| Upcoming Event | 
46th Annual CAPITOL PASSOVER SEDER Cosponsored by JPAC Wednesday, April 27 6:00-9:00 p.m.
Albert Einstein Residence Center
1935 Wright Street
Sacramento, CA |
|
|
Dear (Contact First Name),
As JPAC gears up for our Advocacy Day in Sacramento next month, we invite you to take a look through this spring newsletter to learn more about the important issues we are addressing on behalf of California's most vulnerable citizens. We have great speakers lined up to participate in the program and an important legislative agenda. We hope you can join us!
And, once again, please share this e-newsletter with friends and colleagues who you think might be interested in JPAC's work and help us to spread the word and build support for our efforts. Thank you for your interest in JPAC!
Sincerely,
Michael Sweet, Chair Marc Carrel, Immediate Past Chair Caron Spector, Association Director |
|
|
 Join us for the JPAC Advocacy Day in Sacremento:
May 9-10
REGISTER TODAY!
Last year, over 100 Jewish community activists from throughout California came to Sacramento to help to ensure a brighter future for ALL Californians by attending the annual JPAC Advocacy Day - we hope you can join us this year.
Confirmed speakers include:
- Assembly Speaker John A. P�rez
- Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones
- Senator Joel Anderson
- Assemblymembers Mike Feuer, Bob Blumenfield & Mike Gatto
Our 2011 Advocacy Day's legislative agenda includes:
- Budget and the Social Service Safety net, including -
- AB 6 (Fuentes) - to increase access to and participation in CalFresh.
- AB 1415 (Blumenfield) - conversion of Adult Day Health Care (ADHC) from a Medi-Cal benefit program to one operated under a specified waiver; to establish the Keeping Adults Free from Institutions (KAFI) program.
- Child Bullying
- AB 9 (Ammiano) - to establish policies to prevent and respond to bullying in schools.
- Iran Divestment
- AB 705 (Blumenfield) - to prohibit insurance companies doing business in California from indirectly investing in Iran's government, military, or energy sectors.
- AB 1151 (Feuer) - public transparency measure related to the statutory commitment for CalPRS and CalSTRS to divest from Iran.
- SB 903 (Anderson) - companion to AB 1151.
Don't miss the chance to join us next month! Click HERE to visit the 2011 JPAC Advocacy Day in Sacramento webpage for more information and to register.
|
|
 Partisan Posturing Threatens Fragile MSSP Survival
by Nancy Volpert
Director of Public Policy, Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles
Governor Brown's proposed budget included massive cuts to social service programs that will be devastating to the elderly, the poor, and people with disabilities. Providers, volunteers, clients and supporters inundated the Capitol with calls, letters and visits about the critically important MSSP program, provided by both JFS Los Angeles and JFCS San Francisco, along with other providers. MSSP is an extremely cost-effective care-management program through which highly skilled case managers, social workers and registered nurses provide care to nearly 12,000 vulnerable seniors statewide.
While the legislature supported many of these cuts, including a dismaying dismantling of Adult Day Health Care (discussed in the article below), there was a critical victory for JPAC and other advocates - the vote to reject elimination of the Multipurpose Senior Services Program (MSSP) and instead impose a reduction of "no more than" $2.5 million or 12.5% on MSSP providers statewide. Although this is a more positive outcome than where we started, this is far from final. Unless lawmakers are able to agree on tax extension or other revenue measures, it will require additional massive cuts of $12.5 billion to pass a constitutionally-required balanced state budget. Programs that survived the first floor votes will no doubt be slashed along with education, health and other funding. Our State's leadership needs to take a very hard look at the consequences of their decisions, and to seek solutions that won't leave needy Californians without care at this critical time.
|
|
 The Future of Adult Day Health Care
by Gia Daniller-Katz
Jewish Family and Children Service of San Francisco
After 2 1/2 months of fast-tracked budget hearings, meetings and negotiations in the State Capitol and intense advocacy efforts on all fronts, Governor Brown signed a package of budget-cut related bills on March 24, 2011. The approved legislation contained the Budget Conference Committee's "compromise" measure for Adult Day Health Care, which cuts funding for ADHC services by roughly 50%.
The legislation actually eliminates ADHC as a Medi-Cal State Plan Optional benefit and states the Legislature's intent to create a new program in its place named KAFI - Keeping Adults Free from Institutions. For the new program to be created, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on the federal level must approve the elimination of ADHC as a Medi-Cal benefit and must also approve an application from the state to convert the program to what is known as a "federal Medicaid waiver" program. This would allow the new program to continue to qualify for federal matching funds and is the model that 40 out of 50 states use to fund ADHC under the Medicaid program.
Though JPAC is pleased that the legislature and Governor agreed to maintain core ADHC services through the creation of the KAFI program, many elements are still unknown, including the specifics of who will qualify under the new program. We remain very concerned about the impact of such a large reduction in funding, how people will be transitioned out of ADHC, what the criteria of KAFI will be and whether the new program will be in place in time to avoid a gap in services. Any gap in services would result in dire consequences for thousands of frail and elderly participants and service providers throughout the state.
Assembly Budget Committee Chair Bob Blumenfeld has introduced legislation, AB 1415, to express the Legislature's intent to avoid a gap in care for current patients who meet redefined eligibility standards for the redesigned ADHC program. JPAC will continue to work closely with Assembly Member Blumenfeld and other legislators and Administration officials on this criteria issue in the weeks and months ahead.
|
|
 JPAC Welcomes New Board Chair Michael Sweet
Michael Sweet assumed the JPAC Chair position in January, receiving the gavel from Marc Carrel, our immediate past chair, at our January Board meeting.
Sweet is Vice President of the San Francisco-based JCRC. He is a graduate of Brandeis University and UCLA Law School. He is Past President of the Raoul Wallenberg Jewish Democratic Club in San Francisco and serves as Chair of the San Francisco Human Rights Commission. He has been an elected member of the California State Democratic Central Committee since 2004 and sits on the Party's Resolutions Committee. He is acting-chair of an Advisory Committee to the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency. In 2006 he was named an Outstanding Volunteer by the Bar Association of San Francisco.
Michael is a partner and heads the litigation group at McNutt Law Group in San Francisco. He has practiced law for over 15 years and represents clients in state and federal courts in a wide range of matters. In addition, Michael's election law work includes representation of candidates, campaign committees and officeholders. He has counseled clients involved in recall campaigns. He has successfully pursued litigation before the California Supreme Court on behalf of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and former California Senate President Pro Tem John Burton. The case, Bramberg v. Jones, 20 Cal. 4th 1045 (1999), invalidated a statewide ballot initiative on constitutional grounds.
|
|
|
|
ABOUT US: JPAC is the largest single-state coalition of Jewish organizations in the nation, representing Jewish communities and nonprofit organizations across California. Comprised of most of the Jewish Federations from communities throughout California and a myriad of Jewish community advocacy organizations, we advocate on behalf of Jewish social service agencies, traditional community concerns, and broadly shared values that affect the citizens of our State. We make certain California's Jewish community acts with one united voice in Sacramento on a variety of issues of importance to the Jewish community and in order to advocate for all of California's most vulnerable populations. Visit us at www.jpac-cal.org for more information. |
|
|
