12316.1. (Amended by Stats. 2023, Ch. 43, Sec. 59.)

(a) (1) The department shall administer the Career Pathways Program for providers of in-home supportive services under this article, or Section 14132.95, 14132.952, or 14132.956, or waiver personal care services under Section 14132.97, to increase the quality of care, recruitment and retention of providers for recipients and to provide training opportunities for career advancement in the home care and health care industries. Providers who have completed provider enrollment but who may not currently be providing services to a recipient, and are eligible to work for a recipient, including registry and emergency backup providers, may participate in the Career Pathways Program.

(2) The objectives of the career pathways include, but are not limited to, all of the following:

(A) Promotion of recipient self-determination principles.

(B) Dignity in providing and receiving care through meaningful collaboration between the recipient and provider.

(C) Advancement of health and service equity, including the quality of care, care outcomes, and life.

(D) Promotion of a culturally and linguistically competent workforce to serve the growing racial, ethnic, and linguistic diversity of an aging population.

(E) Increase in both provider employment retention and recruitment of new providers to maintain a stable workforce for recipients.

(3) Each career pathway shall include multiple courses of related curriculum on a given topic. Five career pathways shall be offered, including all of the following:

(A) The basic skills career pathways are (i) general health and safety and (ii) adult education topics.

(B) The specialized skills career pathways are (i) cognitive impairments and behavioral health, (ii) complex physical care needs, and (iii) transitioning to home and community-based living from out-of-home care or homelessness.

(b) In administering this section, the department shall do all of the following:

(1) Review and approve proposed training curriculum that is consistent with the requirements of subdivision (a).

(2) Upon completion of a competitive process, enter into agreements with multiple qualified third-party entities that the department deems qualified to provide training as approved pursuant to subparagraph (1).

(3) Determine the methodology and distribution of appropriated funds pursuant to this section.

(c) (1) For purposes of this section, “qualified third-party entity” means a county, public authority, or nonprofit consortium as defined in Section 12301.6, a nonprofit entity that is tax exempt pursuant to Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or a Taft-Hartley Labor Management Partnership. For-profit entities are strictly excluded from this definition.

(2) A qualified third-party entity shall have both of the following:

(A) Experience in training in person or online, using live instructor-led sessions or self-paced learning modules, which include a competency-based curriculum that is grounded in adult educational principles and that supports multiple languages wherever possible.

(B) The capacity to recruit and enroll providers electronically, in person, or both.

(d) Provider participation in the training described in subdivision (a) shall be voluntary, and the training shall be offered at no cost to providers. Providers shall be compensated for each hour of training at a rate equivalent to the county’s hourly negotiated wage rate for in-home supportive services providers. Counties and public authorities shall not be required to provide any funding for compensation to providers for training provided pursuant to this section.

(e) To the extent possible, career pathways may include curriculum that promotes retention of providers or that meets licensing and certification course requirements to assist providers in achieving their identified career advancement in the home care and health care industries.

(f) A provider shall be eligible to receive an incentive payment or multiple incentive payments, with an incentive payment available for each of the individual activities specified in paragraphs (1) to (3), inclusive. The amounts of the incentive payments shall be determined by the department, in collaboration with the employer representative unions, county human services agencies and their representatives, public authorities or nonprofit consortia as defined in Section 12301.6, and other relevant stakeholders. The individual activities eligible for incentive payments pursuant to this subdivision include all of the following:

(1) Successfully completing 15 hours of coursework for a specific career pathway.

(2) Successfully completing 15 hours of coursework for a specialized skills career pathway, subsequently beginning work for a recipient who needs that type of specialized care, and providing 40 authorized hours of care to one or more recipients in the first month of service.

(3) Successfully completing 15 hours of coursework for a specialized skills career pathway, subsequently beginning work for a recipient who needs that type of specialized care, and providing 40 authorized hours of care to one or more recipients per month for at least six months.

(g) A qualified third-party entity that has entered into an agreement with the department pursuant to subdivision (b) shall inform providers of the availability of career pathways training described in this section. The qualified third-party entity or entities, pursuant to the aforementioned agreement or agreements, shall assist interested providers in registering for offered courses for desired career pathways identified by the provider and track the successful completion of the coursework by a provider.

(h) Incentive payments set forth in subdivision (f), when applicable, shall be issued by the department through the Case Management Information and Payrolling System (CMIPS).

(i) The recipient, as the provider’s employer, shall continue to have the right to hire, fire, train, and direct services provided by their provider.

(k) The department shall contract with an entity, separate from the participating qualified third-party entities, to complete an evaluation of the pilot project that shall include all of the following criteria:

(1) The number of new and existing providers who enrolled in courses to pursue a career pathway.

(2) The number of providers that successfully completed a career pathway and identification of the career pathways completed.

(3) Pursuant to provider surveys, focus groups, and interviews, the effectiveness of the training and whether the successful completion of a career pathway resulted in a related license or certificate as well as new or retained employment in the home care and health care industries.

(4) The number of providers who were subsequently employed by a recipient with specialized care needs after completing a specialized career pathway and were retained in that employment for a period of at least six months.

(5) The number of providers who were subsequently employed by a recipient with specialized care needs after completing a specialized career pathway and were retained in that employment for a period of at least 12 months.

(6) The incentive payment amount administered to in-home supportive services providers and waiver personal care services providers for each incentive payment category, pursuant to this section.

( l ) An interim report containing updated information on the components specified in subdivision (k) shall be submitted to the Legislature, in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code, by no later than May 1, 2023, with a final report of the evaluation of the pilot project submitted to the Legislature by September 30, 2025.

(m) Agreements entered into pursuant to this section shall be exempt from the personal services contracting requirements of Article 4 (commencing with Section 19130) of Chapter 5 of Part 2 of Division 5 of Title 2 of the Government Code, the Public Contract Code, and the State Contracting Manual, and shall not be subject to the approval of the Department of General Services.

(n) Notwithstanding the rulemaking provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code), the department may implement, interpret, or make specific this section by means of all-county letters or similar instructions.

(o) If funding is provided for purposes of this section pursuant to Section 11.95 of the Budget Act of 2021 (Chapter 69 of the Statutes of 2021), that funding shall only be used to implement the activities set forth in this section for which the State Department of Health Care Services obtains the necessary federal approval for the Career Pathways Program pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (g) of Section 14124.12.