Statement of Principles

The California Association of Area Agencies on Aging (C4A) joins with its many partners in the consumer network to provide leadership in the development and restructuring of California’s long-term care system.

C4A’s primary goal for a long-term care system is maintaining individuals in their own homes in the least restrictive, most home-like environment. It is the goal that older persons and adults with disabilities will have access to a wide range of options for community-based long-term services, enabling them to live in their local community with independence and dignity. As such, C4A endorses the development of a long-term care system for the State of California, which is built upon the following principles:

A Service Delivery System That…

  • Is built on the concept of self-determination.

  • Responds to the needs of the person that includes mental, physical, social, and health needs.

  • Responds to the needs of individuals, their families, and caregivers.

  • Is responsive, effective, and efficient.

  • Recognizes that every person has the right to live with dignity and choice.

  • Is consumer directed in which policy decisions and service design reflect the voice of the consumer.

  • Is based upon an expansive local planning process, and that promotes local decision-making and flexibility in program implementation.

  • Includes a State financing structure that accommodates a funding methodology for implementing the concept of “money follows the person,” in support of a comprehensive and coordinated system of care.