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
$750,000 from the state general fund in each of FY 2001-2002 and 2002-2003 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
$750,000 from the state general fund to the Department of Economic Security
(DES) and $750,000 from the state general fund to the Department of Health
Services (DHS) in each of FY 2001-2002 and 2002-2003 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, 2003.
8. Repeals the program on October 1, 2004.
9. Appropriates $750,000 to DES and $750,000 to DHS from the state general fund in each of FY 2001-2002 and 2002-2003 to implement the program. Exempts the appropriation from lapsing except the remaining funds unexpended and unencumbered on October 1, 2004 revert to the state general fund.
10. Provides for a general effective date.
Amendments
Adopted by the Family Services Committee
Divides the $2.5 million allocated to DES and the $2.5 million to DHS between FY 2001-2002 and FY 2002-2003 to conform with the bi-annual budget cycle.
Amendments
Adopted by the Appropriatons Committee
1. Incorporates the FS committee amendment.
2. Reduces the appropriation from $5 million to $3 million over the biennium.
3. Delays the Auditor General's report due date by one year.
4. Delays the repeal date by six months.
5. Removes the exemption from lapsing of the appropriation.
Senate Action
FS 1/17/01 DPA 5-1-0
APPROPS 2/27/01 DPA 11-0-0
Prepared by Senate Staff
March 2, 2001