Save Lives….  Facility Emergency and Disaster Plans must be approved and available in real time before, during and after a disaster….

Senior citizens are abandoned during a disaster… This is not the first and will not be last…November 2017 Santa Rosa Tubbs Fire Villa Capri burned to the ground, staff abandoned residents. State documents confirm “these residents would have perished when the facility burned to the ground during the fire” if not for emergency responders and resident family members that evacuated remaining residents. The facility failed to ensure all staff were familiar with the facilities emergency procedures nor had they participated in emergency training drills as required by law.

Residential care facilities for the elderly (RCFE) otherwise known as assisted living homes in California house over 185,000 elderly citizens in 7800 facilities. These facilities are considered non-medical and residents pay out of pocket to live in these privately-owned State Licensed facilities.

Today residents living in California facilities have dementia and other disabilities making it impossible for them to evacuate without assistance and must rely on those caring for them in times of emergency and disaster.  

In California, laws exist that require these Facilities to have Emergency and Disaster plans. There is no provision in the law that requires the state or local authorities to evaluate or approve the content or plans.

 There is an overall assumption that these facility emergency and disaster plans are approved and available in real time to the state or other local emergency service agencies. This is not correct. 

A disaster can be a power outage, wildfire, extreme heat, flooding, landslide, or a full-blown earthquake requiring search, rescue and recovery. First responder and State official need real time information including facility rosters, emergency contacts, medication information, ambulatory status, medical equipment needs and other details that can help preserve lives before, during and after a disaster.

Having this information in a centralized database will allow for state and local planners to identify these facilities and include them in strategic and overall disaster planning. It will make facilities more aware of their plans content and allow them to train others appropriately. 

Community Care Licensing. The Community Care Licensing Division (CCL) within DSS is charged with licensing and regulating a variety of community care facilities. Community care facilities include an array of programs and settings, such as foster family agencies, foster family homes, adult day programs, social rehabilitation facilities, transitional shelters, group homes, runaway and homeless youth shelters, and others. CCL also licenses and regulates facilities such as child care centers and residential care facilities for the elderly (RCFEs). As of June 29, 2018, there were approximately 72,000 CCL-licensed facilities with the collective capacity to serve almost 1.4 million Californians.

Assembly bill 3098 signed September 11, 2018 orders that RCFE’s  have an emergency and disaster plan that includes additional content and provisions. This bill specifically states that “(k) Nothing in this section shall create a new or additional requirement for the department to evaluate the emergency and disaster plan”

Current Assembly Bill 1034 introduced by Assembly Member Laura Friedman 2/21/19. This bill would require community care facilities, including a resource family, certified or licensed foster family home, or a small family home, residential care facilities for persons with a life-threatening illness, and child daycare facilities, to have an emergency and disaster plan that includes specified requirements, including plans for transportation needs and evacuation procedures.

Please sign my petition urging Governor Gavin Newsom and State Legislators to require ALL licensees providing residential care to utilize an approved Emergency Management Database for reporting all content of the required Emergency and Disaster plans, and for the agency to approve each plan annually.

We need a new law without delay. Our seniors and California's most vulnerable residents young and old should be protected, before it’s too late. As research has shown our senior population is doubling as we speak. Show them you care and that they are not forgotten.

Sign and share my petition to tell Gavin Newsom to get this done as an urgent priority.