Esta ley enmienda la Ley Núm. 72 de 2002 para incluir a personas de edad avanzada en el Programa Especial de Adiestramiento en Cuidado Básico para Beneficiarios de Asistencia Social. Elimina la Junta Asesora y establece grupos interdisciplinarios para crear el currículo de adiestramiento. Autoriza acuerdos colaborativos y extiende la fecha de vigencia de la ley original. Define términos clave como Administración, Agencia Delegada, Adiestramiento, Gobierno, Grupos Interdisciplinarios, Participantes de programas de asistencia financiera, Personas con impedimentos, Personas de edad avanzada, Programa, Organizaciones para Personas con Impedimentos y Organizaciones de Personas de Edad Avanzada. Detalla la composición, deberes y funciones de los grupos interdisciplinarios para el diseño del currículo de adiestramiento para el cuidado básico de personas con impedimentos y personas de edad avanzada. Establece los requisitos de elegibilidad para recibir los servicios del Programa y para participar en los cursos. Define dos currículos de adiestramiento diferentes: uno para el cuidado de personas con impedimentos y otro para el cuidado de personas de edad avanzada. Otorga facultades a las agencias gubernamentales para adoptar reglamentos y formas, y a la Administración para adoptar reglamentos para la implementación de la ley y ejecutar acuerdos colaborativos. Requiere que la Administración rinda un informe anual a la Legislatura. Establece que los fondos necesarios provendrán del Fondo General de la Administración de Desarrollo Socioeconómico y de la Administración de Familias y Niños, así como de fondos estatales del programa Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). Incluye una cláusula de separabilidad y establece la fecha de efectividad de la ley.
(Approved December 19, 2003)
To amend Sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8; and to add a new Section 4-A to Act No. 72 of January 1, 2002, known as the "Special Training in Basic Care Program for Beneficiaries of Social Assistance" with the purpose of including elderly persons in said program, to eliminate the Advisory Board and to establish the creation of interdisciplinary groups for the creation of the training curriculum; authorize the implementation of collaborative agreements; extend the effective date of Act No. 72, supra; and for other purposes.
In many occasions, persons with disabilities need the assistance of persons who have the required training to help them adapt to their particular living conditions, and achieve independence from relatives and friends.
On the other hand, the population statistics of the Census show that the population of sixty (60) years of age and over, that is "elderly persons" is 585,701 , which represents $15.4 %$ of our total population. The population projections for Puerto Rico for 2010, in the Census as well as in the Planning Board, show that this sector of the population will increase to a $17 %$.
All the components of the society should become aware of this reality and should take action on this basis in order for our elderly persons to receive the care needed in this phase of their lives. In this alliance of brotherhood, the Commonwealth should play the main role, in its interest to protect and grant protection of law to the thousands of elderly persons who
are left behind because they are not active part of the work and economic force.
This legislation has the purpose of satisfying the need for support services for elderly persons or persons with any type of disability in accordance to the specific needs of each particular group.
Section 1.- A new Section 4-A is hereby added and Sections 1, 2, 3, and 4 of Act No. 72 of January 1, 2002, are hereby amended to read as follows: "Section 1.- This Act shall be known as Special Programs for Training in Basic Care for Social Assistance Beneficiaries.
Section 2.- Definitions For the purposes of this Act, the following terms shall have the meaning stated below:
(a) Administration: refers to the Socio-Economic Development Administration of the Department of the Family; it is the Government entity created by virtue of the Reorganization Plan of July 28, 1995, attached to the Department of the Family (Act No. 171 of July 30, 1968.)
(b) Delegated Agency: an entity contracted by the Socio-Economic Development Administration of the Department of the Family to manage the cases of the participants who are referred to be trained; and which shall be in charge of identifying competent candidates to take courses and workshops on the basic care of persons.
(c) Training: courses or workshops on the care of persons certified by the Interdisciplinary Groups that shall be offered to the participants of financial assistance programs of the Government.
(d) Government: refers to the Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
(e) Interdisciplinary Groups: it refers to a group of agencies and educational and social groups, which shall have the duty of establishing, creating and revising the courses given in the trainings designed for the Special Programs for Training in the Basic Care for Social Assistance Beneficiaries. These groups shall determine all the necessary aspects that shall cover the training designed for each specific population that it attends and the educational offerings which shall be provided to the participants of the financial assistance programs of the Government.
(f) Participants of the financial assistance programs of the Government: persons with limited resources who receive the financial and social assistance benefits from the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and who are authorized to receive benefits by the Socio-Economic Development Administration, after being qualified according to the eligibility requirements for the qualification, training and job placement programs.
(g) Persons with disabilities: persons who have some type of physical or mental condition or developmental deficiency that limits his/her performance and self-sufficiency.
(h) Elderly Persons: those persons who are sixty (60) years of age and over.
(i) Program: Special Program for Training in the Basic Care for Social Assistance Beneficiaries.
(j) Organizations for Persons with Disabilities: Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and private entities that provide support, medical,
therapeutic, and psychological services, equipment, and specialized care to persons with disabilities, such as the Advocate for Persons with Disabilities, the Vocational Rehabilitation Administration, the Muscular Dystrophy Association, SER de Puerto Rico, and the Parents for the Welfare of Disabled Children's Association, among others.
(k) Organization of Elderly Persons: Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and private entities, which provide support, medical, therapeutic, educational and psychological services, equipment, and specialized care to elderly persons such as the Office of the Affairs of the Elderly, Gerontology Program of the Public Health Graduate School, the Geriatrics Unit of the Medical Sciences Campus, among others, to be called by the Department of Health.
Section 3.- Composition Duties and Functions of the Interdisciplinary Groups.
This Program shall be attached to the Socio-Economic Development Administration of the Department of the Family, and shall count on the collaboration and advice of two (2) interdisciplinary groups to be described below:
(a) Interdisciplinary Group for the design of the training curriculum for the basic care of persons with disabilities.
This Interdisciplinary Group shall be composed of the Secretary of the Department of the Family, who shall preside over the group, the Administrator of the Families' and Children's Administration of the Department of the Family, the Administrator of the Socio-Economic Development Administration, the Advocate for Persons with Disabilities, the Administrator of the Vocational Rehabilitation
Administration, the Secretary of the Department of Education, the Secretary of the Department of Health, the College of Social Workers, the College of Physicians and Surgeons, the Institute of Deficiencies in Development attached to the Public Health Graduate School of the Medical Sciences Campus, the College of Nurses or their respective representatives, taking into account that should the Secretaries or Chairpersons of said agencies or entities decide to send representatives, they shall make sure that the same have academic preparation and vast experience in the rendering of services to persons with disabilities, and representatives of acknowledged organizations, that offer services to persons with disabilities. For the purposes of representation in the interdisciplinary group of recognized organizations that render services to persons with disabilities to design trainings to assist persons with disabilities, the Secretary of the Department of the Family may call upon those representatives he/she deems pertinent, but there should not be less than three (3).
(b) Interdisciplinary Group for the design of the training curriculum for basic care of elderly persons.
This Interdisciplinary Group shall be composed of the Secretary of the Department of the Family, who shall preside over the group, the Administrator of the Families' and Children's Administration of the Department of the Family, the Administrator of the Socio-Economic Development Administration, the Executive Director of the Office of the Affairs of the Elderly, (OGAVE, Spanish acronym), the Secretary of the Department of Education, the Secretary of the Department of Health, the College of Social Workers, the College of Physicians and Surgeons, the College of Nurses, Gerontology Program of the Public
Health Graduate School of the Medical Sciences Campus, Geriatrics Unit of the Medical Sciences Campus or their respective representatives, taking into account that should the Secretaries or Chairpersons of said agencies or entities decide to send representatives, they shall make sure that the same have academic preparation and vast experience in the rendering of services to elderly persons, and representatives of recognized organizations that offer services to elderly persons. For the purposes of representation in the interdisciplinary group of recognized organizations that render services to elderly persons to design trainings to assist persons with disabilities, the Secretary of the Department of the Family may call upon those representatives he/she deems pertinent, but there should not be less than three (3).
The Department of the Family is hereby empowered to call upon the agencies or entities it deems pertinent to participate in the design of training courses through the interdisciplinary groups and shall be subject to the recommendations of potential candidates submitted by the different agencies and entities, public or private, concerned in the health field, education, and services to elderly persons respectively. The interdisciplinary groups shall meet as frequent as they deem necessary, at the request of the Department.
The interdisciplinary groups shall have the following powers and duties:
(a) Make recommendations for the establishment of the public policy which shall govern the functioning of the Program, including the compilation of data on the composition and particular needs of the persons with disabilities and elderly
persons, as well as the composition of the population who receive economic assistance from the Government, in order to identify the sector that may participate on the Program, the regions to be beneficiated, the areas with priority, the human and technical resources, physical facilities that shall be needed, determine the dates on which the interdisciplinary groups shall meet, as well as any other matter deemed pertinent.
(b) Advice in the establishment of the criteria which shall guide the design of the training curriculum to be used to train the selected participants in the criteria for the certification of instructors or persons qualified to conduct courses; and in the design of the certification procedure in order for the Administration to certify the participants who approve the same.
(c) Revise each particular interdisciplinary group, the training courses designed by the same every three (3) years, to temper them to the educational trends and visualize if the same need any necessary changes.
Section 4.- Eligibility Requirements Every person with disabilities or elderly person who has been certified as such by the Department of Health shall qualify to receive the services of this Program, subject to the requirement established in the regulations in effect for the rendering of services of Ama de Llaves of the Adult Services Program of the Families' and Children's Administration of the Department of the Family.
Every participant in the government financial assistance programs who is identified and recommended by the delegated agency as a proper candidate shall qualify to take this course. These participants shall be submitted to psychological tests by the Administration, and must obtain satisfactory results that show that they are persons who can work under pressure, attending to the special needs of the persons to be attended under the training curricula, and who have adequate capacity and sensibility that allow him/her to be understanding and tolerant when attending to the basic care needs of the different populations, depending on the training he/she wishes to take. They shall also be required to furnish an updated health certificate at the time they are certificated.
Section 4-A.- Training Curricula Since the needs of a person with disabilities are different from those of an elderly person, and each sector of the population is different from the other, the Administration shall implement two (2) different training curricula to provide basic care services; one intended for the care of persons with disabilities, and another one intended for the care of elderly persons.
For the training curriculum of basic care services for persons with disabilities, the persons in charge of conducting trainings shall be health professionals knowledgeable in the conditions and needs of persons with disabilities, subject to the provisions of this Act. In the design of this curriculum, the Administration shall give emphasis to the basic health needs, care, food and socialization of persons with disabilities.
On the other hand, the training curriculum of basic care services for elderly persons, the persons in charge of conducting trainings shall be gerontology professionals. In the design of this curriculum, the
Administration shall give emphasis to the basic health needs, care, food and socialization of elderly persons."
Section 2.- Sections 5 and 6 of Act No. 72 of June 1, 2002, are hereby amended to read as follows: "Section 5.- Regulations and Annual Report The government agencies are hereby empowered to adopt the regulations and forms needed to comply with the purposes of this Act, pursuant to the provisions of the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act (Act No, 170 of August 12, 1988, as amended.) Furthermore, the Administration is hereby empowered to adopt the regulations needed for the implementation of this Act, subject to the regulations that govern the standards and procedures in the rendering of services of Ama de Llaves in the Department, to execute all necessary collaborative agreements with the Office of the Affairs of the Elderly, the Department of Labor, with the Ama de Llaves Corporation attached to the Department of the Family, with municipal consortiums or any agency or private entity for the referral of the participants who have been certified by the Program for job placement and job search with funds of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and subject to the federal regulations of the Temporary Assistance For Needy Families Program (TANF).
The Administration shall annually render a report to the Department of the Family and the Legislature, specifically to the Committee on Social Welfare of both, the House of Representatives and the Senate of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. This report shall include statistics on the participants who took courses, participants who were employed, persons with disabilities and elderly persons who were assisted, areas to be improved and recommendations.
The funds needed to meet the purposes of this Act shall be consigned in the General Fund of the Socio-Economic Development Administration of the Department of the Family and in the Families' and Children's Administration of the same Department for fiscal year 2004-2005, as well as for subsequent fiscal years. The funds needed to comply with all that is related to the trainings shall originate from funds consigned at state level from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)."
Section 3.- Severability Clause If any part of this Act is declared null by a Court with competent jurisdiction, this decision shall not affect nor invalidate the remaining provisions of the Act, and its effect shall be limited to the part in dispute.
Section 4.- Effectiveness This Act shall take effect immediately after its approval; although the beginning of operations of the Program required by this Act shall be on July 1, 2004. However, the Department of the Family shall have a six month (6) term after the approval of this Act to make any amendment to the regulations in effect that it deems necessary for the implementation of this Act or in the creation of any necessary form.
I hereby certify to the Secretary of State that the following Act No. 312 (H.B. 3066) of the $6^{ ext {th }}$ Session of the $14^{ ext {th }}$ Legislature of Puerto Rico:
AN ACT to amend Sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8; and to add a new Section 4-A to Act No. 72 of January 1, 2002, known as the "Special Training in Basic Care Program for Beneficiaries of Social Assistance" with the purpose of including elderly persons in said program, to eliminate the Advisory Board and to establish the creation of interdisciplinary groups for the creation of the training curriculum; authorize the implementation of collaborative agreements; extend the effective date of Act No. 72, supra; and for other purposes, has been translated from Spanish to English and that the English version is correct.
In San Juan, Puerto Rico, today $27^{ ext {th }}$ of October of 2004.
Elba Rosa Rodríguez-Fuentes Director