SACRAMENTO – Four measures authored by Assemblymember Mariko Yamada (D-Davis) will take effect on Jan. 1, 2014.

The bills are:

AB 557 –This bill revises requirements for quarterly financial statements provided to members of California’s six veterans homes to make the information provided in these statements consistent with existing state law. In addition, this bill would require that quarterly statements sent to veterans as well as notice postings inside Veterans Homes concerning quarterly statements be printed in 14-point font or larger.

AB 602 – This law requires employees at Developmental Centers and State Hospitals to report serious assault and abuse incidents directly to outside law enforcement agencies within two hours. Prior to this legislation, reports were only made internally within 2 days and reporting to outside law enforcement was not mandatory. Local law enforcement will also participate in specialized training for conducting investigations involving the residents of these facilities.

AB 776 – This law will ensure the involvement of Area Agencies on Aging (AAA) and Independent Living Centers (ILC) as the Department of Health Care Services begins the process of integrating medical and long-term care services for “dual-eligible” Californians under the terms of the Coordinated Care Initiative (CCI).

AB 1006 – This bill will help reformed juvenile offenders start adulthood with a clean slate by standardizing the process for informing juvenile offenders of their right to seal their records. Courts and probation officers would be required to provide this information when the youth has fulfilled the requirements of the court or probation.

Assemblymember Yamada represents the 4th District which includes all or portions of Colusa, Lake, Napa, Solano, Sonoma and Yolo counties. She is the chair of the Committee on Aging and Long-Term Care.

LUCERNE, Calif. – A caregiver support group for families dealing with memory loss or other cognitive impairments will meet on Thursday, Dec. 19.

The group meets at the First Lutheran Church, 3863 Country Club Drive across from the Lucerne Alpine Senior Center, from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Social worker Jenny Johnson is the facilitator.

The group is sponsored by Redwood Caregiver Resource Center (1-800-834-1636) and the Social Day Programs in Lake County.

For more information call Jenny Johnson at 707-350-3030 or Caroline Denny at 707-263-9481.

Respite is provided by the centers at no charge.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Sunrise Special Services Foundation Inc., a nonprofit health and social services agency, is sponsoring two workshops for organizations or individuals interested in learning and developing grant research and proposal writing skills.

Instructor Linda Mundel has conducted training programs nationally for organizations such as the Centers for Disease Control, The Grantsmanship Center, California Department on Aging, Navajo Nation Health Foundation, National Institute on Drug Abuse and the USC School of Education among
others.

The workshops will be interactive as participants learn the key elements of successful proposal writing with a focus on researching public and private funding sources, communication with funders and how to prepare compelling applications.

Participants also will have an opportunity to write a short component of a grant application.

Each participant should be familiar with the mission, purpose of their organization, history, sources of support, staffing pattern, target population, board structure and have a general idea of the current needs of their organization.

The overall purpose of these workshops is to help increase the internal capacity of local nonprofits, government agencies, schools and tribal governments to identify and secure alternative sources of support.

The first workshop will be held at the community room, next to the Middletown Library, at 21267 Calistoga Road on Thursday, Jan. 9, and Friday, Jan. 10.

A second workshop will be held in the community room of Umpqua Bank, 805 11th St. in Lakeport on Thursday, Jan. 23, and Friday, Jan. 24.

Classes begin promptly at 9 a.m. and end at 4 p.m. The workshop registration fee is $95. Indicate which workshop you prefer. Each workshop is limited to 25 participants.

Mail registration to Sunrise Special Services Foundation, Inc., P.O. Box 479, Upper Lake, CA 95485.

For further information, contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call Jerry Mundel at 707-350-1335.

MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – The Middletown United Community Methodist Church will host a free Christmas dinner for the community on Christmas Day, Wednesday, Dec. 25.

The dinner will be held from noon to 3 p.m. at the church, with meals also to be delivered to those who can't leave their homes.

The church currently is seeking volunteers and donations.

Middletown Community United Methodist Church is located at 15833 Armstrong St., telephone 707-987-3379.

Visit the church online at http://www.middletownmethodist.org/ .

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – On Tuesday, Dec. 17, interested persons are invited to attend the Konocti Senior Support weekly meeting and training.

The meeting is for senior peer counselors and those interested in learning about the program and considering the training to become a peer counselor volunteer.

It will be held at 10 a.m. at 14310 Memory Lane, Clearlake, off of Olympic Drive in the building on the left side of church.

If you have questions, please contact the program director, Barbara Nuckols, MFT at 650-644-6167 or Konocti Senior Support offices at 707-995-1417.

LUCERNE, Calif. – The Northshore Fire Candy Cane Parade will take place in Lucerne on Friday, Dec. 20.

The parade will begin at 6 p.m. at First Avenue and continuing through all the Avenues.

Santa will be featured.

The event is subject to rain cancellation.