES, GOING TO
WORK FOR OTHER INDUSTRIES LIKE
STARBUCKS AND OTHERS BECAUSE OF
THE PAY INEQUITIES, AND I THINK
THE RESPECT THAT YOU KNOW IT
NEEDS TO BE GARNERED. WHEN WE
THINK ABOUT EVEN THE PAID
CAREGIVING WORKFORCE. AND SO, UH
, AND I THINK YOU KNOW, I THINK
THE LAST THING I'LL JUST SAY IS,
UH THAT THE YOU KNOW THE
STATISTICS THAT I HAVE HERE ARE
BASICALLY THE SAME, YOU KNOW,
SIMILAR STATISTICS, SO I WON'T
GO INTO THOSE TWO DETAILS. SO
WHERE CAN WE GO FROM HERE? I
THINK THAT'S REALLY WHERE I
WOULD LIKE TO KIND OF CLOSE. UH
CARRY SO CAREGIVING IN MY MIND,
AND I THINK IN ALL OF OUR MINDS
IS AN ISSUE OF EQUITY. RACIAL
EQUITY, GENDER EQUITY AGE
EQUITY, SOCIO ECONOMIC EQUITY.
AND SO WE REALLY NEED TO THINK
ABOUT IT ACROSS AND I THINK I
JUST MEAN YOU MENTIONED THIS.
THIS IS INTERSECT. YOU KNOW,
INTER SECTORAL IS YOU KNOW THIS
IS, UM AND IT'SALSO
INTERGENERATIONAL. SO
ASSEMBLYWOMAN AND GARCIA WHEN
YOU WERE SAYING ABOUT HOW DO WE
HOW DO WE PRIORITIZE? ER, I
THINK WE SOLVED IT. UM ABOUT
AGING. HOW DO WE THINK REMINDING
THAT AGING IS FOR ALL STAGES,
ALL AGES. IT IS. I SEE HER. THIS
IN THE MASTER PLAN THAT AGING
IMPACTS. YOU KNOW, EVEN THE
MILLENNIALS AND THOSE OLDER, SO
I THINK THOSE ARE KIND OF THINGS
THAT WE DEFINITELY WANT TO KEEP
IN MIND. SO A COUPLE OF THINGS,
I THINK THERE'S THE RECENT
LEGISLATION THAT EXTENDS THE
LIST OF PEOPLE FOR WHICH AN
EMPLOYEE CAN TAKE LEAVE FOR
FAMILY CARE OR MEDICAL LEAVE.
AND THE INCREASES IN WAGE
REPLACEMENT IS RATES FOR THE
STATE DISABILITY AND PAID FAMILY
LEAVE PROGRAMS. UM, I THINK
CALIFORNIA HAS TAKEN SIGNIFICANT
STRIDES IN THIS AND WE NEED TO
DEFINITELY CONTINUE TO ADVANCE
THOSE AND THINK ABOUT THOSE
GOING FORWARD. UH THE OTHER
THING THAT WAS ALSO MENTIONED IS
CAL AIM, WHICH IS THE PART OF
THE MEDICAID WAIVER AND THE WORK
AROUND THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
CARE SERVICES AND ONE OF THE
AREAS OF THE 14 COMMUNITY
SUPPORTS IS AROUND CAREGIVING
RESPITE AND HOW DO WE START TO
LOOK AT AS CALLUM ADVANCES? WHAT
IS THE IMPACT OF OFFERING THIS
CAREGIVING RESPITE SUPPORT
THROUGH CAL AIM AND I THINK THIS
IS AN AREA I WOULD LIKE TO SEE
ADVANCES EVALUATION OF SOME OF
THESE MODELS OF APPROACHES THAT
ARE STARTING IN IN THE MEDICAID
SIDE. HOW ARE WE? HOW DO WE TAKE
THOSE TO SCALE? UM THAT IS
SOMETHING THAT WE ARE LOOKING AT
. HOW DO WE SO HOW DO WE SUSTAIN
THOSE DOWN THE ROAD? SO IF WE
HAVE ANOTHER ECONOMIC DOWNTURN
AND WE HAVE TO MAKE SOME
UNFORTUNATE CUTS, HOW DO WE MAKE
SURE THAT THESE PROGRAMS WILL BE
SELF SUSTAINING? AND I THINK
THAT IS AN EXAMPLE OF WHERE I
THINK CALIFORNIA IS REALLY,
REALLY LEADING THE EFFORT. IS
AROUND. THESE COMMUNITIES,
SUPPORT MODELS AND CALLUM BUT
THEN THE LAST THING I ALSO
MENTIONED IS THAT THE CALIFORNIA
DEPARTMENT OF AGING IS USING THE
HEALTH AND THE HOME AND
COMMUNITY BASED SERVICES
SPENDING PLAN FUNDS TO STATE A
TO REALLY LAUNCH A STATEWIDE
DIRECT CARE, WORKFORCE TRAINING
AND STIPENDS PROGRAM, CALLED
CALIFORNIA GROWS RIGHT AND IT'S
TO INCENTIVIZE SUPPORT AND FUND
CAREER PATHWAYS TRAINING AGAIN.
I THINK THIS IS A REAL PRIME
OPPORTUNITY TO UNDERSTAND HOW
THIS MODEL IS GOING TO AGAINST
SUPPORT THAT THE CAREGIVERS BOTH
PAID AND UNPAID, GOING FORWARD,
AND SO I THINK FOR US, IT'S
REALLY LOOKING AT THESE ROBUST
IN INVESTMENTS IN HOME CARE
SUPPORT. I THINK THAT THE
INVESTMENT GAP IS TOO TOO
SIGNIFICANT AND WE NEED WE NEED
TO AS UM, AS DONNA HAS SO
ARTICULATELY MENTIONED WE NEED
THERE'S A DISPARITY WHEN IT
COMES TO THE INVESTMENT VERSUS
HOW MUCH THESE CAREGIVERS ARE
CONTRIBUTING TO THE HEALTH CARE
SYSTEM ECOSYSTEM, AND I'M REALLY
EXCITED ABOUT A MASTER PLAN FOR
AGING BECAUSE I THINK AGAIN AS
MENTIONED THIS IS A BLUEPRINT
THAT WILL REALLY THAT WE CAN WE
CAN EMBED OURSELVES IN AND
FOLLOW AND UM AND I THINK THAT'S
GOING TO BE A REALLY IMPORTANT
ISSUE FOR US GOING FORWARD. SO
I'LL JUST STOP THERE BECAUSE I'M
I REALLY WANT TO JUST REINFORCED
THE COMMENTS THAT WERE MADE
TODAY AND CERTAINLY HAPPY TO
ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS AND AS
MENTIONED, IF WE DON'T HAVE ALL
THE DATA STATISTICS, WE WILL GET
THOSE TO YOU TO HELP SUPPORT THE
CAUSE HERE TODAY, SO THANK YOU.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH. AND BY THE
WAY, YOU ALREADY ANSWERED THE
QUESTION THAT I WAS GOING TO ASK
BECAUSE THE FOCUS WAS GOING TO
BE HOW HOW CAN WHAT WOULD YOU
TELL THE LEGISLATURE TO DO? AH
TO PRIORITIZE WHAT WE NEED TO DO
TO TRY TO, YOU KNOW, TO KEEP ON
TRACK. TO ABSORB THE IMPACT OF
THE GROWING POPULATION AGING
POPULATION, SO YOU ALREADY
STARTED ADDRESSING THAT UM. I
THINK WE HAVE, UH TIFFANY WITTEN
JOINING US AT THIS POINT. I
THINK EVERYTHING'S WORKED OUT.
POTENTIALLY TECHNICALLY. SO
SHOULD WE TRY. PATCHING HER IN.
GOOD AFTERNOON. CAN YOU OFFER ME
READY FOR YOU? AND I CAN HEAR
YOU. YOU GUYS ARE GOOD, AWESOME
, AWESOME. GOOD AFTERNOON, MR
CHAIRMAN, MEMBERS TIFFANY
WAITING HERE MEMBERS. TIFFANY
WENT IN HERE. THERE'S AN ECHO. I
THINK SOMEBODY HAS TO.
GOOD AFTERNOON, MR CHAIR AND
MEMBERS. TIFFANY WHITE, WITH US.
HI, CALIFORNIA REPRESENTING
THE LARGEST LONG TERM CARE UNION
IN THE COUNTRY, WE REPRESENT
NEARLY 420,000 LONG TERM CARE
WORKERS IN CALIFORNIA, WHICH
INCLUDES 395,000 HSS PROVIDERS
ABOUT 2000 PRIVATE AGENCY, HOME
CARE WORKERS AND ABOUT 23,000
NURSING HOME WORKERS. LONG TERM
CARE WORKERS ARE THE MAJORITY,
UM WOMEN OF COLOR AND ARE
LINGUISTICALLY RACIALLY AND
ETHNICALLY DIVERSE, PARTICULARLY
IN COMPARISON TO THE DIRECT CARE
WORKFORCE IN THE U. S AS A WHOLE
AND AN ESTIMATED 81% OF DIRECT
CARE WORK.
WE MAY JUST WANNA HAVE PATCH HER
IN BY PHONE. AND DO IT JUST THE
OLD FASHIONED WAY AND PUT THE
PHONE BY THE MIC SO THAT SHE CAN
CONTINUE SPEAKING.
UNINTERRUPTED. SO, UM. IF WE
HAVE HER, LET'S MAKE THAT
SUGGESTION. GO AHEAD. GOOD
AFTERNOON, MR CHAIR AND MEMBERS
SO SORRY FOR ALL OF THE
DIFFICULTIES TIFFANY WHITE IN
HERE WITH THE HI, CALIFORNIA,
REPRESENTING THE LARGEST LONG
TERM CARE UNION IN THE COUNTRY,
WE REPRESENT NEARLY $420,000 TO
APPEAR WORKERS IN CALIFORNIA,
WHICH INCLUDES 395,000 HSS
PROVIDERS ABOUT 2000 PRIVATE
AGENCY, HOME CARE WORKERS AND
ABOUT 2300. MARKERS LONG TERM
CARE WORKERS ARE MAJORITY
MAJORITY WOMEN OF COLOR, WHICH
WE HEARD IN OUR LINGUISTICALLY,
RACIALLY AND ETHNICALLY DIVERSE
, PARTICULARLY IN COMPARISON TO
THE DIRECT CARE WORKFORCE IN THE
U. S AS A WHOLE. RIGHT, MHM. UM
I ALSO HAVE THE HONOR OF BEING
AN UNPAID CAREGIVER TO MY MOTHER
WITH ALZHEIMER'S, WHICH IS WHY I
UNFORTUNATELY CANNOT BE THERE
WITH YOU ALL IN PERSON TODAY,
BUT SINCERELY, THANK YOU, MR
CHAIR AND YOUR STAFF FOR
ACCOMMODATING I AM THE EXACT
INDIVIDUAL THAT BOTH SUSAN AND
DR BENSON MENTIONED THE
MILLENNIAL UNPAID CHARACTER
RIVER WITH THE SMALL CHILD THAT
WAS MULTIPLE FULL TIME JOBS AND
SHIFTS EVERY SINGLE DAY. SO
TODAY I HAVE THE UNIQUE
OPPORTUNITY AND POSITION OF
REPRESENTING OUR MEMBERS, MYSELF
AND ALL OF THE UNPAID CHARACTER
VERS THAT HAVE FACED MANY
CHALLENGES OVER THE YEARS, WHICH
WERE ONLY EXACERBATED BY THE
PANDEMIC. YEAH ARE MEMBERS
PROVIDE CRITICAL SERVICES TO
VULNERABLE MEDICAID POPULATIONS
, WHO TEND TO HAVE POORER HEALTH
OUTCOMES AND HIGH UTILIZATION
RATES IN CALIFORNIA'S NURSING
HOMES. THE VAST MAJORITY OF
RESIDENTS ARE PUBLICLY INSURED
BY MEDICAID, MEDICARE OR BOTH. I
H S S IS A MEDICAID PROGRAM, AND
MOST I AGES HAS BENEFICIAL AREAS
ARE ARE DUAL ELIGIBLE WHO HAVE
COSTLY AND COMPLEX CARE NEEDS
AND REQUIRES SUPPORT TO MANAGE
CHRONIC CONDITIONS TO REMAIN
SAFELY IN THEIR HOMES. LONG TERM
CARE WORKERS FACE THE DAILY
CHALLENGES OF A PHYSICALLY AND
EMOTIONALLY DEMANDING CAREER
WHERE THEY MUST FIGHT FOR THE
MOST BASIC JOB PROTECTION, SUCH
AS LIVING WAGE BENEFITS AND
RESPECT AND SAFETY IN THE
WORKPLACE AGAIN. ALL OF THIS HAS
BEEN MENTIONED TODAY. THROUGH
THEIR DETERMINATION AND
RELENTLESS ADVOCACY. THERE HAVE
BEEN SIGNIFICANT ADVANCEMENTS TO
THE LONG TERM CARE INDUSTRY. IN
RECENT YEARS. I H S S PROVIDERS
HAVE SECURED PAID SICK LEAVE
PROVIDER BACKUP SYSTEM.
PERMANENT RESTORATION OF THE 7%
CUTS TO THE PROGRAM AND I
REACHED AGREEMENTS IN MANY
COUNTIES ACROSS THE STATE TO
BRING PROVIDERS CLOSER TO A
LIVING WAGE AND NURSING HOMES.
WORKERS HAVE FALLEN JUST AS HARD
TO PASS LEGISLATION TO INCREASE
ACCOUNTABILITY AND THE INDUSTRY
AROUND NURSING HOME OWNERSHIP
AND FINANCIAL PRACTICES. RACE
STAFFING US STACKING STANDARD.
AND COVID 19 RETENTION PAPER.
BUT DESPITE ALL OF THESE
INCREDIBLE ACHIEVEMENTS, THE
DEMAND ON THE LONG TERM CARE
WORKFORCE ARE EVER PRESENT AND
HAVE BECOME EXPONENTIALLY WORSE
SINCE THE ONSET OF THE PANDEMIC
IN 2020 NURSING HOMES, IN
PARTICULAR, HAVE BEEN AT THE
CENTER OF THE PANDEMIC, WITH
NURSING HOME WORKERS
DISPROPORTIONATELY EXPOSED TO
COVID WHILE CARING FOR SOME OF
THE STATE'S MOST VULNERABLE
POPULATIONS FROM JANUARY 2022
TODAY OVER 1000 NURSING HOME
WOKERS CONTRACTED COVID 19 AND
SADLY MORE THAN 250 DIED FROM
THE VIRUS. THE IMPACT ON WORKERS
AND THEIR FAMILIES WILL CONTINUE
TO BE FELT FOR A LONG TIME TO
COME. EVEN IF AND WHEN THE
EMERGENCE THE HEALTH EMERGENCY
IS DECLARED TO BE OVER NEXT YEAR
BY OUR GOVERNOR. AND PEOPLE ARE
EAGER TO RETURN TO THEIR
EVERYDAY PRE PANDEMIC LIVES.
ALTHOUGH NURSING HOME WORKERS
WERE LABELED AS ESSENTIAL, THEY
STRUGGLED TO GET THE CRITICAL
PROTECTIONS THEY NEEDED TO KEEP
THEMSELVES, THEIR FAMILIES AND
THE RESIDENTS SAFE. SOME WORKERS
WERE STILL, UM, RESORTED TO
WEARING TRASH BAGS WHEN THE PPE
WAS SCARCE, REUSING THEIR MASKS
OVER AND OVER AS THE ALTERNATIVE
WAS NOT HAVING ANY PROTECTION AT
ALL. CALLS FOR HAZARD PAY AND
PAID TIME OFF WENT LARGELY
UNANSWERED AS WORKERS CONTINUE
TO RISK THEIR LIVES DAILY. I
WOULD LIKE TO SAY THAT THESE
HORRIBLE SITUATIONS WHERE AN
ANOMALY THAT SURFACED ONLY DUE
TO THE PANDEMIC, BUT I WOULD BE
WRONG NURSING HOME WORKERS HAVE
ALREADY BEEN EXPERIENCING AN
ARRAY OF PROBLEMS AND STAFFING,
WAGES, BENEFITS AND WORKPLACE
PROTECTIONS THAT PREDATED THE
PANDEMIC BY MANY YEARS. NURSING
HOME WORKERS CONSISTENTLY RANKS
AMONG THE JOBS WITH THE HIGHEST
RATES OF OCCUPY PATIENT INJURY
AND ILLNESS. YET THE PAY AND
BENEFITS GENERALLY DO NOT
REFLECT THE REALITY OF THE WORK
. THE MEDIAN INCOME FOR NURSING
HOME WORKERS IN 2020 WAS JUST
THE $30,000. IT'S NO SURPRISE
THAT THERE IS MORE THAN A 50%
TURNOVER RATE AMONG DIRECT CARE
WORKERS AND NURSING HOMES, AND
MORE THAN A 16,000 WORKERS HAVE
LEFT THE INDUSTRY SINCE JANUARY
OF 2020. 2022 SURVEY FROM THE
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF HEALTH
CARE ASSISTANCE TO PERFECT THE
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR
CERTIFIED NURSING ASSISTANTS
INDICATED THAT POOR WAGES AND
BENEFITS WERE CITED AS A PRIMARY
REASON WHY SIENNA HAVE LEFT OR
ARE CONSIDERING LEAVING THEIR
JOBS, ACCORDING TO MORE THAN
HALF OF THE RESPONDENTS, THE
MOST PRESSING CHALLENGES FOR C N
S RIGHT NOW IS STAFFING. 35% SAY
THEY CARE FOR BETWEEN 15 TO 20
PATIENTS AND RESIDENTS. ANOTHER
18% SAY THEY CARE FOR 25, OR
MORE PATIENTS AND RESIDENTS,
BURNOUT AND EXHAUSTION AND LACK
OF RESPECT FROM LEADERSHIP WERE
NAMED AS THE 2ND AND 3RD BIGGEST
CHALLENGES INSTEAD OF IMPROVING
WORKING CONDITIONS, WAGES AND
BENEFITS TO ADDRESS TURNOVER
RETENTION ISSUES, NURSING HOMES
WERE INSTEAD GIVING STAFFING
WAIVERS THAT ALLOW THEM TO
OPERATE AS STAFFING LEVELS THAT
ARE FAR LOWER THAN THE MINIMALLY
MAN. GATED LEVELS OF DIRECT CARE
WORKERS. SINCE 2018 OVER 1500
STAFFING WAIVERS HAVE BEEN
APPROVED AND OVER $50 MILLION
WERE PROVIDED, AS ADD ON
PAYMENTS TO FACILITIES TO COVER
COSTS OF ADDITIONAL WORKERS.
DESPITE THIS FUNDING, CONTINUED
TO BE UNDERSTAFFED, AND THE
UNDERLYING UNDERLYING PROBLEMS
HAVE YET TO BE FULLY ADDRESSED.
ALL THE I H S S SIDE. I JUST
ASKED WORKERS HAVING ENCOUNTERED
SIMILAR TRIALS, PLUS AN ARRAY OF
UNIQUE CHALLENGES DUE TO WORKING
IN HOME SETTINGS THAT KEEP THEM
LARGELY ISOLATED FROM THEIR
FELLOW HOME CARE WORKERS AND
MEMBERS OF THE PLOT. THE PUBLIC.
I H S S ALSO RELIES ON FAMILY
CAREGIVERS WITH OVER 70% OF
PROVIDERS RELATED TO THEIR
CUSTOMER, WHICH LEADS TO MANY I
AGENTS AS PROVIDERS WORK IN
ADDITIONAL UNPAID HOURS. THE
DEMAND OF HOME AND COMMUNITY
BASED CARE HAS CONTINUED TO GROW
PP. I SEE ESTIMATED THAT THERE
WAS OVER ONE MILLION SENIORS
WITH SELF CARE LIMITATIONS BY
2030. WITH THE OVERWHELMING
MAJORITY LIVING IN THEIR HOMES.
MEANWHILE THE MEDIAN AGE OF HOME
CARE WORKERS IN CALIFORNIA IT'S
50 YEARS OLD, SIGNIFICANTLY
OLDER THAN THE MEDIAN AGE OF 40
FOR ALL WORKERS IN THE STATE,
WHICH WILL LIKELY SIGNIFICANTLY
IMPACT THE ABILITY FOR WORKFORCE
TO KEEP PACE WITH THE GROWTH IN
DEMAND. OFFICE SERVICES. THE
POPULATION AGED 65 PLUS WILL
ALSO BECOME MORE RACIALLY AND
ETHNICALLY DIVERSE, SIGNALING,
SIGNALING THE CONTINUED NEED FOR
CULTURALLY AND LINGUISTICALLY
COMPETENT CAREGIVERS, WHICH DR
VINCENT SO MENTIONED, UM LATINO
INDIVIDUALS AGE 65, PLUS FOUR,
MORE THAN DOUBLE FROM 1.3
MILLION TO 20 AND 2020 20
ESTIMATED 3.2 MILLION AND 2020
FOR ALMOST 30% OF NON FAMILY. I
H S S WORKERS INDICATED, AND
MULTIPLE SURVEYS THAT THEY WERE
LIKELY TO LEAVE THEIR POSITION
IN THE NEXT YEAR AND I H S S
WORKERS WITH HOUSEHOLD INCOMES
BETWEEN 50,000 WERE MORE LIKELY
AND INDICATED LIKELIHOOD
SOMEBODY'S RETIREMENT INSECURITY
AND LOW OKAY, WE'RE CONSTANTLY
CONSISTENTLY INDICATED AS HOME
CARE WORKERS TOPIC ISSUES.
ADDITIONALLY 58% OF I. H S S
WORKERS ALSO FELT THEY DID NOT
HAVE THE OPPORTUNITIES TO GROW
IN THEIR CAREERS. SO IT'S CLEAR
THAT LONG TERM CARE WORKERS,
ESPECIALLY DIRECT NURSING HOME
CAREGIVERS, AND HOME CARE
PROVIDERS ARE CARING FOR OUR
STATE'S MOST VULNERABLE
RESIDENTS AT THE EXPENSE OF
THEIR OWN HEALTH AND WELL BEING.
AND SOMETHING HAS TO CHANGE SO
THAT THE KID CAREGIVERS CAN GET
THE RESPECT AND THE DIGNITY THEY
CAN. THEY DESERVE IN ORDER TO
PROVIDE THE BEST SERVICES, UM TO
OUR STATE'S MOST VULNERABLE SO
THAT CONCLUDES MY REMARKS. I
THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO
SPEAK WITH YOU ALL TODAY AND
SINCERELY APPRECIATE THE
FLEXIBILITY TO ATTEND REMOTELY.
THANK YOU. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
TIFFANY CAN YOU HEAR ME AS I'M
SPEAKING TO YOU RIGHT NOW. I
SURE CAN. MR SHERIFF. OKAY,
FANTASTIC. UH, SO LET ME ASK ANY
OF MY COMMITTEE MEMBERS WANT TO
ASK ANY QUESTIONS OF TIFFANY?
TIFFANY UM, THIS IS ELOISE REYES
LIKE I WANT TO FIRST. THANK YOU
AND YOUR MEMBERS. I THINK THAT
IT IS CLEAR THAT THIS PROFESSION
pOFTEN TIMES BECOMES A LABOR OF
LOVE. YOU MENTIONED A LITTLE BIT
ABOUT THE EVEN FOR OUR PAID
CAREGIVERS. THEY WORK AFTER THE
HOURS OR MORE THAN THE HOURS
THAT HAVE BEEN AUTHORIZED, AND
THOSE ADDITIONAL HOURS ARE
UNPAID. HOW OFTEN DOES THIS
COULD YOU GIVE US AN IDEA? HOW
OFTEN DO YOU HEAR THIS FROM YOUR
FROM YOUR MEMBERS? HOW OFTEN
DOES THIS HAPPEN? OH VERY OFTEN
, ANATOMICALLY. IT HAPPENS VERY
OFTEN. I'M SURE WE COULD
PROBABLY GET YOU DIRECT AND
EXACT NUMBERS, BUT WE HEAR IT
QUITE OFTEN. IT'S THE JOB THAT
ITS AROUND THE CLOCK UM YES. THE
CLIENT WAS ASSESSED FOR A
CERTAIN AMOUNT OF HOURS. BUT
AGAIN, IT IS A COMPLETE LABOR OF
LOVE. AND SO IT DOESN'T STOP
JUST BECAUSE THE HOURS THAT HAVE
BEEN ASSESSED ARE COMPLETED, THE
JOB CONTINUES TO GO EVEN AFTER
THAT. THANK YOU. SWIMMING THAT'S
PROBABLY NOT EVEN ACCOUNTED IN
THE 63 BILLION BECAUSE WE WERE
PROBABLY WORKING OFF OF WE'RE
COMING UP WITH THAT NUMBER OF
THE ASSUMPTION THAT WELL, THE
COMPLETELY UNPAID CATEGORY IS
THIS. SO WE'RE NOT EVEN
CONSIDERING THE FOLKS WHO ARE
PUTTING IN THE TIME BEYOND WHAT
THEY GET PAID FOR. SO THAT
PROBABLY ADDS, UH SIGNIFICANTLY
MORE TO THAT. UH AND ESPECIALLY
WHEN IT'S SOMEONE, ESPECIALLY
WHEN IT'S SOMEONE THAT YOU ARE
CARING FOR. THAT'S A LOVED ONE.
THERE IS NO LIMITATION OF WHERE
YOU STOP. WHICH ALL THE MORE I
THINK IS CAUSE FOR THE MENTAL
HEALTH CONCERNS AS WELL AS THE
CRITICAL. UM THANK YOU, TIFFANY
. TIFFANY I, UH, THE ONE
PREPARED QUESTION I HAD, WHICH I
THOUGHT WAS KIND OF INTERESTING
AND THINK LIZ FOR REMINDING ME
OF THIS IS YOUR ROLE ON THE
INSURANCE COMMISSIONERS TASK
FORCE ON LONG TERM CARE
INSURANCE AND SOMETHING THAT WAS
VERY IMPORTANT TO ME, AND I
TRIED ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS TO
HAVE VARIOUS BILLS ADDRESSING
THIS AS AS DID, UH, THE MAJORITY
LEADER AS WELL AND I KNOW SHE'S
GOING TO CONTINUE WORKING ON
THIS. SO IS THERE ANYTHING YOU
WANT TO TELL US ON THAT FRONT
THAT WE SHOULD BE EXPECTING? NOT
TO THROW YOU OFF OR NOT TO
SURPRISE YOU. THANK YOU. BOTH.
YOU GUYS HAVE CARRIED SOME BIG
LEGISLATION NOT ONLY FOR OUR
ORGANIZATION, BUT JUST IN
GENERAL AND AS IT RELATES TO THE
LONG TERM CARE INSURANCE TASK
FORCE. WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF,
UM KIND OF FINALIZING SOME OF
THE INFORMATION THAT WE'VE
GATHERED SO THAT WE CAN REPORT
BACK TO THE LEGISLATURE AND GIVE
YOU GUYS A REPORT AT THE END OF
DECEMBER, SO THAT'S WHAT WE ARE
IN THE PROCESS OF DOING SO THAT
WE CAN HAVE THE ACTUAL ARIEL
STUDIES SO THAT WE CAN ALL KIND
OF LEARN. UM, AND BEFORE E MOVE
FORWARD WITH DIFFERENT PIECES OF
LEGISLATION. OKAY? APPRECIATE
IT. THANK YOU. IF YOU DON'T MIND
HANGING OUT WITH US FOR A LITTLE
BIT LONGER ON LIZZIE'S CELLPHONE
SO THAT WE CAN CONTINUE ENGAGING
WITH YOU. I JUST WANT TO GO BACK
AND ASK ONE QUICK QUESTION. UH
YES, MEN IN YOUR PRESENTATION
AND ONE OF YOUR SLIDES, YOU HAD
THE OLDER WOMEN OF COLOR MORE
LIKELY TO LIVE IN POVERTY SLIDE.
AND IN THAT YOU HAVE VARIOUS
PERCENTAGES ASSIGNED THE WHITE
BEING THE LEAST THAT 13% AND
BLACK AND HISPANIC BEING AT 25
26% RESPECTIVELY, IS THAT. ON
BASED ON A SPECIFIC YEAR, OR IS
IT A CERTAIN SET OF YEARS? AND
THE REASON WHY I'M ASKING IS
HAVE YOU NOTICED IF THAT LINE
HAS FLATTENED OVER TIME, OR IS
THE DISPARATE CIRCUMSTANCES EVEN
, YOU KNOW, EXASPERATED,
EXACERBATING OVER TIME. I
BELIEVE THAT THIS DATA IS SO
FIRST. IT'S NATIONAL DATA. IT'S
NOT STATE DATA. UM AND I BELIEVE
THIS IS FROM ABOUT 2020 THE NEW
DATA THAT JUST CAME OUT FROM THE
CENSUS BUREAU, WHERE I SAID THAT
OLDER ADULTS HAD THE HIGHEST
INCREASE IN POVERTY. WE DON'T
HAVE THAT BROKEN DOWN BY OLDER
ADULTS AND THEN BY SEX, BUT
HOPEFULLY WE CAN GET THAT AS WE
SORT OF GO THROUGH THE DATA. YOU
KNOW, WITH A FINE TOOTH COMB, SO
I CAN'T TELL YOU RIGHT NOW, IF
THERE'S A CHANGE BETWEEN THE
2020 DATA, AND, UM 2022 DATA
THAT JUST CAME OUT. I WOULD
GUESS THAT, GIVEN THAT THE
OVERALL TREND OF POVERTY
INCREASING OVERALL FOR OLDER
ADULTS THAT THIS DATA HERE WOULD
ALSO INCREASE THAT OLDER WOMEN
OF COLOR HAVE WILL HAVE A HIGHER
POVERTY RATE THAN THEY DID TWO
YEARS AGO. JUST WHAT WE KNOW
ALSO FROM THE PANDEMIC AND HOW
PEOPLE WERE IMPACT HAVE BEEN
IMPACTED BY INFLATION AND JOB
LOSS. UM SO MY. AH, HYPOTHETICAL
WOULD BE THAT THIS NUMBER IS
HIGHER NOW. OKAY? OKAY? MORE
REASON FOR CONCERN. UM. SO AT
THE AT THE START OF THE MEETING
, UH, SHEEP WAS LEFT OUT FOR
PUBLIC COMMENTS AND WE HAVE
THREE INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE
SIGNED IN. IF SO, IF THERE ARE
OTHERS WHO HAVE COME IN IN THAT
TIME WHO WANT TO SAY SOMETHING?
PLEASE DO LET ME KNOW. BUT WE
HAVE NINA WHEELER HARWELL WITH
AARP. THEN WE HAVE BARBARA
MCCLENDON AND LAST WE HAVE
NEATLY WEISMAN FROM THE
ESSENTIAL CAREGIVERS AND FAMILY
CAREGIVERS. SO GOOD AFTERNOON.
SON OKAY, BETTER. GOOD
AFTERNOON. SO I JUST WANT TO
START BY SAYING HOW DELIGHTED WE
WERE WHEN WEHEARD THAT THIS
HEARING HAD BEEN SCHEDULED, AND
I DIDN'T EVEN REALIZE THAT THE
WOMEN'S CAUCUS WAS PARTNERING
WITH AGING AND LONG TERM CARE,
SO THAT'S A VERY GRATIFYING
DEVELOPMENT. I ALSO WANT TO
THANK BOTH OF YOU. BOTH
ASSEMBLYWOMAN GÓMEZ RAILS AND
ASSEMBLYMAN NEWS, ARIAN FOR YOUR
WORK ON THE L T S S BENEFIT OVER
THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS. WE
KNOW THAT THINGS ARE ON PAUSE
NOW IS WE'RE WORKING THROUGH THE
LONG TERM CARE INSURANCE TASK
FORCE. BUT YOU'RE CHAMPIONING OF
THE ISSUE HASN'T BEEN FORGOTTEN.
SO WHAT I DO WANT TO SAY I DON'T
KNOW WHAT KIND OF TIME LIMIT WE
HAVE, BUT I'LL TRY TO STAY UNDER
TWO. UM NINA Y THE HARDWELL,
AARP, CALIFORNIA. UM I AM AN
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR FOR ADVOCACY
AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT. AND MY
MAIN AREA OF FOCUS IS LONG TERM
SUPPORTS AND SERVICES. BOTH AND
CAREGIVING, LARGELY ADVOCACY,
BUT IT ALSO, UM OVERSEE SOME OF
OUR EDUCATIONAL UH, WORK AS
WELL. SO. WHEN WE TALKED ABOUT
SOME OF THE DATA THAT CAME THAT
WE HEARD TODAY, FIRST OF ALL, I
JUST WANT TO CIRCLE BACK TO THE
NATIONAL FIGURE. AH THE NATIONAL
VALUE. YOU WERE RIGHT. IT'S $470
BILLION. SO THAT'S 41 MILLION
FAMILY CAREGIVERS AND SO MANY
HOURS TOTALING $470 BILLION OF
UNPAID LOVE AND CAREGIVING
PROVIDED BY OUR FAMILY
CAREGIVERS NATIONALLY AND OF
COURSE YOU'VE HEARD THE STATE
AH, DATA. UM I ALSO WANT TO
POINT TO A RPS VITAL VOICES.
SURVEY. IT'S ONLINE. ON OUR
WEBSITE. UM AND LAST YEAR WE DID
SURVEYS IN EVERY STATE. IN THAT
LAST SURVEY. WHAT WE HEARD FROM
THESE WERE INDIVIDUALS. I
BELIEVE 45 OVER NOT JUST AARP
MEMBERS TELLING US OVER 80%
SAYING THEY WANT TO REMAIN IN
THEIR HOMES AND COMMUNITIES AND
WE HEAR THAT ALL THE TIME FROM
OUR MEMBERS. UM ALSO SPEAKING OF
SOME OF THE DATA BEFORE I KIND
OF GO INTO THE THINGS THAT WE
WOULD RECOMMEND BE DONE AND
SUPPORT OF BOTH FAMILY
CAREGIVERS AND PAID CAREGIVERS.
IS IF YOU LOOK AT THE LTS S
SCORECARD THAT AARP AND SCAN
PRODUCE EVERY THREE YEARS. YOU
WILL SEE ONLY 4.2% OF
CALIFORNIANS OVER 40 ACTUALLY
HAVE LONG TERM CARE INSURANCE.
SO THAT IS NOT A SOLUTION FOR
MOST AH, THE COST OF HOME CARE.
NURSING CARE AND ASSISTED LIVING
IS FAR BEYOND THE MEANS OF THE
MEDIAN OLDER HOUSEHOLD. EARLIER
WE WERE TALKING ABOUT YOU ALL
WERE TALKING A BIT ABOUT THE
NEAR, UM. THE NEAR MEDICAL
ELIGIBLE. THESE FIGURES GO WAY
BEYOND THAT, BECAUSE THE COST OF
LIVING IN CALIFORNIA IS SO HIGH.
THAT INDIVIDUALS NEED A LOT OF
MONEY TO EVEN BE ABLE TO REMAIN
IN THEIR HOMES AND COMMUNITIES
AND ARE OFTEN WORKING LIKE MY
HUSBAND, WHO IS 70 AND STILL
WORKING AS A NURSE FOR MEDICALLY
FRAGILE INDIVIDUAL. UH, THERE'S
NO OTHER CHOICE. SO REALLY,
WHAT? SOME OF THE
RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE WOULD
HAVE DONNA. THANK YOU. MM. I
KNOW I'M PREACHING TO THE CHOIR
HERE. BUT VALUING OUR CAREGIVERS
BOTH PAID AND UNPAID, SEEING
THEM AS A CENTRAL WORKERS IS
THESE ARE VALUES THAT HAVE TO BE
BROUGHT TO OUR LEGISLATION AND
TO OUR BUDGET PROCESS. UM SO NOW
WE'LL GET TO A BIT TO THE SOME
OF THE OTHER THINGS THAT I'D
LIKE TO TALK ABOUT, UH, WITHIN
THE MASTER PLAN FOR AGING. THERE
IS ACTUALLY UNDER GOAL. THREE. A
CALL FOR AN EXPANSION OF THE
AGING AND DISABILITY RESOURCE
CONNECTIONS, WHICH HAVE EXPANDED
BEYOND MY WILDEST TREE AND SOME
OVER THE PAST YEAR AND A HALF, I
WAS SHOCKED. TO SEE WE WENT FROM
SIX TO ABOUT 15. SUSAN CAN
CORRECT ME. WITH MORE EMERGING
THAT WAS AMAZING PROGRESS. BUT
AS A MEMBER OF THE LTS S
SUBCOMMITTEE AND THE MP A SACK-THE MASTER PLAN FOR AGING
STAKEHOLDER ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
WE ACTUALLY ALSO RECOMMENDED 12
COURSE SERVICES. GO BE PART OF
THESE OVERARCHING, NO WRONG DOOR
SERVICES AND ONE OF THEM WERE
SUPPORTS FOR FAMILY CAREGIVERS.
SO WE DON'T WANT TO EVER LOSE
THAT THREAD. AND THAT SUPPORT
GOES. YEAH BEYOND WELL, DON HAS
ALREADY TALKED ABOUT SOME OF
THAT RESPITE FINANCIAL
ASSISTANCE. LEGAL ASSISTANCE.
UM, BUT ALSO IT'S IMPORTANT TO
HAVE A CAREGIVER ASSESSMENT.
THAT'S EVIDENCE BASED, SO IT
GOES FAR BEYOND WHO'S YOUR
FAMILY CAREGIVER? UM AND
ULTIMATELY, THE VISION HERE
WOULD BE THAT WE ARE REALLY
TALKING AND CAREGIVERS ABOUT
WHO'S REALLY PROVIDING THE CARE.
IT COULD BE MULTIPLE PEOPLE WHAT
THEIR NEEDS FOR SUPPORT ARE, HOW
CAN THEY CONTINUE TO BE
SUCCESSFUL IN THEIR ROLES?
FINALLY IN TERMS OF SOME OTHER
RECOMMENDATIONS. I WILL JUST SAY
WORKPLACE LEAVE. WE HAD SOME
PRETTY IMPORTANT EXPANSIONS THIS
YEAR. VERY EXCITING. FIRST OF
ALL, SP 9 51. AH WHERE WE RAISED
THE WAY TO REPLACEMENT RATE FOR
THE LOWEST INCOME WORKERS TO 90%
THAT WAS AN AMAZING ACHIEVEMENT
. UM AND THANK YOU TO ALL THE
LEGISLATORS THAT SUPPORTED THAT
OR CO AUTHOR THAT WE ALSO SAW AN
EXPANSION OF WHO COULD TAKE AH,
UNPAID LEAVE TO CARE FOR
SOMEBODY WHO IS NOT FAMILY, BUT
A FAMILY OF AFFINITY AND THAT
APPLIES TO BOTH PAID FAMILY
LEAVE AND PAID SICKLY. BIG
ADVANCE. EXTEND THEN THE
CREATION OF A BEREAVEMENT LEAVE.
I DON'T KNOW IF I'D CALL IT A
RIGHT BUT BEREAVEMENT LEAVE IT
WILL NOW BE PERMITTED OR
REQUIRED UP TO FIVE DAYS PAID OR
UNPAID, THAT WOULD THESE WERE
REALLY EXCITING DEVELOPMENTS,
AND AARP WAS PLEASED TO BE PART
OF THAT WITH SO MANY OF OUR
PARTNERS, HOWEVER. AND I FORGOT
THE COVID 19 PAID SICK LEAVE. UH
PROVISION HAS BEEN EXTENDED TO
THE END OF THE YEAR. BUT ONCE-THAT'S OVER CALIFORNIA. ONLY
REQUIRES THREE DAYS OF PAID SICK
LEAVE. PAID SICK LEAVE ISN'T
JUST LEAVE FOR THE INDIVIDUAL
WHO'S SICK. IT'S LEAVE FOR THEIR
CAREGIVER. AND IT IS WE. AARP
SEES THIS AS A VITAL CARE,
GIVING SUPPORT. I CAN TAKE OFF
TIME IF MY HUSBAND NEEDS CARE
BECAUSE HE HAS THE FLU AND HE'S
DOWN AND OUT. I CAN TAKE OFF
TIME TO CARE IF MY SON OR 20
YEAR OLD SON, WHO IS AT HOME,
HAD SOME KIND OF ILLNESS AND
NEEDS MY CARE AND ATTENTION. SO
WE REALLY ARE HOPING TO SEE
CONTINUED WORK ON THE PAID SICK
LEAVE ISSUE. UM WE KNOW, TOO,
THAT WE ARE GOING INTO AFTER A
FEW YEARS WITH A LITTLE BREAK.
UH BUDGET SURPLUSES WERE ABOUT
TO HEAD INTO A DEFICIT AND WE
REALLY URGE THE LEGISLATURE TO
FIND WAYS TO NOT JUST PRESERVE
BUT EVEN EXPAND FUNDING FOR
SERVICES LIKE THE CAREGIVER
RESOURCE CENTERS, WHICH SO MANY
AARP MEMBERS ACCESS BECAUSE THEY
DON'T QUALIFY FOR OTHER TYPES OF
PROGRAMS. THEY'RE NOT WEALTHY,
BUT THEY'RE THEY'RE ABOVE. UH,
THEY'RE NOT CONSIDERED LOW
INCOME. BY THE STANDARDS THAT
ARE SET. UM. PROGRAMS THROUGH
THE OLDER CALIFORNIANS ACT ALSO
DESERVES SOME ATTENTION. AND I
ALSO WANT TO MENTION IN HOME
SUPPORTIVE SERVICES. 71% OF IN
HOME. SUPPORTIVE SERVICES.
CAREGIVERS ARE FAMILY MEMBERS.
AND IT'S NOT JUST SPOUSE SINCE
I'M JUST CHILDREN. SO WE ALWAYS
, UH, SUPPORT THAT PROGRAM. IT'S
AN IMPORTANT PROGRAM, NOT JUST
FOR SOMEBODY WHO NEEDS, UH,
SUPPORTS AND SERVICES AT HOME,
BUT FOR THE FAMILY CAREGIVER WHO
MAY HAVE TO GIVE UP WORK, BUT IT
AT LEAST, IS BE ABLE TO REPLACE
SOME OF THEIR IF
THEY CAN'T PAY INTO SOCIAL
SECURITY AND MEDICARE. UM
FINALLY, FINALLY, TWO MORE
THINGS NURSING HOME REFORM.
NURSING HOME REFORM IS A FAMILY
CAREGIVER ISSUES SOME REALLY
GLAD THAT TIFFANY RAISED UP SOME
OF THE CHALLENGES WE'RE GOING TO
CONTINUE TO FIGHT TO IMPROVE. UH
THE TRANSPARENCY AND QUALITY OF
OUR NURSING HOMES WERE NOT DONE
AND WE DO HAVE SOME
OPPORTUNITIES BEFORE US. AND, OF
COURSE, EDUCATION AND OUTREACH.
ALWAYS IMPORTANT BECAUSE I'M
ALWAYS SURPRISED. HOW MANY
MEMBERS. WE HERE WE'RE FROM WHO
HAVE NOT HEARD OF THE
ALZHEIMER'S ASSOCIATION AND ARE
AWARE OF THEM AND HOW AND ARE
NOT AWARE OF THE CAREGIVER
RESOURCE CENTERS. SO FOLKS DO
YOU NEED YOU NEED TO KNOW THERE
ARE SERVICES AT THEM, AND THEY
DON'T HAVE TO DO IT ALONE. SO I
REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR TIME
TODAY AND LOOK FORWARD TO
WORKING WITH EVERYBODY IN THE
YEARS AHEAD. NINA. THANK YOU
VERY MUCH. THANK YOU FOR THE
VERY THOROUGH LIST OF
RECOMMENDATIONS AS WELL. UM
BARBARA MCCLENDON WITH
ALZHEIMERS. L A THANK YOU FOR
BEING HERE. HI THANK YOU SO
MUCH. BARBARA MCCLENDON,
ALZHEIMER'S LOS ANGELES
APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO
TAKE A COUPLE OF MINUTES AND
JUST HIGHLIGHT THOSE THAT ARE
CARING FOR SOMEONE WITH
ALZHEIMER'S OR ANOTHER FORM OF
DEMENTIA. IT'S BEEN MENTIONED
HERE BY A NUMBER OF THE
PANELISTS, BUT I JUST WANT TO
SAY IT AGAIN THAT PEOPLE WHO ARE
CARING FOR A LOVED ONE WITH
ALZHEIMER'S OR ANOTHER FORM OF
DEMENTIA. PROVIDE MORE CARE OVER
FROM MORE HOURS THAN THOSE
CARING FOR LOVED ONES WITH OTHER
PART TO THE PROGRESSIVE NATURE
OF THE DISEASE. UM THERE'S A
BOOK OUT THERE. THAT IS
SOMETHING OF A BIBLE FOR THOSE
WHO ARE CARING FOR A LOVED ONE
WITH ALZHEIMER'S AND DEMENTIA,
DEMENTIA, AND ITS TITLE IS THE
36 HOUR DAY. THERE'S A REASON
FOR THAT TITLE BECAUSE THAT'S
HOW ALL CONSUMING PROVIDING CARE
FOR THESE INDIVIDUALS CAN BE.
AND SO, UM, THIS IS ALSO BEEN
MENTIONED BY NUMEROUS PEOPLE
TODAY, BUT THERE IS SOMETHING
THAT WE CAN DO TO HELP THESE
CARE. THERE ARE MANY, MANY
ACTIONS THAT HAVE BEEN MENTIONED
HERE, BUT ONE THAT WE KNOW CAN
MAKE A DIFFERENCE IS JUST GIVING
THESE CAREGIVERS ADDITIONAL
EDUCATION AND SUPPORT. THERE IS
EVIDENCE BASED. UM, CAREGIVER
EDUCATION TRAININGS OUT THERE
THAT SHOW THAT IF YOU CAN GIVE
PEOPLE THE TOOLS BECAUSE WHEN
YOUR LOVED ONE GETS THAT
DIAGNOSIS, YOU DO NOT SUDDENLY
HAVE THE SKILLS TO PROVIDE THE
FULL RANGE OF CARE THAT'S OFTEN
WHAT YOU'RE FIGURING OUT ON THE
FLY AND ON YOUR OWN, AND IT
DOESN'T NEED TO BE THAT HUESO
ASSEMBLYMEMBER'S NAZARIAN YOU
WERE A CHAMPION THIS PAST
SESSION FOR A BUDGET ASKED THAT
WOULD HAVE PUT SOME MONEY
FORWARD TO EXPAND ACCESS. TO
FAMILY CAREGIVER EDUCATION, AND
UNFORTUNATELY THAT ENDED UP
BEING BLUE LINED OUT BY THE
GOVERNOR AT THE VERY LAST
MINUTE. UM SO I AM HOPEFUL THAT
THOSE OF YOU THAT REMAIN IN THE
ASSEMBLY WILL TAKE A LOOK AT
IDEAS LIKE THAT AGAIN, LIKE
THERE'S A LOT OF EVIDENCE FOR
THE BENEFIT THAT THEY PROVIDE.
AND IF WE CAN KEEP THESE FAMILY
CHARACTERS AS DONNA SAID, WHO
WANT TO PROVIDE THIS CARE? GIVE
THEM THE EDUCATION AND THE
SUPPORT SO THEY CAN CONTINUE TO
DO THAT IN WAYS THAT DON'T
ULTIMATELY END UP IN PINCHING
THEIR OWN CARE. UM THAT IS GOING
TO BE TO THE BENEFIT OF ALL OF
US. THANK YOU. THANK YOU,
BARBARA. AND I HAVE TO SAY THANK
YOU FOR BRINGING UP ALSO THE
FACT THAT UH UH, ONGOING
EDUCATION AND ACCESS TO
RESOURCES. EVEN AS CHAIR OF THE
ASSEMBLY'S AGING COMMITTEE. I
WAS STRUGGLING. TO FIGURE OUT
EXACTLY HOW I CAN GET THE
SERVICES NECESSARY. FOR MY
MOTHER TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE FOR
MY FATHER. SO IT'S A AH! A
AWESOME DOSE OF REALITY THAT
COMES YOUR WAY. WHEN ALL OF A
SUDDEN YOU'RE TASKED WITH TRYING
TO FIGURE OUT HOW YOU GO ABOUT
LEARNING AND ACCESSING AND THEN
PROVIDING THE INFORMATION. UM
THANK YOU. SO NEXT MIKE LEE
WEISMAN. THANK YOU, MR CHAIR,
MEMBERS OF PRESENTERS. MY NAME
IS NATALIE WEISSMAN. I'M A CO
FOUNDER OF THE ESSENTIAL
CAREGIVERS COALITION. I'M ALSO A
FAMILY CAREGIVER, DR BENTON. I
REALLY APPRECIATED SOMETHING YOU
SAID, OR NO, I'LL READ THE
PANDEMIC CHANGED ME. I WATCHED
MY MOM STRUGGLED TO SURVIVE
ISOLATION AND NEGLECT IN A
LOCKED CARE HOME DUE TO FAMILY
CAREGIVERS MIS CATEGORIZED AS
VISITORS. BECAUSE OF THAT
TRAUMATIC EXPERIENCE. I'M
PASSIONATE ABOUT HAVING A VOICE
IN POLICIES THAT AFFECT OUR
LOVED ONES AND ASKED SINCE THE
TWENTIES, MY MOM NAVIGATED A
TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY,
QUADRIPLEGIA, COGNITIVE
DISABILITIES AND APHASIA. SHE
REQUIRES SUPPORT IN ALL THAT
DAILY ACTIVITIES OF DAILY
LIVING, WHICH I TYPICALLY
PROVIDE TO A SUBSTANTIAL DEGREE.
WHEN PANDEMIC POLICIES IMPOSED
PROLONGED VISITOR RESTRICTIONS
IN HER FACILITY. THEY FAILED TO
RECOGNIZE MY FAMILY CAREGIVING
ROLE IS ESSENTIAL. STUDIES SHOW
THAT A FAMILY CAREGIVER PROVIDES
AS MUCH AS 30% OF A RESIDENCE
CARE. I'D SAY PROBABLY MORE
SOMETIMES. NOT ONLY DID
RESIDENTS LOSE THAT SUPPORT
ENTIRELY. BUT SO DID THE STAFF.
IN VIDEO VISITS. I WITNESSED MY
MOM'S DEMEANOR AND QUALITY OF
LIFE RAPIDLY DETERIORATE. SHE
BECAME AGITATED, WITHDRAWN,
DEPRESSED AND UNRESPONSIVE.
OVERWHELMED STAFF OVERLOOKED
BRUISES, RASHES, VISIBLY POOR
HYGIENE AND DELIRIUM. THEY HAD A
LOT ON THEIR PLATE. HOSPITAL
VISITS INCREASED FOR MY MOM FOR
DEHYDRATION. BLOOD PRESSURE,
SEVERE WEIGHT LOSS, BROKEN
CLAVICLE, ASPIRATION, PNEUMONIA
AND RECURRENT C DIFF. ALL IN THE
FIRST YEAR OF ISOLATION
MEASURES. DESPITE RESTRICTIONS
COVID-19 REPEATEDLY SPREAD
INSIDE FACILITIES. FURTHER
STUDIES POINT TO ISOLATION AS A
SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTING FACTOR
TO HEALTH DECLINES AND EXCESSIVE
DEATH IN CATEGORIES SUCH AS
DEMENTIA, STROKE, HEART ATTACK,
DIABETES AND FAILURE TO THRIVE.
WE MUST AFFIRM THE FAMILY
CAREGIVER ROLE AS DEFINITIVELY
ESSENTIAL FOR OUR LOVED ONES.
FOR THEIR CARE AND FACILITIES
AND OUT. PAVING THE WAY FOR SAFE
ACCESS TO SUPPORT DURING
LOCKDOWNS AND ALL TIMES AND
LOCKDOWNS DON'T JUST HAPPEN
DURING PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCIES
BY THE WAY. I ALSO HAVE BEEN
ASKED BY TWO CAREGIVERS IF I
WOULD READ IF THEY IF I WOULD
READ THEIR COMMENTS AND THEIR
SHORTER THAN MINE. THIS IS THE
TESTIMONY OF MERCEDES VEGA.
SHE'S A FAMILY CAREGIVER. MY
NAME IS MERCEDES VEGA. I HAVE A
LOVED ONE IN LONG TERM CARE. MY
BROTHER MANNY SUFFERED A TBI AND
AS A RESULT, HE CAN'T TALK, WALK
OR MOVE. MY MOTHER AND I ARE HIS
VOICE. WE HAVE BECOME AN
EXTENSION OF HIM. PRIOR TO THE
ONSET OF THE PANDEMIC. MY MOTHER
AND I VISITED MY BROTHER DAILY.
WHEN WE SEE HIM. WE DON'T JUST
VISIT. WE CHECK HIM TO MAKE SURE
HE'S COMFORTABLE. WE HELP WITH
THIS HYGIENE AND ORAL CARE. WE
TALKED TO HIM. WE PLAY HIS
FAVORITE MUSIC AND MOVIES. AND
WATCH HIS FAVORITE SHOWS WITH
HIM. MY BROTHER PERKS UP AS SOON
AS HE HEARS OUR VOICES IS THE
HIGHLIGHT OF OUR DAY. NOT BEING
ABLE TO SEE HIM BECAUSE OF THE
CLOSURES NOT ONLY AFFECTED HIM
EMOTIONALLY AND PSYCHOLOGICALLY
, BUT IT'S PHYSICAL HEALTH ALSO
DECLINED. ZOOM VIDEOS. DON'T CUT
IT BECAUSE EVEN WHEN WE NOTICED
THE CHANGES IN HIS HEALTH, THEY
WERE DISMISSED AND WE WERE TOLD
HE WAS OKAY. THIS LED TO HIS
RECENT TWO MONTH HOSPITALIZATION
, HIS BREATHING WAS DROPPING AND
THE ONLY REASON WHY HE MADE A
RECOVERY WAS BECAUSE MY MOTHER
WAS THERE IN PERSON AND PUSH THE
DOCTOR AND STAFF TO TRANSFER HIM
TO A HOSPITAL. HIS CONDITION WAS
A DIRECT RESULT OF PROLONGED
ISOLATION OVER A YEAR AND A
HALF. THESE WERE SOME OF THE
HARDEST WEEKS FOR HIM AND ALL OF
US. WE DON'T WANT TO GO THROUGH
SOMETHING LIKE THAT AGAIN.
TAKING CARE OF OUR LOVED ONES
SHOULD NOT FEEL LIKE JUMPING
FROM ONE TRAUMA TO ANOTHER. BUT
THAT IS WHERE MANY OF US FIND
OURSELVES ESPECIALLY WITHOUT THE
PROPER RECOGNITION OF THE
CONTRIBUTIONS OF OUR ESSENTIAL
CAREGIVING ROLE. AND I PROMISE
THIS ONE'S EVEN SHORTER. UM THIS
IS THE TESTIMONY FROM MELODY
TAYLOR STARK IN MONROVIA. MY
HUSBAND, DR. BILL STARK, A
NURSING HOME RESIDENT, WAS AN
UPBEAT, OPTIMISTIC PERSON ON THE
WAY TO WORK COME BY FROM MY
DAILY GOOD MORNING AND TO HUG
AND KISS MY HUSBAND COME BACK
AFTER WORK, AND WE'D SPEND THE
EVENING TOGETHER WITH A SPECIAL
DINNER DATE ON FRIDAYS. I WAS
WITH HIM ON WEEKENDS. BEING WITH
BILL WITH HOME. THEN CAME
LOCKDOWN AND WE WERE SUDDENLY
SEPARATED. WE SUFFERED THE LOSS
OF COMPANIONSHIP, COMFORT,
SOLACE AND AFFECTION. FOR EVA
FOR OVER EIGHT MONTHS. WE HAD NO
CONTACT EXCEPT FOR PHONE CALLS.
EVEN WINDOW VISITS WERE DENIED.
HE BECAME INCREASINGLY DEPRESSED
OR PHONE CALLS. HE'D SAY THERE
IS THIS IS NO WAY TO LIVE AND HE
WOULD CRY. HIS MENTAL AND
PHYSICAL HEALTH. RAPIDLY
DECLINED. I FELT HELPLESS. I HAD
NO WAY TO KNOW HOW HE WAS REALLY
DOING. AS A RESULT, MY HEALTH
AND MY WELL BEING WERE ALSO
AFFECTED. I LOST SLEEP. I DEALT
WITH ANXIETY. I STRUGGLED TO
MAINTAIN FOCUS AT MY JOB. I
STILL HAVE NIGHTMARES. ON
OCTOBER 24. BILL WAS DIAGNOSED
WITH PNEUMONIA. IT WAS
DISCOVERED BY ME DURING A PHONE
CALL. HOW COULD I NOTICE A
CHANGE IN CONDITION OVER THE
PHONE WHEN THE STAFF DIDN'T WHAT
TYPE OF CARE WAS HE RECEIVING? I
PLAYED DAILY FOR COMPASSIONATE
CARE VISITS THAT WERE DENIED.
THEN AS IF THEY WERE HANDING ME
A GIFT ON NOVEMBER 18TH. I WAS
ALLOWED ONE COMPASSIONATE CARE
VISIT FOR 15 MINUTES. THROUGH
FULL PPE AND SIX FT. AWAY. HAPPY
TO SEE ME IN PERSON. BILL SMILED
AND BLEW KISSES. THAT NIGHT.
BILL WAS ADMITTED TO THE
HOSPITAL AS HIS SYSTEMS WERE
FAMILY. A COUPLE OF DAYS LATER,
I GOT A CALL AT FOUR AM BILL HAD
PASSED. OH I DID HUG MY HUSBAND
ONE LAST TIME. IT WAS WHEN I
CARRIED HIS ASHES. FROM THE CAR
TO THE CHURCH FOR HIS FUNERAL.
THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MATE. LEE
AND PLEASE. GIVE OUR PASS ON OUR
GRATITUDE TO BOTH MERCEDES AND
TO MELODY AS WELL. FOR THEIR
TESTIMONIALS. UM WE HAVE TWO
MORE INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE SINCE
SIGNED ON TO MAKE SOME COMMENTS
. JOSEPH SLANSKY WITH THE
CALIFORNIA COMMISSION ON AGING.
THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE. THANK
YOU. IT'S BEEN A VERY GRATEFUL
FOR THIS VERY INFORMATIVE
HEARING, NOT TAKING ANYTHING
AWAY FROM UNPAID FAMILY
CAREGIVERS. YOU'VE ALL PAINTED A
VERY VIVID PICTURE TODAY ABOUT
THAT THAT IMPORTANT
RESPONSIBILITY, BUT I DID WANT
TO TOUCH UPON P DIRECT SERVICE
WORKFORCE TODAY, AND YOU TALKED
ABOUT PAY AND BENEFITS AND
ULTIMATELY RESPECT AND I NEVER
THOUGHT THAT, UH YOU KNOW, THE
MAIN COMPETITION FOR THIS
WORKFORCE WOULD BE BEING
BARISTAS THAT STARBUCKS, BUT
UNFORTUNATELY, THAT MAY BE THE
CASE WITH THE CHAIRS, PERMISSION
. WHAT I'D LIKE TO DO IS ASK THE
EXPERT PANEL QUESTION FOLLOWING
THAT UP, WHICH IS IF YOU HAVE
ANY IDEAS FOR TRAINING AND
EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR
THE DIRECT CARE WORKFORCE THAT
MIGHT BE HELPFUL THAT THE
LEGISLATURE SHOULD BEFOSTERING.
YEAH. I MEAN, I THINK THEY'RE
DEFINITELY I MEAN, I THINK
ACTUALLY DONNA EVEN ON THE
UNPAINTED TALK ABOUT UNPAID, BUT
IT'S ALSO THAT TRANSLATES TO THE
PAID SITE PERFECTLY FRANK, WHICH
IS ABOUT THE EDUCATION ABOUT
BEING YOU KNOW WHAT WHAT TO DO
IN THE HOME. HOW DO YOU ASSESS
DO ASSESSMENTS ON UM WHEN
SOMEBODY IS FEELING LOW OR
DEPRESSED. I THINK THERE ARE
DEFINITELY OPPORTUNITIES IN THAT
SPACE. EXCUSE ME. I APOLOGIZE
THAT STREET. UM I THINK THERE
ARE DEFINITELY A PROGRAMS OUT
THERE THAT ARE BEING SET UP FOR,
UM, FOR DIRECT WORKFORCE
TRAINING. THE ONE I MENTIONED
EARLIER, AND I THINK WE NEED TO
LOOK AT THOSE AND SEE WHAT KIND
OF IMPACTS THOSE ARE HAVING IN
THE IN THE IN THE IN THE CARE IN
THE PAID CAREGIVING SUPPORT. THE
OTHER THING I DIDN'T MENTION IS
, YOU KNOW POSSIBLY AND THIS IS
MAYBE MORE ON THE PAYMENT SIDE,
BUT ALSO ON THE HEALTH AND WELL
BEING SIDE. WORKING WITH
EMPLOYERS WHO ARE WHO ARE, YOU
KNOW, CAN THEY AVAIL CERTAIN
TYPE OF BENEFITS? UM AND YOU
KNOW TO SUPPORT BOTH UNPAID AND
EVEN THE PAID WORKFORCE GOING
FORWARD, BECAUSE I THINK THAT'S
GOING TO BE A BIG ISSUE AS WELL.
SO I DON'T KNOW IF ANYBODY
WANTED WANTS TO ADD AND I WOULD
LIKE TO ADD THAT WE SHOULD HAVE
A CONTINUED EMPHASIS ON
UNDERSTANDING DEMENTIA AND
COMPLEX. MEDICAL CONDITIONS. AND
WE ALSO NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT
THERE IS CULTURAL CROSS TRAINING
ON CULTURAL AWARENESS BECAUSE WE
DON'T HAVE THE WORKFORCE THAT'S
GOING TO YOU'RE NOT GONNA MATCH
EVERYBODY CULTURALLY. SO WE NEED
TO UNDERSTAND SO THAT EACH
CULTURE CAN APPRECIATE THE OTHER
CULTURE. AND HOW TO WORK AND HOW
TO BE IN SOMEONE'S HOME.
RESPECTFULLY NOW, YOU KNOW, HOW
DO WE? THERE ARE COURSES THAT WE
CAN DO ALL OF THAT IN, BUT I
THINK THAT IT'S REALLY IS GOING
TO BE IMPORTANT. OBVIOUSLY, THEY
HAVE TO HAVE BASICS OF BODY
MECHANICS AND UNDERSTANDING. UH
CHALLENGING BEHAVIORS SO THAT
YOU DON'T TAKE THINGS PERSONAL
AND YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT'S THE
DISEASE? AND MENTAL HEALTH. BUT
HOW TO HELP SOMEBODY'S MOOD? SO
SOME BASIC THINGS LIKE THAT. I
WOULD JUST LIKE TO OFFER ONE. I
WANT TO COMMEND THE GOVERNOR AND
THE LEGISLATURE FOR THE
INVESTMENTS IN THE DIRECT CARE
WORK WORKFORCE, AND I'LL CITE
TWO EXAMPLES. THE I. H S S
CAREER PATHWAYS THAT'S LAUNCHED
BY THE DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL
SERVICES AND IS UP AND RUNNING
NOW, UM, AND TRAINING UP FREE
TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES AND
STIPENDS FOR HSS WORKERS.
HAPPENING AS WE SPEAK. NEXT
MONTH, THE DEPARTMENT OF AGING
WILL ANNOUNCE THE CALIFORNIA
GROWS INNOVATION FUND $55
MILLION TO ORGANIZATIONS TO TEST
MODELS, UM, AND TAKE THEM TO
SCALE AS WELL AS DIRECT PAYMENTS
AND STIPENDS AND TRAINING FOR
DIRECT CARE WORKERS. SO HOME
CARE, UM PEOPLE WORKING IN ADULT
DAY HEALTH CARE. ALL OF THAT
WILL ROLL OUT ROLL OUT OVER THE
NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS. WE'RE
VERY EXCITED TO SHARE THAT AND
ALL OF THAT. IS BASED ON FOCUS
GROUPS, AND WE DID NEARLY 700
INTERVIEWS WITH DIRECT CARE
WORKERS, AND WE'LL BE RELEASING
THAT REPORT TO SHOW WHAT IS MOST
IMPORTANT TO THE WORKER. UM AND
WE REALLY ARE MODELING THE
TRAINING AND THE STIPENDS BASED
ON THE FEEDBACK FROM THE
WORKERS. THANK YOU. I WAS JUST
GONNA ASK. ALSO, IF TIFFANY HAD
ANYTHING TO ADD TO THAT TIFFANY
, IF YOU ARE, I BELIEVE YOU'RE
STILL WITH US IF YOU CAN MEET
YOURSELF. AND IF YOU WANT TO ADD
ANYTHING. I AM STILL HERE, AND
THIS IS RELATED TO TRAINING.
YES.
ORDER. TAKE, UM. HAVE THEM THE
ABILITY TO LEARN MORE SO THAT
THEY CAN DO THEIR JOB BETTER. I
THINK IT WAS ALREADY, UM, STATED
HERE TODAY THAT CAREGIVERS THEY
THIS IS A LABOR OF LOVE. THEY
WANT TO DO THE WORK, AND THEY
ARE EXCITED TO DO A BETTER JOB
AT IT. UM IT WAS MENTIONED THAT
YOU DON'T JUST WALK INTO THE JOB
AND ALL OF A SUDDEN YOU JUST
KNOW HOW TO ASSIST YOUR CLIENT
OR YOUR LOVED ONE WITH
ALZHEIMER'S. I KNOW I SURE DID.
NOT ONCE MY MOM WAS DIAGNOSED
SIX YEARS AGO, I DIDN'T KNOW
WHAT TO DO. SO, UM, HAVING THE
RESOURCES HAVING THE TRAINING IS
VERY VITAL. ROLL SO THAT WE CAN
CARE FOR OUR LOVED ONES AND IN
THE SETTING IN WHICH THEY CHOOSE
AND PREFER, UM AND DO SO TO THE
BEST OF OUR ABILITY. THANK YOU
VERY MUCH. TIFFANY UM, LAST, UH
, INDIVIDUAL TO SIGN UP FOR
COMMENT. UH, DARRELL WITH MILLS,
A MEALS ON WHEELS, CALIFORNIA
I'M DARRYL TOURED ALL EXECUTIVE
DIRECTOR OF MEALS ON WHEELS,
CALIFORNIA AND I WANT TO START
BY THANKING ALL OF YOU FOR
BRINGING THIS REALLY IMPORTANT
SUBJECT BEFORE US TO SPEAK ABOUT
AND ASSEMBLYMAN IS ARIAN. I WANT
TO THANK YOU AGAIN. YOU ARE OUR
FIRST SENIOR CHAMPION, AND WE'RE
SO HAPPY THAT YOU LEAD THE WAY
WE'RE GOING TO MISS YOU. UM I
THINK THAT ONE OF THE THINGS
THAT WE HAVEN'T TALKED ABOUT
TODAY IS THE PART THAT MEALS ON
WHEELS PLAYS WITH NOT JUST THE
SENIOR BUT WITH THEIR CAREGIVER
, SO WE TALK A LOT ABOUT MEALS
ON WHEELS IS MORE THAN A MEAL
AND WE TRY REALLY HARD TO TAKE
CARE OF THAT CAREGIVER. WE KNOW
THAT SENIORS WENT TO AGE AND
PLACE PRIMARILY WE KNOW IT IS
LESS EXPENSIVE WITH BETTER
HEALTH OUTCOMES TO HAVE A SENIOR
AGENT PLACE, BUT WE KNOW THAT
THERE ARE OFTEN IT HAS TO BE A
CARETAKER INVOLVED. WE AT MEALS
AND WHEELS PROGRAMS USE THE
CAREGIVERSAS REALLY THE POINT
OF CONTACT. SO MANY OF THE
CAREGIVERS, ESPECIALLY THE HOME.
HELP WORKERS AND THE FAMILY
BECOME THE PERSON THAT MEALS ON
WHEELS CAN CONTACT IN CASE
THERE'S A CHANGE IN THE SENIOR.
LIKEWISE THE CAREGIVER CAN
CONTACT A MEALS ON WHEELS
PROGRAM THAT'S PROVIDING
NUTRITIONAL SUPPORT TO SAY MY
MOM ISN'T EATING ALL OF A SUDDEN
ARE MY MOM SEEMS WEAKER. THE
CAREGIVER IS OUR EYES AND EARS.
YOU KNOW, WE SAY WE'RE THE
PEOPLE WHO CAN CROSS THE
THRESHOLD. BUT THE CAREGIVER IS
THERE OFTEN BEING THE ONE THAT
ALLOWS THAT SENIOR TO STAY AT
HOME AND WE WHEN WE TALK ABOUT
THE COST OF UNPAID FOR THE
BENEFIT OF UNPAID CAREGIVERS. WE
AREN'T EVEN FIGURING THAT IN
WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT THE
CAREGIVER IS ACTUALLY TAKING ON
POSITION ALMOST LIKE A SOCIAL
WORKER LIKE A LITTLE SOCIAL
WORKER AND TRAINING. MOST OF THE
MEALS ON WHEELS PROGRAMS HAVE,
UH, TRAINING THAT THEY CAN HELP
THE CAREGIVERS AND THEY ASK
SPECIFIC QUESTIONS. YOU KNOW HOW
HOW ARE YOU FEELING TODAY? MRS
SMITH DID. DID YOU HAVE ANY
PROBLEMS DURING THE NIGHT? THOSE
KINDS OF THINGS. LIKEWISE THE
VOLUNTEERS THAT DELIVERED THE
MEALS DO THOSE SAME KIND OF
INSTANT ASSESSMENTS, AND THAT'S
HOW WE CAN INTERVENE EARLY, SO I
JUST WANT TO POINT OUT THAT THAT
IS ANOTHER GIFT. THAT CAREGIVERS
ARE OFFERING US ALL IS THE
STATE. BUT I ALSO WANT TO
MENTION THAT TO ME. THIS IS SUCH
A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR US ALL
TO THINK ABOUT HOW WE BRING ALL
THE SERVICES TOGETHER AND THE
PART THAT EACH SERVICE PLAYS AND
I KNOW THAT DEPARTMENT OF AGING
AND SOME OF THE LOCAL FOLKS
WE'RE ALL TALKING ABOUT. LET'S
GET OUT OF OUR SILOS. LET'S TALK
ABOUT WHAT IT IS THAT WE'RE
DOING TO SUPPORT THIS. ON A.
STATEWIDE LEVEL. HOW CAN THE
MEALS ON WHEELS PROGRAMS WORK
BETTER WITH THE TRIPLE A'S WORK
BETTER WITH THE NON GOVERNMENT
FUNDED PROGRAMS? WE ALL NEED TO
BE IN THIS TOGETHER. YOU KNOW,
WE WITH SCAN AND WITH ARCHSTONE
WE TALK ABOUT WE'RE ALL GETTING
ON THE TRAIN, BUT JUST AT ONE
POINT OR ANOTHER, IF YOU JUST
NEED A LITTLE BIT OF HELP MEALS
ON WHEELS MIGHT BE THE
INTERVENTION. IF YOU NEED
MEDICALLY TAILORED MEALS WERE
FORTUNATE IF WE HAVE CALIPHATE,
MICK, IF YOU NEED IN HOME CARE,
WE'VE GOT HHS SERVICES. THERE
ARE ALL SORTS OF SERVICES, BUT
WE HAVE TO KNOW WHAT OUR
PARTNERS ARE DOING. AND WE HAVE
TO COLLABORATE. WE CANNOT TAKE
CARE OF OUR SENIORS. WITHOUT
THAT. WE ALL HAVE TO DO OUR
PART. SO I JUST WANTED TO THANK
YOU ALL FOR RISING UP TO THE
OCCASION AND REALLY SHOUTING
ABOUT WHAT THE SENIOR POPULATION
IN CALIFORNIA LOOKS LIKE. YOU
KNOW WHERE THE FASTEST AGING
STATE IN THE UNITED STATES AND
WE'RE HAVING FEWER AND FEWER
PEOPLE BORN, SO WE HAVE TO GET
THIS RIGHT. I MEAN, I FOR ONE. I
WANT US TO GET IT RIGHT BECAUSE
I'M GONNA BE THERE IN A MINUTE
AND A HALF ALREADY INTO THE
CATEGORY, BUT, UM, I LOOK
FORWARD TO CONTINUING THE WORK
THAT WE'RE ALL DOING TOGETHER
NOW AND REALLY TO THANKING YOU
ALL FOR GETTING IN THERE AND
DOING THIS HARD WORK. THANK YOU.
THANK YOU, DARRYL. I DON'T WANT
TO TAKE ANY MUCH TIME. I MEAN
ANY MUCH TIME LONGER, UH, IN
SAYING CONCLUDING OUR MEETING. I
JUST WANT TO SAY THANK YOU TO
EVERYONE WHO DROVE FROM NEAR AND
FAR TO BE HERE WITH US. I
ESPECIALLY WANT TO THANK MY TWO
COLLEAGUES WHO BOTH DROVE QUITE
A BIT OF A DISTANCE TO BE HERE.
IT'S NOT EASY TO NAVIGATE YOUR
WAY IN LOS ANGELES, WHERE IT'S
RUSH HOUR EVERY HOUR. BETWEEN
SIX A.M. AND NINE P.M. AT NIGHT
. SO THANK YOU TO BOTH OF YOU
VERY MUCH. I WANT TO THANK MY
WONDERFUL STAFF. FOR A DISTRICT
OFFICE CAPITAL AS WELL AS
ESPECIALLY FOR THIS MEETING MY
AGING COMMITTEE STAFF FOR
PUTTING TOGETHER SOMETHING SO
THOUGHTFUL AND MEANINGFUL. THIS
WAS SUPPOSED TO BE THE FIRST OF
SEVERAL HEARINGS. WE WERE GOING
TO HAVE TACKLING EACH ONE OF THE
FIVE SPACES OF THE MASTER PLAN.
I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'LL BE ABLE
TO DO THAT. AH IN THE TIME THAT
I HAVE LEFT TO SERVE, SO MAYBE
THE BATON WILL BE PASSED ON TO
THE NEXT INDIVIDUAL WHO WILL BE
ABLE TO CONTINUE THESE HEARINGS.
SO WITH THAT, UH, I FEEL WE HAVE
A OBLIGATION. THE LEGISLATURE
HAS AN OBLIGATION TO CONTINUE
WORKING WITH THE GOVERNOR AND
THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH AND
FULFILLING THE UH, WHAT STARTED
OUT AS A GREAT GROUNDWORK AND AS
THE SKELETAL BODY OF THE MASTER
PLAN. NOW IT'S UP TO US TO
CONTINUE BUILDING UP THE MUSCLE
, THE FAT AND ORGANS AND
EVERYTHING AROUND THAT BODY, SO
IT'S A FUNCTIONING. UH ORGANISM
, LIVING BREATHING ORGANISM, AND
IT EVOLVES THROUGH TIME TO
BETTER ADDRESS THE NEEDS OF OUR
GROWING AGING POPULATION. SO
WITH THAT, THANK YOU ALL AND
THIS MEETING IS ADJOURNED. THANK
YOU.