The California Collaborative for Long Term Services and Supports has kicked off its 2019 advocacy on behalf of Californians who use long-term services and supports (LTSS) with a letter to legislative leaders outlining critical priorities for the upcoming year.

Addressing Senate President pro Tempore Toni Atkins and Speaker Anthony Rendon, the Collaborative conveyed 12 specific proposals and three development concepts that our members will be bringing to the Legislature in 2019 to strengthen services for Californians of all ages who experience disabilities, functional limitations or chronic conditions and who need a wide variety of LTSS in their daily lives.

The proposals fall into three general categories, including preventing losses of currently authorized services, expanding access to needed services that bend the cost curve, and strengthening and modernizing community living and supports.

Because California does not have a single unified system of care that addresses LTSS across populations, these services are necessarily spread throughout different departments and programs, and the advocacy efforts on their behalf are many and diverse. The Collaborative urged the Legislature to understand the vast array of programs, large and small, that provide crucial services to the growing older adult and disabled population, and to take a holistic and comprehensive approach to making critical investments in all the systems of care that support vulnerable populations, their caregivers and the programs that they depend on.

Amber Christ, the Collaborative’s Vice Chair for Policy, outlined the challenge. “In the past, Continue reading →

Aging and Disability Advocates Build Relationships and Urge the Legislature to Invest in Long-Term Services and Supports

On April 23, over 120 advocates from the California Collaborative and Regional Coalitions convened in Sacramento to speak to Legislators and their staff about the needs of California seniors and people with disabilities, urging them to prioritize investments in long-term services and supports in state budget deliberations. Representing all regions of California, they held over 75 meetings with Legislator’s offices.

“Talking to Legislators is easier than you think,” commented one participant after meetings at the state Capitol. “We need to create the political will and support from the leadership to invest in essential services for our populations.”

Long-term services and supports (known as LTSS) include both health and social services that help people who are older, live with disabilities, or have a serious illness or chronic health condition. LTSS are specialized services that help the frail elderly, those who are severely disabled, people with dementia and others with everyday tasks such as bathing, dressing, eating or practical assistance that enables them to live and helps their families or caregivers to cope. Continue reading →

Join Us! Post here to share information about meetings you are seeking in the Capitol on Advocacy Day – appointments you’ve requested, Legislators you are meeting with, collaboration or partnering with other groups. Subscribe to get replies and see what others are planning!

2018 is a critical year as a new Governor will be elected who will provide leadership and vision for systems of care that serve millions of seniors and people with disabilities in California.

Please join us in making sure the candidates answer important questions about the future of aging and disability policy, by attending a candidates’ forum and raising your voice. Our strategy is to ask all the candidates to commit to a high-quality system of long-term services and supports that allows people to live with dignity and independence.

Please visit the Collaborative’s Gubernatorial Events page and view or add upcoming events. Review the Five Key Candidate Questions and at the bottom of the page, sign-up to attend and ask a question at one of the upcoming events. If you ask a question, please note the candidates’ responses! You’ll receive a quick follow-up survey after the event.

Thank you for your support in ensuring that the next California Governor will be a leader on behalf of California seniors and people with disabilities.

–The California Collaborative for Long Term Services & Supports

It is often said that the future always begins in California. Notwithstanding the results of the recent election (in which California took a decidedly contrarian position on candidates and ballot initiatives than most of the rest of the country) California’s shifting demographics demonstrate what will be happening nationally for decades to come.

We all know about the baby boomers and how they have changed the face of our state at every stage of their lives…when they entered school, went to college, created families and bought homes, and began to need more health care. But we may not know that California is aging earlier and to a greater degree than most other states. We are getting gray sooner. The unique history of our state’s postwar population boom with millions of young people settling here and starting families means we are growing old faster than nearly any other state. At the same time we have become more ethnically diverse and will continue to in coming years.

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