This division shall be known, and may be cited, as the Mello-Granlund Older Californians Act, that reflects the policy mandates and directives of the Older Americans Act of 1965, as amended, and sets forth the state’s commitment to older adults, people with disabilities, and family caregivers served by the programs administered by the California Department of Aging.

The Legislature hereby finds and recognizes all of the following:

coordination reduces duplication, eliminates inefficiencies, and enhances service delivery for the consumer.

dignity and independence.

adults, people with disabilities, and caregivers.

The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

health plans.

adults retain the right of free choice in planning and managing their lives.

services to the same consumers. Services provided under this division shall be managed, directly or through contract, by local area agencies on aging or other local systems.

required under state and federal statute and regulations.

agencies on aging and stakeholders, the department shall develop and submit regulations to the Office of Administrative Law that address, at a minimum, all of the following:

(A) The application process to determine an area agency on aging designation.

(B) The criteria used for an area agency on aging designation.

(C) The criteria used to remove an area agency on aging designation.

(D) Substantive updates to the intrastate funding formula.

considered for designation as the area agency on aging that serves its local jurisdiction.

The deliverables identified in Section 9002 shall be informed by data from validated sources, which may include, but shall not be limited to, the following:

Unless the context otherwise indicates, the definitions of the terms set forth in this chapter apply for purposes of this division.

“Adult day health care” means an organized day program of therapeutic, social, and health activities and services provided pursuant to this division to elderly persons with functional impairments, either physical or mental, for the purpose of restoring or maintaining optimum capacity for self-care. When provided on a short-term basis, adult day health care serves as a transition from a health facility or home health program to personal independence. When provided on a long-term basis, adult day health care services as an option to institutionalization in long-term care facilities, when 24-hour skilled nursing care is not medically necessary or viewed as desirable by the recipient or his or her family.

“Advisory council” means a specific representative body of laypersons and service providers that represent the interests of older individuals within the boundaries of a planning and service area and that is officially recognized by the area agency on aging, the commission, and the department.

“Area agency on aging” means a private nonprofit or public agency designated by the department that works for the interests of older Californians within a planning and service area, and engages in community planning, coordination, and program development and, through contractual arrangements, provides a broad array of social and nutritional services.

“Care or case management services” means:

“Commission” means the California Commission on Aging.

“Comprehensive and coordinated system” means a program of interrelated social and nutrition services designed to meet the needs of older individuals in a planning and service area.

“Department” means the California Department of Aging.

“Director” means the Director of the California Department of Aging.

“Frail elderly” means a person having those chronic physical or mental limitations that restrict individual ability to carry out normal activities of daily living and that threaten an individual’s capacity to live an independent life.

“Greatest economic need” means the need resulting from an income level at or below the poverty threshold established by the Bureau of the Census.

“Greatest social need” means the need caused by noneconomic factors that restrict an individual’s ability to perform normal daily tasks or that threaten an individual’s capacity to live independently. These factors include physical or mental disability, language barriers, and cultural or social isolation caused by, among other things, racial and ethnic status, sexual orientation, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) status, gender identity, or gender expression.

“Long-term care” means a coordinated continuum of preventive, diagnostic, therapeutic, rehabilitative, supportive, and maintenance services that address the health, social, and personal needs of individuals who have restricted self-care capabilities. Services shall be designed to recognize the positive capabilities of the individual and maximize the potential for the optimum level of physical, social, and mental well-being in the least restrictive environment. Emphasis shall be placed on seeking services alternatives to institutionalization. Services may be provided by formal or informal support systems, and may be continuous or intermittent. “Long-term care” may include licensed nursing facility, adult residential care, residential facility for the elderly, private duty nursing, or home- and community-based services.

“Older Americans Act” means Chapter 35 (commencing with Section 3001) of Title 42 of the United States Code.

“Older individual” or “elderly” means a person 60 years of age or older, except where this provision is inconsistent with federal requirements.

“Personal and community support networks” means families, friends, neighbors, church groups and community organizations to which the elderly turn naturally to for assistance.

“Planning and service area” means an area specified by the department as directed by the Older Americans Act of 1965, as amended.

“Preventive services” means services that avoid dependency and assist older persons in maintaining their good health, well-being, and growth.

“Supportive services” means services that maintain individuals in home environments and avoid institutional care.

“Systems of home and community based services” means an integrated continuum of service options available locally to older individuals and functionally impaired adults, through programs administered by the department who seek to maximize self-care and independent living in the home or homelike environment.