(a) The purpose of the Senior Companion Program shall be to provide personally meaningful volunteer community service opportunities to low-income older individuals for the benefit of adults who need assistance in their daily living. It is the purpose of this chapter to enable older individuals to provide care and support on a person-to-person basis to adults with special needs, such as the frail elderly, physically impaired adults and those adults who are mentally or neurologically impaired, in accordance with the National and Community Service Trust Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 12651, et seq.).

(b) For the purposes of this chapter “senior companion volunteer” means an older individual who is 60 years of age or older, has an insufficient income, as determined in accordance with Part 1208 of Title 45 of the Code of Federal Regulations, and provides at least four hours a day, five days a week, of senior companion services under this chapter.

(c) Requirements of direct service contractors:

(1) Be a city, county, city and county, or department of the state, or any suitable private, nonprofit organization, that demonstrates the ability to provide the specified services in a variety of settings, including, but not limited to, in residential, nonresidential, institutional and in-home settings.

(2) Demonstrate the ability to recruit, select, train, and assign staff and volunteers.

(3) Provide volunteer participants with the same benefits, transportation, stipends, and income exemptions as provided to the senior companion volunteers funded through the Corporation for National Service.

(4) Provide or arrange for meals, transportation, and supervision for volunteers.

(5) Provide benefits and meaningful volunteer service opportunities to low-income individuals 60 years of age or older.

(6) Serve adults who are frail and have functional impairments.

(7) Provide services to, but not limited to, all of the following:

(A) Older individuals who were either formerly active and are now bedfast, too frail, or too ill to be transported to special programs.

(B) Physically impaired older individuals who cannot leave their homes due to the extent of their disabilities.

(C) Individuals who, due to functional impairments, fear of a fast-moving society, and the possibility of bodily harm, are afraid to go out.

(D) Physically impaired individuals who are capable of interacting in activities for the physically impaired, but because of their limitations have been overprotected by their guardians.

(E) Physically or mentally impaired older individuals who have become so depressed that they have withdrawn from all social interaction and are confined as a result of psychological problems.

(F) Physically impaired individuals who are eager to be enrolled in day care programs, but have to stay on waiting lists until there is an opening.

(8) Maintain a systematic means of capturing and reporting all required community-based services program data.

(d) In addition to the opportunity to help other adults who have special needs, such as the frail elderly, physically impaired adults and those adults who are mentally or neurologically impaired, senior companion volunteers shall receive all of the following:

(1) Expenses for transportation to and from their homes and the place where they render their services or transportation in buses or in other transportation made available to them.

(2) One free meal during each day in which the senior companion renders services.

(3) Accident insurance, an annual physical examination, and a nontaxable hourly stipend.

(e) Senior companions funded under this chapter shall not be assigned to individuals already receiving in-home supportive services.

(f) This section shall be implemented only to the extent that funds are appropriated for its purposes in the annual Budget Act or in another statute.

(Amended by Stats. 2003, Ch. 225, Sec. 25. Effective August 11, 2003.)