Following our recent legislative vote, the California Coalition on Family Caregiving is proud to announce its support for eight bills in the 2025-2026 session. These bills represent a multi-generational approach to support, from youth caregiving initiates in local high schools to seniors striving to remain active in their communities.
We are especially proud to announce that our coalition is officially co-sponsoring SB 1149. We will lead the charge by organizing our own letters of support, attending all policy committee hearings, promoting the bill via our newsletter and social media, and featuring it as a primary focus during advocacy day and legislative meetings. Additionally, our coalition is supporting the 6 bills listed below
- AB-2324 (Jeff Gonzalez) Vocational education: Youth Caregivers Career Pathway program.
- SB 1261 (Laird): Aging and Disability Resource Connection program
- SB 991 (Menjivar): Residential care facilities for the elderly: categorization of citations.
- SB 950 (Weber-Pierson): Health care coverage: dementia.
- AB-2135 (Kalra): Long-term health care facilities.
- AB 2081(Stefani): Medi-Cal: Home and Community-Based Alternatives Waiver.
We will sign onto letters of support from lead organizations, express support in policy committee hearings, and list the bill on advocacy day handouts.
For a comprehensive review of the legislation CaCFC will be supporting this upcoming session, please view the summaries, fact sheets, and sponsors of the bills below!
Co-sponsored Legislation:
SB-1149 (Durazo) Employees: bereavement leave. This bill seeks to modernize California’s labor laws by expanding the definition of “family member” for the purposes of protected bereavement leave. Under current law, employees are entitled to up to five days of leave following the death of specific relatives (such as a spouse, child, parent, or sibling). This bill proposes to include a “designated person” in that definition, ensuring that employees can take time to grieve and manage the affairs of a loved one who may not fall under traditional legal or biological categories.
Sponsors: AARP California, California Coalition on Family Caregiving, California Employment Lawyers Association, California Work & Family Coalition, Californians for Safety and Justice, Equality California Equal Rights Advocates, Our Family Coalition
Caregiving Connection: For many Californians, “family” is defined by those they show up for every day, not just those related by blood or marriage. This is especially true for members of the LGBTQ+ community, individuals without living immediate relatives, or those in “chosen family” structures. By allowing an employee to identify a designated person, SB 1149 recognizes the reality of modern caregiving and support systems. It ensures that a caregiver isn’t forced to choose between their job security and honoring the passing of someone they deeply cared for or supported.
Support Legislation:
AB 2081(Stefani): Medi-Cal: Home and Community-Based Alternatives Waiver. The Home and Community-Based Alternatives (HCBA) Waiver is a critical Medi-Cal program that allows individuals with high-level care needs—who would otherwise require nursing facility or hospital placement—to receive medical care and support in their own homes. For years, this program has been plagued by “waitlists for the waitlist” due to a cap on available “slots.” AB-2081 seeks to eliminate these bottlenecks by requiring the State to add at least 10,000 new waiver slots annually starting in 2027, and monitor the capacity to make additional adjustments so no individual is placed on a waiting list.
Caregiving Connection: For family caregivers, a “waitlist” often means the difference between keeping a care recipient at home or being forced to place them in a facility against their wishes. By significantly expanding the number of slots and removing the strict “federal cost neutrality” barrier at the state level, this bill ensures that caregivers can access the professional care management and in-home nursing support needed to sustain their roles. It moves the program toward a “right-on-demand” model rather than a “lottery” system.
Sponsors: Cardea Health
AB-2324 (Jeff Gonzalez) Vocational education: Youth Caregivers Career Pathway program. California relies on an estimated 4.4 million unpaid family caregivers, with an estimated 200-400 thousand of those being youth caregivers. These young people often face unique challenges, including higher school dropout rates, isolation from peers, and mental health struggles. This bill would require the existing Governor’s Council for Career Education to assess the challenges and needs of the state’s youth caregivers to create a Youth Caregivers Career Pathway program. The bill requires the program includes:
- a focus on in-home caregiving for youth caregivers,
- a curriculum for youth caregivers caring for a family member that is eligible for credits toward graduation from high school, and
- training for careers as a direct support professional.
Caregiving Connection: Formalizing the role of youth caregivers acknowledges their experience in ways that can help, rather than hinder their educational and professional success. By providing academic credit and professional training for in-home care, this bill supports the mental health and educational attainment of young caregivers while professionalizing the direct care workforce to meet the needs of aging Californians and people with disabilities.
Sponsor: Association of Regional Center Agencies
SB 1261 (Laird): Aging and Disability Resource Connection program The Aging and Disability Resource Connection (ADRC) program is a vital “no wrong door” system that helps older adults and people with disabilities navigate long-term services and supports (LTSS). Currently, these programs must be operated jointly by two core partners: an Area Agency on Aging (AAA) and an Independent Living Center (ILC). Under existing rules, if one partner loses its designation or faces a temporary setback, the entire local ADRC program can lose its official status, disrupting essential services for the community. This bill prevents such shutdowns by allowing the remaining partner to continue operating the ADRC independently for a transition period of one to two years.
Caregiving Connection: Stability in the ADRC network is crucial for caregivers who rely on these hubs for information and referral, LTSS options counseling, and transition services from hospitals to home and from skilled nursing facilities to the community. By ensuring that local ADRCs don’t vanish due to administrative changes at a single partner agency, SB-1261 protects the “safety net” that caregivers use to find and manage care for their family members.
Sponsor: C4A (CA Association of Area Agencies on Aging)
SB 991 (Menjivar): Residential care facilities for the elderly: categorization of citations.Currently, the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) regulates residential care facilities but may not always use standardized definitions when citing violations related to abuse. This bill would close that gap by requiring the department to use specific categories from the Elder Abuse and Dependent Adult Civil Protection Act whenever a violation involving resident abuse is substantiated. These categories include physical abuse, financial abuse, neglect, abandonment, isolation, and mental suffering. Crucially, the bill requires these specific categories to be listed on the department’s public-facing database, providing much-needed transparency for families and the public.
Caregiving connection: For family caregivers looking to place a family member or friend in a residential facility, “transparency” is often a vague term. SB-991 turns transparency into a tool for safety. By forcing the state to clearly label violations—for example, distinguishing between “financial abuse” and “neglect”—caregivers can make better-informed decisions and hold facilities accountable. It ensures that a facility’s public record accurately reflects the specific type of harm reported, rather than hiding behind generic citation language.
Sponsors: California Long-Term Care Ombudsman Association
SB 950 (Weber-Pierson): Health care coverage: dementia. As new, disease-modifying treatments for Alzheimer’s disease reach the market, patients often face significant insurance hurdles, such as “step therapy”—a process where insurers require patients to fail on older, cheaper medications before covering newer ones. SB-950 would mandate that health care service plans and insurers cover all medically necessary, FDA-approved treatments for Alzheimer’s and related dementias. Most significantly, it prohibits insurers from using step therapy for these treatments (provided at least one anti-amyloid therapy is covered) and requires that these treatments be available as an outpatient prescription drug benefit.
Caregiving Connection: For caregivers, time is the most precious resource. Alzheimer’s is a progressive disease, and delays caused by insurance “fail-first” protocols can result in permanent, irreversible clinical decline for the patient. By eliminating step therapy and mandating an “expeditious” authorization process, SB-950 ensures that caregivers can get their loved ones onto the most effective treatments quickly, potentially extending the period of time the patient can remain independent and communicative.
Sponsors: Alzheimer’s Association
AB-2135 (Kalra): Long-term health care facilities. “Patient dumping”—the practice of improperly transferring or discharging residents from long-term care facilities—remains a significant issue in California. AB-2135 strengthens resident protections by codifying stricter notice requirements and increasing penalties for facilities that ignore legal orders to readmit residents. Specifically, it requires a 30-day written notice for most transfers, mandates that notices be provided in the resident’s primary language or accessible formats (like Braille), and requires facilities to notify the Long-Term Care Ombudsman within 24 hours of an emergency transfer.
Caregiving Connection: For family caregivers, an unexpected discharge or “emergency transfer” can be a terrifying crisis, often leaving them with no place for their loved one to go. This bill provides caregivers with a 30-day “buffer” to plan safe transitions and ensures that non-English speaking families aren’t left in the dark due to language barriers. By increasing the daily penalty for refusing to readmit a resident to $1,000 per day and allowing the state to halt new admissions at non-compliant facilities, the bill gives the law “teeth” to ensure facilities respect the rights of the residents and the peace of mind of their caregivers.
Sponsors: CLTCOA & CANHR