Public social services: support for older and aging immigrants.

Assembly Member Carrillo, along with coauthor Assembly Member Celeste Rodriguez, advances a time-limited interagency effort to explore how California can better support older and aging immigrants, regardless of immigration status. The measure would establish a stakeholder process led by the California Department of Aging and form a panel that would include representatives from the State Department of Social Services and participation from clinics, researchers, housing advocates, trusted community partners, and nonprofit organizations.

Key mechanisms center on governance, funding, and deliverables. The department may modify an existing panel for purposes of this article and may contract with academic research entities to supplement the stakeholder process. The panel would consider affordability and guaranteed basic income, access to social services and housing, and access to health care services, including language access. The first panel meeting would occur within 120 days after funding becomes available. By July 1, 2028, the panel must issue findings and recommendations to the Department of Aging and the State Department of Social Services, and by December 31, 2028, the departments would jointly present a report to the Legislature. The article defines “older and aging” as individuals aged 60 and older and specifies that implementation is contingent on an appropriation, with in-kind contributions allowed to reduce costs. The measure would terminate on January 1, 2029, unless extended by subsequent legislation.

Contextual and policy implications are anchored in existing aging and social services frameworks, including coordination with the Governor’s Master Plan for Aging and the Mello-Granlund Older Californians Act. The proposal foregrounds cross-agency collaboration and broad stakeholder engagement to develop policy and program recommendations, without mandating specific programs or funding levels. If funded, the process would generate a joint report detailing findings and recommendations, which would inform future legislative action; absent new appropriation, the process would not proceed, and the sunset would end the article’s authority.