ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Phoenix, Arizona
elderly at risk; gate
openers program
Establishes a
statewide program to identify elderly persons who are in need of mental
health and/or community-based aging services and provide services to allow them
to remain independent. Appropriates $5
million from the state general fund in FY 2001-2002 to support this program.
Since 1998 a
community gate opener program has been operating out of the Pinal Gila
Council for Senior Citizens (PGCSC), the Region 5 Area Agency on Aging. The
gate opener model is designed to identify underserved elderly people who may
need assistance through Arizona’s public behavioral health system. The program
trains people who regularly encounter elderly customers, such as mail carriers,
bank tellers, meter readers and apartment managers, to recognize signs that an
elder is having difficulty and refer these people to a central intake point. A
skilled case worker then visits the elderly person’s home to investigate
whether the situation warrants intervention and to offer appropriate
services. PGCSC estimates that, in
1998, 250 to 300 individuals were visited in their homes by a case worker and
were provided with services.
S.B. 1077 appropriates $2.5
million from the state general fund to the Department of Economic Security
(DES) and $2.5 million from the state general fund to the Department of Health
Services (DHS) in FY 2001-2002 to implement the gate opener program. According
to the sponsor of the bill this amount should have been divided over two years
on the biannual budget cycle.
1. Requires DES and DHS, subject to the appropriation of monies, to establish a gate opener program to identify and provide services to at risk elderly people.
2. Requires DES and DHS to establish the program through area agencies on aging and regional behavioral health authorities.
3. Requires DES and DHS to ensure coordinated outreach, intake and case management.
4. Requires the program to use members of the community to identify needs of the targeted population.
5. Requires that a contract, approved by both DES and DHS, be in place before any monies are spent.
6. Permits DES and DHS to each use up to four percent of the monies for administrative purposes.
7. Requires the Auditor General to conduct a performance audit of the program with specific components during its second year of operation and to submit its report to the Governor, Legislature and other specified agencies by November 15, 2002.
8. Repeals the program on April 1, 2004.
9. Appropriates $2.5 million to DES and $2.5 million to DHS from the state general fund in FY 2001-2002 to implement the program. Exempts the appropriation from lapsing.
10. Provides for a general effective date.
Prepared by Senate Staff
January 15, 2001