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Cal-EESI: Policy Priorities


Closing the Gap Between Elders' Income and Expenses

“What gets measured, gets done!”    The first step in helping older adults reach economic stability is to accurately understand who is not making ends meet in our state.  Our policy priorities are to integrate the Elder Index into state and local aging plans and services, so that older adults who are struggling to make ends meet no longer fall through the cracks of our support systems.  Our strategy is to work with policymakers, foundations, and non-profit organizations to adopt the Elder Index.  Click here to see how the Elder Index is being used by stakeholders across California.

Below is a list of our recent state and local bills:

  1. AB 138 (Elder Economic Planning Act) was signed into law in 2011 and requires state and local aging agencies to use the Elder Index to craft more effective programs and policies for California's aging population. AB 138 was preceded by AB 324 and AB 2114 (Beall, Liu). AB 324 passed the California State Legislature in 2009 but was vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger; it was reintroduced in 2010 as AB 2114 and passed the State Assembly.
     
  2. AJR 6  (Beall):  Urges Congress and the President to modernize the Federal Poverty Guidelines to reflect what it actually costs to survive in each state and county of the United States.  AJR 6 was chaptered in 2009.
     
  3. San Francisco Board of Supervisors Ordinance 88-09:  Establishes a pilot program to use the Elder Index for eligibility in a home and community-based long term care program.  Ordinance 88-09 was chaptered in 2009.
     
  4. San Diego County Board of Supervisors included the Elder Index in their Legislative Policy Guidelines, demonstrating their support of any state or federal legislation involving the Elder Index.
     
  5. Sonoma County Board of Supervisors passed a resolution in support of AB 324 and endorsed the Elder Index instead of the Federal Poverty Guidelines as a better means to measure economic need.

 

Get Involved

To join our growing coalition and listserv, click here.

To sign our petition in support of the California Elder Index, . 

For questions to ask your legislators or candidates running for office, click here.  

For more information on Cal-EESI and the Elder Index, contact Susie Smith or Jenny Chung.

Policy Papers

Developed by UCLA Center for Health Policy Research and the Insight Center for Community Economic Development , “Older Adults Need Twice the Federal Poverty Level to Make Ends Meet in California” provides a summary of the Elder Index for each county and spotlights how the tool is being used by leaders across California to improve the lives of older adults.

“Elders Living on the Edge: The Impact of California Support Programs When Income Falls Short in Retirement” offers an overview of housing, nutrition, health care, and income policies that help California's elders achieve basic economic security. It was written by Wider Opportunities for Women in collaboration with the Insight Center for Community Economic Development.

“Half A Million Older Californians Living Alone Unable to Make Ends Meet” documents, for the first time, the number and demographic characteristics of elders trying to survive on incomes below the Elder Economic Security Standard Index. Written by UCLA Center for Health Policy Research and the Insight Center for Community Economic Development, the brief also addresses the policy implications of this growing crisis.

Policy Presentations

Presented at a California state legislative hearing to unveil the California Elder Economic Security Initiative (Cal-EESI), “The Myth of the Golden Years: Introducing an Alternative to the Flawed Federal Poverty Line” explains how the Federal Poverty Guidelines were developed, introduces the Elder Index, and details our state and national policy agenda. Click here to download the text of Cal-EESI Director Susan E. Smith’s press statement releasing the Elder Index and launching the Initiative.