AARP Florida: Governor Rick Scott’s Veto of Meals on Wheels Volunteer Bill Baffling
Florida's AARP ripped Governor Scott's veto of SB 1992, which would have lifted the burden of statutory fingerprinting costs and thus freed up desperately needed funds from charities such as Meals on Wheels, which provides meals for needy seniors.
The 2010 Legislature passed a bill in 2010 mandating that all volunteers working with seniors be fingerprinted at Level 2 Security. However, doing this for each volunteer who is never alone with, or has access to the seniors’ information can cost an agency a lot of money. Each fingerprinting costs $60. To make matters worse, many of the seniors who volunteer have compromised fingerprints anyway. An agency such as Broward Meals on Wheels has at least 1,000 volunteers, which equates to a huge financial drain. This year, with the support of the Florida Department of Elder Affairs and the Area Agencies on Aging, senior service agencies asked for a modification of the law so that those volunteering less than a certain number of hours and who don’t have access to the seniors or information would be exempt.
However, all of this and the money savings was lost with Governor Scott's veto last week.
AARP Florida: Gov. Scott’s Veto of Meals on Wheels Volunteer Bill Baffling
Posted June 24, 2011
Governor's veto kills legislation to reduce regulatory burden on community volunteer organizations and committed volunteers; shows selective concern about increased risk to seniors
AARP Florida’s top official said Friday that the state’s largest membership organization for those 50+ was perplexed about Gov. Scott’s veto of SB 1992, legislation that would have eliminated some burdensome and costly government regulation stifling community volunteers serving frail older Floridians.
“AARP always has concerns about risks to older people,” said Jeff Johnson, AARP’s interim state director. “Yet it is odd that Gov. Scott vetoed this bill, but signed legislation that puts frail seniors more at risk -- the law allowing nursing homes to reduce nursing care for the frailest of all Floridians. There is an abundance of evidence that cutting nursing-home staffing standards leads directly to serious, even tragic, health problems for nursing-home residents.”
Johnson said AARP was baffled by Scott’s decision to veto SB 1992, given that the legislation was designed to reduce the burden on community-based programs, such as Meals on Wheels and their volunteers.
According to a state Senate staff analysis of SB 1992, a law passed in 2010 had dramatically and negatively affected community-based organizations that offer services to older Floridians, including Meals on Wheels programs. The staff analysis says: “The Meals on Wheels program is dependent on volunteers, and the program is currently losing volunteers who cannot afford to pay for the cost of a Level 2 background screening.
If this trend continues, and the program continues to lose volunteers or is unable to recruit new volunteers, frail, homebound seniors will not receive needed meals and their nutrition will suffer.”
Senate staffers also noted that without SB 1992, churches and civic organizations might have problems providing holiday meal deliveries. The bill also would have helped avoid problems for senior centers, congregate meal sites and health and wellness programs dependent on volunteer labor. The report notes application of the Level 2 screening programs has negatively impacted caregivers, very often family members, of Home Care for the Elderly caregivers.
“No one wants older Floridians exposed to abuse. However, we believe the vetoed legislation struck a balance between protecting the clients of community service agencies and the capability of those agencies to provide needed services,” Johnson said.
Johnson urged Gov. Scott to include representatives of local agencies serving older Floridians in a working group that is re-examining the issue.
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