The Legislature finds and declares that: the office of the Legislative Analyst and others have pointed out that California’s systems of service delivery in a number of areas are dysfunctional, due to the fragmentation of responsibility and funding for interrelated services. It is both more efficient and more humane to restructure long-term care services so that duplicative and confusing eligibility criteria, assessments, intake forms, and service limitations will not inhibit consumer satisfaction, impede improvements in consumer health status, and result in the ineffective use of resources. It is in the interest of those in need of long-term care services, and the state as a whole, to develop a longterm care system that provides dignity and maximum independence for the consumer, creates home and community based alternatives to unnecessary out-of-home placement, and is cost effective.

It is the intent of the Legislature to establish the Long-Term Care Integration Pilot Program that will integrate the financing and administration of long-term care services in up to five pilot project sites in the state. Contingent upon a state approved administrative action plan, at least one site shall be in a rural or underserved part of the state. It is further the intent of the Legislature to support, in each pilot project site, the development of a model integrated service delivery system that meets the needs of all beneficiaries, both those who live in their own homes and those who are in out-of-home placements, in a humane, appropriate, and cost-effective manner.