(a) The office shall be responsible for activities that promote the development, coordination, and utilization of resources to meet the long-term care needs of older individuals, consistent with its mission. These responsibilities shall include establishing a statewide uniform reporting system to collect and analyze data relative to complaints and conditions in long-term care facilities for the purpose of identifying and resolving significant problems. The office shall submit the data to the state agency responsible for licensing or certifying long-term care facilities and to the federal Administration on Aging.
(b) Notwithstanding Section 10231.5 of the Government Code, beginning September 30, 2013, and annually thereafter, the office shall prepare and submit an annual advocacy report in accordance with Section 3058g(h)(1) of Title 42 of the United States Code. The annual advocacy report shall do all of the following:
(1) Describe the activities carried out by the office in the year for which the report is prepared, including, but not limited to, actions taken to carry out the advocacy duties of the office described in Sections 9712.5 and 9726.1 and prescribed by the federal Older Americans Act in Section 3058g(a)(3)(E) and (G) of Title 42 of the United States Code.
(2) Contain and analyze the data collected pursuant to Section 3058g(c) of Title 42 of the United States Code.
(3) Evaluate the problems experienced by, and the complaints made by or on behalf of, residents.
(4) Contain recommendations for both of the following:
(A) Improving quality of the care and life of residents.
(B) Protecting the health, safety, welfare, and rights of residents.
(5) (A) Analyze the success of the ombudsman program, including success in providing services to residents of long-term care facilities and other similar adult care facilities.
(B) Identify barriers that prevent the optimal operation of the program.
(6) Provide policy, regulatory, and legislative recommendations to solve identified problems, to resolve complaints, to improve the quality of care and life of residents, to protect the health, safety, welfare, and rights of residents, and to remove the barriers identified in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (5).
(c) The office shall promptly post the annual advocacy report on its Internet Web site and shall submit it to the Assistant Secretary of the federal Administration on Aging, the Governor, the Legislature, the State Department of Public Health, the State Department of Social Services, local ombudsman programs, and other appropriate governmental entities.
(d) The State Ombudsman shall consult with the local ombudsman programs in developing the report.
(Amended by Stats. 2012, Ch. 649, Sec. 10. (SB 345) Effective January 1, 2013.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018