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Bill would add Alzheimer’s/dementia training requirement for family-member guardians; Alzheimer’s Association supports substitute
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Summary
Senate Bill 1536 (committee substitute) would require family-member guardians who care for persons aged 60 or older, or those partially/fully incapacitated by dementia, to complete a free one-hour dementia training within six months of appointment. The Alzheimer’s Association supported the committee substitute and the bill remains pending.
Senate Bill 1536, presented by Senator Creighton for Senator Zaffirini, would add dementia- and Alzheimer’s-specific education to required training for family-member guardians in specified cases. A committee substitute limits the requirement to guardians of persons age 60 or older or those the court finds partially or fully incapacitated due to dementia or related neurological conditions and reduces the training length from three hours to one hour.
Senator Creighton said family-member guardians often care for persons with cognitive impairment without dementia-specific training. Chelsea Rangel, senior advocacy manager for the Alzheimer’s Association, testified in support and said more than 450,000 Texans live with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia and over 1,000,000 caregivers provide support. Rangel said dementia-specific training would help guardians identify symptoms, improve communication techniques and connect caregivers with resources. The committee substitute also aims to avoid a fiscal note by narrowing the scope and cutting the training time; public testimony closed and the bill remains pending.
