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State Needs to Prepare Workforce for Seniors, Officials Say
By
Daniel Dullum
Spectrum staff writer
The Joint Legislative Hearing on Aging and Long-Term Care met Feb.
3 at the state Capitol, where the primary agenda, according to Sen.
John Vasconcellos, D-San Jose, was to discuss the preparation of the work
force
for meeting the needs of an aging population, and developing a diverse
labor force to care for them.
In his opening remarks, Vasconcellos cited the enactment of legislation which
calls for research on the subjects of aging and long-term care, and SB 953, which
Vasconcellos co-authored with Assemblywoman Lynn Daucher, R-Brea, and called “the
Magna Carta of the aging blueprint for the future.”
“We’ve since gotten the Wellness Foundation two grants for research,
so, when money comes back to the state, hopefully someday before long, we can
really put that blueprint on the map,” Vasconcellos said. “For the
people who are aging, we have a California that truly meets their needs.”
“Aging is an issue that cuts across party lines,” said Daucher, who
co-chaired the hearing. “It touches us all, and there really isn’t
a Republican or a Democratic position. It’s one of those opportunities
for people to really work together, and actually try to get things done.”
Those testifying included Pauline Abbott of California State University Fullerton,
Cheri Jasinski of the State Strategic Plan on Aging, Andrew Scharlach of the
California Commission on Aging, Janet Frank of UCLA, Gwen Yeo of the California
Council on Gerontology and Geriatrics, Barbara Gillogly of the American River
College gerontology program and Barbara Sauer of the UC San Francisco School
of Pharmacology.
Abbott spoke about the benefits to education that came from last year’s
legislation.
“It’s clear that we have the strongest legislative support and visibility
than ever before,” Abbott said. “Our concern is with unknown budgets,
divisive cuts, restrictive policies, an unknown future in higher education funding
may set us back. We already have enrollment caps at CSU, we’ve discussed
fee hikes, and we have clogs in the pipeline from the two-year schools to the
four-year schools.
“We’re poised for doing well on individual preparation, but we’re
not doing so well on the larger societal aspects of training that involves system
integration.”
Jasinski told the subcommittee a plan development task team was formed that would
represent all possible areas of senior needs.
“The team developed a total of 610 recommendations which we broke down
into A, B and C priorities, with 321 falling into the A category,” Jasinski
said. “We agreed that each element of the plan had to include the cross-cutting
issues in cultural and language needs, geography, rural and suburban needs, and
financial needs.”
One of the recommendations from the Strategic Plan on Aging was to expand outreach
efforts for Supplemental Security Insurance, a state/federal program for seniors
with very low income and few assets.
“Too many people who are eligible aren’t on it,” Jasinski explained. “And
we’d like to see incentives for hiring seniors, rental housing assistance,
and alternatives to fixed-route transportation.”
Jasinski also noted suggestions on improved Medicare coverage that her committee
feels “would be cost-neutral in the long run.” They also would like
to see assisted living incorporated into Medi-Cal, and incentives for low-interest
loans or loan preferences for changing nursing homes into more home-like settings.
Scharlach told the subcommittee about workforce recommendations by the Commission
on Aging.
“It deals with the provider workforce, higher education and general recruitment,” he
said. “We need to have a better idea of where the workforce gaps are, and
project them into the future. At this point, we have partial information from
a variety of sources. We need to pull those sources together.
“We just did a study not too long ago on social workers around the state
and found that the majority of those working in aging services do not have professional
training.”
Scharlach stated a need for bilingual, bicultural providers to reflect the diversity
of the workforce and addressed what he called “the California workforce
deficit.”
“We need to figure out a way to fill that now,” Scharlach said. “The
primary focus has to be on recruitment and retention throughout the health profession.
We need to figure out how to reach out to pools that currently aren’t tapped — older
adults themselves as providers of services.
In reference to proposed budget cuts, Daucher said, “We have a unique opportunity
this year because we’re in a position we don’t like, but it’s
a position where it’s to our benefit to take off all the blinders and look
and see what ought to be and what we can do. This is the kind of year where that
can happen.”
Noting the importance of research and input, Vasconcellos emphasized that “what’s
really at stake is that personal caring, individuality, and recognition makes
for human interaction, growth and dignity in retirement.”
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