Celebrating our State Public Policy Successes:

Recap of 2007 Advocacy Accomplishments

While the legislative session ended on a difficult note with our two sponsored bills being held in their final legislative committees due to end-of-session politics, there is even good which has come from that and there are milestones to celebrate. 

Public policy advocacy is integral to the Alzheimer’s Association achieving its mission of finding a cure and treatments and ensuring families have access to the services they need.  The Association cannot do this alone—we rely on our local volunteer advocates to help us increase and protect publicly funded research and programs.  Celebrate our 2008 victories on our path toward achieving our mission.

The year began with a special Senate hearing February 7 on Alzheimer’s: Public Health Crisis of the 21^st Century—Will California be prepared?  More than sixty families and staff jammed a Capitol hearing room to hear from witnesses about the impending crisis and policy areas that need addressing, including family caregiving, dementia capable community-based services, and more education for families and clinicians.  Keynote speaker Dr. Michael McCloud, Geriatrician and Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine at UC Davis, provided compelling testimony.  In answer to the question whether Alzheimer’s is this century’s public health crisis, he responded: “With a nod to pandemic flu, bioterrorism and drug-resistant TB, I don’t see any close contenders for the title.  This is not fear mongering.  This is arithmetic.”  Joy Walters, M.S.W., who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2005 at age 69, shared her story and talked about how rewarding her participation in clinical trials and other research projects has been. 

Following the hearing, Senator Alquist introduced SB 321, which requires California to develop a State Alzheimer’s Plan.  SB 321 passed unanimously out of the Senate and the Assembly Aging and Long Term Care Committee.  Local advocates were vigilant and convincing in communicating with their legislators about the urgent need for this bill.  Then unexpectedly, in the closing weeks of the session in August, SB 321 was held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee, caught up in a dispute between the Democratic leadership.  Undaunted, advocates have redoubled their efforts this fall to see this important proposal approved and funded.  A Letter to the Editor appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle on World Alzheimer’s Day, district meetings have been scheduled, petitions signed at memory walks, and mass call-ins were made to key legislators during November, Alzheimer’s Awareness Month.  All of this activity has kindled a renewed interest by Governor Schwarzenegger’s administration and the State Alzheimer’s Advisory Committee to move forward in development of a State Alzheimer’s Plan.

 The Council also sponsored legislation AB 317 (Berg), which targets strengthening the Alzheimer’s Day Care Resources Centers—the only community program intended to help families keep their loved ones in the middle and late stages of Alzheimer’s at home.  While AB 317 passed the Assembly and Senate Health Committee unanimously, it also fell victim to end of session politics and was held in the Senate Appropriations Committee.  In 2008 our advocacy efforts will be focused on securing this funding through the State budget.  Advocates voices will again be essential to our team effort to achieve even the modest funding needed in a very difficult budget year—California is facing a $10 billion budget deficit.

 On April 18^th more than 150 Alzheimer’s advocates traveled to the Capitol for our annual Sacramento Advocacy Day to turn up the heat on state lawmakers.  This was a 30% increase over last year’s attendance!  Participation by persons in the early stage of Alzheimer’s and family caregivers continues to increase and bring the face of Alzheimer’s to the forefront.  In the afternoon, the Senate Health Committee held a hearing on our sponsored bill SB 321 (Alquist), which calls on California to develop a State Alzheimer’s Plan.  The bill passed unanimously with advocates cheering!

Finally, planning has begun for a milestone in California’s Alzheimer’s public policy advocacy—for the first time in the twenty years of our state advocacy program, volunteer and chapter leadership from all five California Chapters, the Association’s state public policy council, and our National public policy office will come together to develop an action plan for California to build and sustain an Alzheimer’s movement.  Through the generosity of The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation, we received funding to make this Leadership Retreat possible in January 2008.  The time is right for California to dramatically increase our capability so that we have the capacity to champion the recommendations we expect will come from the Alzheimer’s State Plan and to achieve critical state policy changes on behalf of families living with Alzheimer’s. 

 Thank you to all our staff and volunteer advocates who participated in our advocacy activities this year.