Report 2012-119 Recommendation 11 Responses

Report 2012-119: California Department of Veterans Affairs: It Has Initiated Plans to Serve Veterans Better and More Cost-Efficiently, but Further Improvements Are Needed (Release Date: May 2013)

Recommendation #11 To: Veterans Affairs, Department of

To ensure it is maximizing its ability to serve veterans in the State's veterans homes, CalVet should follow through with its plan to assess the bed capacity of the homes for veterans' needs after the homes in Fresno and Redding are licensed, to determine the most appropriate number of beds for the different levels of care offered at each home.

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From October 2019

CalVet is nearly complete with a master plan required by the Legislature. It will be complete by December 31, 2019, and will address among other topics the capacity, demand, and distribution of beds and levels of care throughout the system of Homes.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Pending

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From October 2018

CalVet continues to pursue the needs assessment/master plans required in the 2017-18 budget. In the subsequent budget process, for the 2018-19 budget, the Legislature extended the report deadline to December 31, 2019, and added language specifying certain requirements in the report. This project is well under way, and CalVet anticipates meeting the December 2019 deadline.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Pending

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From November 2017

In 2016, CalVet hired two retired annuitants to conduct the first phase of a needs assessment. Initial findings indicated future need will be primarily in skilled nursing and memory care. A requirement was added to the 2017-18 budget to conduct , master plans at each Home, due July 2019. In addition, Assembly Bill (AB) 1365 was recently signed and will require master plans for each Veterans Home every five years. At each five-year interval, these master plans are expected to begin with in-depth research similar to the ongoing needs assessment. The Veterans Homes Division is in the process of hiring staff specifically for this project and will carry out the research as required by the budget bill. The specific requirements of AB 1365 can be found here: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180AB1365.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Pending

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From September 2016

In accordance with the State Auditor's recommendation, with the Redding and Fresno Veterans Homes operational and nearly at capacity, the Homes Division has begun this study. The Division hired two retired annuitants, one who specializes in demographics and one who specializes in the development of mental and behavioral health programs. In their respective areas of expertise, these retired annuitants are conducting research into potential future needs and demographic projections. Together, the retired annuitants and Homes Division leadership have created a timeline in which initial findings would be completed in September and a determination of next steps will be complete by November.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Not Fully Implemented

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From September 2015

CalVet has begun the process of recruiting a consultant to conduct a level of care study. This study will involve an evaluation of the population the Department serves and future need, resulting in recommendations related to the levels of care offered at the Veterans Homes. CalVet acknowledges that the number of individuals using either nursing facilities, alternative residential care, or home care services is expected to increase from 15 million in 2000 to 27 million in 2050. In order to continue to meet the care needs of our residents, CalVet wishes to better understand the projections for future generations of veterans and the ways in which our services may need to be redesigned. CalVet is completing internal work on bid solicitation documents for the level of care study.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Not Fully Implemented

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From October 2014

The Fresno and Redding homes are still completing their licensing and certification processes. As this occurs, in order to maintain responsiveness to veterans' long-term care needs, CalVet has assessed all eight veterans homes' management of admission applications to ensure that those individuals who apply are apprised of availability at all eight homes in the system. This effort enables CalVet to reduce the amount of time an applicant must wait for space to become available in a particular home, and it ensures the space and resources the homes offer are used most effectively.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Not Fully Implemented

1-Year Agency Response

1. CalVet is still on track to pursue funding in FY 2014-15 for a statewide study on need for beds and level of care by home.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 1-Year Status: No Action Taken

6-Month Agency Response

CalVet is on track to conduct an assessment on the demand for Veterans Homes' beds statewide by level of care paid for within existing resources.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: Pending

60-Day Agency Response

CalVet will do a formal study after the Redding and Fresno homes are licensed as noted in this audit.

CalVet will contract for a statewide study of long-term care bed needs and levels of care by May 2014.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Pending

All Recommendations in 2012-119

Agency responses received after June 2013 are posted verbatim.