Assembly Passes Legislation to Provide Better Oversight of Social Adult Day Care Programs

Speaker Carl Heastie and Committee on Aging Chair Ron Kim today announced the Assembly has passed legislation to enhance oversight of social adult day care programs for older adults by providing the director of the State Office for the Aging (SOFA) with greater oversight capabilities (A10142, Kim).

“It is our duty as lawmakers to protect our most vulnerable community members,” said Speaker Heastie. “This bill will provide families the peace of mind that their relative is attending a program in a healthy and safe environment while discouraging fraudulent activity.”

“This bill's passage was a collective effort from industry leaders, our partners in Albany who took this issue head-on, and older adults,” said Assemblymember Kim. “The oversight framework provided in the legislation will stabilize the market and root out bad operators who are exploiting the Medicaid reimbursement system for their own benefit. I will continue to work with my Senate partners to make sure we make the case that this bill should be turned into law. I want to thank everyone in the community for their input and Speaker Heastie for helping us move this through the Assembly chamber.”

This bill ensures social adult day care programs are providing quality services to older adults by requiring the director of SOFA to inspect each social adult day care program at least once every five years. If a program fails the inspection and does not rectify the reported deficiencies within 90 days, the program may be ineligible for public funding and would be prohibited from identifying or marketing themselves as a social adult day care program.