CDCAN
CALIFORNIA DISABILITY COMMUNITY ACTION NETWORK
CAPITOL NEWS REPORT #77-2005  Sep 27, 2005 Tue
Connecting people with disabilities & seniors to rights and unified action
1225 8th Street Suite 480 - Sacramento, CA 95814  916/446-0013  Fax: 916/446-0026
Marty Omoto - director  email: martyomoto@rcip.com    website: www.cdcan.us
 
In-Home Supportive Services
* IHSS STAKEHOLDER MEETING BY SCHWARZENEGGER ADMINISTRATION
* UPDATE ON IHSS CHANGES DUE TO "QUALITY ASSURANCE" PROGRAM
* SB 13 IHSS RECIPIENT & WORKER PERSONAL INFO SIGNED BY GOVERNOR

SACRAMENTO  -  A statewide meeting by the Schwarzenegger Administration on In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) is scheduled for Wednesday morning (September 28)  beginning at 10:00 AM at the Secretary of State Office Building main auditorium in Sacramento to provide an update to interested persons and organizations on changes proposed as a result of implementation of the IHSS "quality assurance" program.  People unable to attend can call in using a toll-free number (see below). 

09/28/05 (Wed) IHSS Quality Assurance Statewide Stakeholder Meeting
10:00 AM - 12:30 PM
Where:  Secretary of State Office Building - Main Auditorium
1500 11th Street, Sacramento, CA 95814  [corner of 11th and O Streets at the light rail station]
What Will Be Discussed:  Meeting to provide Stakeholders with an update regarding the In Home Supportive Services Quality Assurance Initiative including updates from each of the workgroups: Social Worker Training Workgroup, Forms Workgroup, State/County Operations Workgroup (meeting 9/21), Regulations Workgroup (meeting 9/22), Fraud Workgroup and the Hourly Task Guidelines Workgroup (meeting 9/23)
Toll Free Line: A toll free call in line is available for those unable to attend this meeting.  The toll free number is 1-888-603-6970; the pass code is 18545, Leader:  Brian Koepp.
RSVP (for toll free line OR attending meeting): By September 26, (Mon) to Andrea Allgood at (916) 229-3494.  Reasonable accommodation due to a disability to attend this meeting or if meeting materials are needed in an alternative format including Braille, large print, computer disk or tape cassette, contact Andrea Allgood at (916) 229 3494 by September 19, 2005.
AGENDA
1. Introductions
2. Workgroup Updates
* Social Worker Training Workgroup
* Forms Workgroup
* State/County Operations Workgroup
* Regulations Workgroup
* Fraud Workgroup
* Hourly Task Guidelines Workgroup
3. Questions and Answers Regarding Workgroup Progress
4.  Closing Remarks


Earlier last week and during the past several months,  workgroups consisting of State agency staff, county government staff, advocates for people with disabilities and seniors, representatives of IHSS workers and unions, representatives of IHSS public authorities, met to work on specific subjects dealing with implementation of the IHSS Quality Assurance program.  Last week workgroups on IHSS regulations, IHSS county and state procedures, and IHSS hourly task guidelines met.  The meeting on September 28 will provide an update on the work of those workgroups.

The statewide meeting is the fourth held in the past year and how changes are implemented under the IHSS Quality Assurance program that will have major impact on nearly 375,000 children and adults with developmental and other disabilities and seniors who receive IHSS and the over 325,000 persons who provide supports and services as IHSS workers (also known as providers).  The program is administered by the Department of Social Services, under the California Health and Human Services Agency headed by Secretary Kim Belshe. 

Governor Approves SB 13 on IHSS Recipient/Worker Personal Information
Meanwhile as expected, the Governor approved SB 13 by Sen. Debra Bowen (D-Redondo Beach, 28th District) dealing with confidential personal information of IHSS recipients and workers and also other persons receiving services under the California Health and Human Services Agency (see below for details).  No other actions by the Governor on other major IHSS related bills were reported since 9/22. [See CDCAN Capitol News Report #75-2005 for a full report on those bills (no new actions on those bills, except SB 13, as of today]. The Governor has until October 9 to sign, veto or allow the bill to become law without his signature (a practice that almost never has happened in recent times)

IHSS Quality Assurance Passed As Part of 2004-2005 Budget
The IHSS Quality Assurance program was passed as part of the 2004-2005 State Budget and was  proposed by Gov. Schwarzenegger to control costs and to improve quality and services.  How IHSS Quality Assurance is structured and implemented - including regulations - will have major impact on California's compliance with the 1999 US Supreme Court Olmstead Decision. That historic decision, based on the federal  Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), required the states to take steps to avoid the unnecessary institutionalization of people with disabilities and seniors.  Many disability and senior advocates have strongly criticized the State's implementation to comply with the US Supreme Court decision.  State officials however counter that the State has moved forward on implementation and compliance and point to the the community-based transition plan for the closure of Agnews Developmental Center as one example. 

Advocates Raise Concerns on Implementation of IHSS Quality Assurance
The implementation of the IHSS Quality Assurance program has raised concerns among some advocates however that it will be implemented in a way that could result in IHSS recipients losing eligibility, or having services or supports reduced in some way.  Officials with the Department of Social Services - the state agency charged with overseeing the IHSS program, however deny that outcome and point to the participation of advocates and other stakeholders in structuring how IHSS Quality Assurance will be implemented. 

Still, some disability advocates are concerned , pointing to a similar proposal - called "Statewide Purchase of Services" made by Governors Davis and Schwarzenegger for community-based services and supports funded through the 21 non-profit regional centers for children and adults with developmental disabilities, that was soundly rejected by the Legislature 4 years in a row, including last Spring.  That proposal was meant to impose statewide standards for services and supports that both the Davis and Schwarzenegger Administrations said would control costs and impose quality assurances - though disability advocates argued that it would have the larger impact of reducing services and cutting funding. 

CDCAN SUMMARY OF IHSS BILLS MENTIONED IN THIS REPORT
Note: Impact to ADA/Olmstead Decision/Lanterman Act" refers to the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, the 1999 US Supreme Court Olmstead Decision that required states to take steps to avoid unnecessary institutionalization of persons with disabilities and seniors, and the California Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Services Act, signed in 1969 under Governor Ronald Reagan - considered the civil rights act for persons with developmental disabilities in California.  Those bills dealing with education will also list impact to "IDEA" - the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. See CDCAN Capitol News Report #74-2005, dated 09/12/05 for vote record reports on IHSS bills.

SB 13 - Personal Information - IHSS recipients/workers & Others
Author: Sen. Debra Bowen (D-Redondo Beach, 28th District)
What This Bill Does: Requires more oversight for state agencies who are authorized by existing state law, to release personal information, including confidential information of IHSS recipients and IHSS workers, to the University of California or a nonprofit educational institution conducting scientific research only if the research proposal has been reviewed and approved by the Committee for the Protection of Human Subjects (the state's Institutional Review Board) for the California Health and Human Services Agency. 
Most Current Action - 09/22/05: Approved by Governor. Filed with the Secretary of State,  Chapter 241, Statutes of 2005,
Next Steps: Takes effect January 1, 2006
Impact to ADA/Olmstead Decision/Lanterman Act: No direct impact - though privacy and confidentiality issues are critical for people with disabilities and seniors that, if violated, impact health and safety, especially of those who live independently in community-based settings.,
Impact to People with Disabilities/Seniors: The new law has major impact on the right to privacy and the protection of confidential information of hundreds of thousands of children and adults with developmental and other disabilities, seniors and others who receive services or supports not only from IHSS  but other services funded under the California Health and Human Services Agency. 
CDCAN Comment:  Sen. Bowen introduced SB 13 in response to an incident on August 2004 at UC Berkeley, in which a computer hacker was able to access personal information of over 1.3 million persons who either received IHSS services or provided services as an IHSS worker between the years 2001 and 2004 that was downloaded for a researcher.  The Department of Social Services provided the entire IHSS database to a researcher from Connecticut College, containing the names of IHSS recipients and workers, addresses, social security numbers, dates of birth, phone numbers of those 1.3 million persons.  According to Sen. Bowen, that researcher actually only needed a random sample of IHSS workers from only four counties - and not the entire state, who were were sent a letter asking if they participate in a survey - and that the Department of Social Services could have provided less information and taken more steps to protect confidentiality.  A letter was later sent out to all IHSS workers and recipients in early 2005 warning that someone broke into that database. It is not clear or known if any person was harmed as a result of the break-in, but SB 13, according to Bowen, is meant to put in place more oversight to provide better protection for people's confidential information.
       

URGENT! IMPORTANT: CONTRIBUTIONS NEEDED TO CONTINUE EFFORT CAN CONTRIBUTE VIA NON-PROFIT 501(c)3  see below
Contributions from people and organizations is very urgently needed to keep the advocacy efforts going for the next several months, as we work to establish non-profit status which we are working on. Your help is needed though to keep the effort going in 2005. Please make check or money order  to:  California Disability Community Action Network  (or abbreviate CDCAN) OR, if for tax deduction purposes, you can make the check out to TTSR (Training Toward Self Reliance), which is a 501C-3 non-profit organization, and indicate on check that contribution is for support for "CDCAN". Send contribution to CDCAN (see address below).  A method to contribute by credit card (through Paypal) is NOW set up on our website, at www.cdcan.us [new site address]  Send contributions to: California Disability Community Action Network (see below for mailing address)

* How To Receive CDCAN Capitol News Reports and Alerts
The California Disability Community Action Network is a non-partisan link to thousands of Californians with developmental and other disabilities, people with traumatic brain and other injures, seniors and their families, community organizations and providers, direct care and other workers, and other advocates. These action alerts and news reports is for all of them.   If you would like to get on this distribution (and conversely, get off of  it) please send an email with that  request to:  martyomoto@rcip.com OR sign up via the NEW CDCAN website at www.cdcan.us  Sharing information is part of our organizing effort. Please feel free to forward or copy  this (attribution is nice). We're all in this together!