SCR69

THE SENATE	S.C.R. NO.	69
TWENTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2002
STATE OF HAWAII

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SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

REQUESTING THE STATE OF HAWAII TO ALLOCATE ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR THE RESIDENTIAL ALTERNATIVE COMMUNITY CARE PROGRAM.

 

WHEREAS, Hawaii's elderly population, those over age sixty-five, is the largest in the State and one of the largest in the nation, and is increasing; and

WHEREAS, there is a critical shortage of long term care beds in the State, particularly in the neighbor islands, and in Hawaii County, currently all long term care facilities have a waiting list; and

WHEREAS, one such program is the Residential Alternative Community Care Program (RACCP), a home community-based Medicaid Waiver Program that provides twenty-four hour care to adults who need placement in a long term care facility; and

WHEREAS, the RACCP provides individuals with an alternative to institutionalization by giving them the opportunity to live in a community foster home with specific quality care parameters in place through client case management functions provided by a registered nurse (RN) and social worker (MSW) under a team concept; and

WHEREAS, all providers must meet stringent requirements set by not only RACCP but the State of Hawaii and the federal government with respect to the Medicaid Waiver Program; and

WHEREAS, the cost of placing an aging parent in a RACCP foster home amounts to approximately $2,800 per month, which includes compensation to the provider and case management agency for support of a full time RN and MSW team and clerical and related logistical support, and each provider home is only authorized to care for two clients at any time; and

WHEREAS, the cost of an environment that is warm, friendly, caring, and skilled, with immeasurable social contact on a very personal level is much more affordable than the average cost of long term care facilities that range from $7,000 to $10,000 per month; and

WHEREAS, the RACCP has beds available on the Big Island, but admission to the program is frozen due to lack of state funding; and

WHEREAS, the Department of Human Services receives 56.34% federal matching funds for the RACCP and state funds for fiscal year 2002 for this program remain the same as fiscal year 2001, which means that admission to the program has been halted and it is being maintained at the same level of services for current clients with the remaining fiscal year 2002 funds; and

WHEREAS, the current barrier to the RACCP's growth is the lack of sufficient state funds to access federal matching funds; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-First Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2002, the House of Representatives concurring, that the State of Hawaii is urged to allocate additional funding for the Residential Alternative Community Care Program, which will in turn result in increased levels of matching federal funds for this valuable program; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor and the Director of Human Services.

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title:

Residential Alternative Community Care Program; Support Increased Funding.