095-2005_ San Luis Obispo County Considers Abolishing IHSS Public Authority

CDCAN
CALIFORNIA DISABILITY COMMUNITY ACTION NETWORK
DISABILITY RIGHTS NEWS REPORT
#095-2005 December 21, 2005 - Wednesday afternoon
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
* SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY MAY ABOLISH IHSS PUBLIC AUTHORITY
* CONSIDERS PLAN TO TRANSFER DUTIES TO COUNTY DEPARTMENT
* ADVOCATES RAISE CONCERNS ON COUNTY PROPOSAL
* IMPACT TO COUNTY'S IHSS RECIPIENTS & WORKERS UNKNOWN
* CONFUSION ON WHETHER COUNTY INTENDS TO PROCEED

SACRAMENTO - The San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors is considering a proposal that would abolish the independent agency (Public Authority) that helps to oversee the county's In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program and transfer all those functions to the county. In what could be a preliminary step toward that goal, the Board of Supervisors approved on December 6, a budget allocation for the San Luis Obispo County IHSS Public Authority that provided funding only through February 28, 2006. The action comes after weeks of reports of growing confusion, friction and turmoil between the IHSS Public Authority and the county Department of Social Services, which some local and state disability advocates say could have a major impact to people with disabilities and seniors and their families who receive IHSS services, and to the IHSS workers.

Some Indications County Might Be Backing Off
Late last week there were some unofficial indications that the county Department of Social Services was backing off with Ann Travers, manager of the county Department of Social Services Adult Services Division reportedly telling some members of the IHSS Public Authority that the proposal was no longer being pushed forward. However IHSS Public Authority Governing Board Chair Gary Ray Rogers in a letter dated last Friday (December 16) to Lee Collins, director of the county Department of Social Services, requested that the department end the confusion and officially clarify what they intend to do next. There has been no reported response yet from the county Department of Social Services, and that department also declined to respond to repeated requests for information from CDCAN and other disability rights advocates.

No Final Action By the Board of Supervisors Yet On the Issue
While the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors has taken no other action regarding this issue, the director of the San Luis Obispo County Department of Social Services Director Lee Collins in a presentation to the IHSS Public Authority on September 14 said then that the proposal would move forward saying that the Public Authority was "inefficient with duplication" and not "cost effective". Members of the IHSS Public Authority, including Gary Ray Rogers, chair of the governing board, strongly disputed those claims and criticized the way in which the proposal was made. Other disability advocates have since since claimed that those most impacted by the proposal - IHSS recipients, workers and those who serve on the IHSS Public Authority or work as staffers were left out of the process and not involved in reviewing the proposal before final decisions are made.
Lee and the County of San Luis Obispo came under fire from some advocates for the way he presented his proposal in what they say was and continues to be a process that is secretive, confusing and unfair. The county Department of Social Services declined to respond to repeated requests by CDCAN for their reaction and comments on this issue. CDCAN reviewed all the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors agendas and minutes from August through December 2005 and found only one reference to IHSS, relating to the December 6 action for funding for the IHSS Public Authority through February 28, 2006.
The official reaction of the Board of Supervisors is not known, though reportedly in meetings with members of the IHSS Public Authority in October and November, several Supervisors indicated they were not happy with how the county Department of Social Services moved forward on the proposal or was handling the issue.

The County Department of Social Services Proposal
The proposal, as presented in September by the Gary Lee, director of the San Luis Obispo County Department of Social Services include these elements:
* San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors would become the employer of record, instead of the current independent IHSS Public Authority, that Lee said would enable the Board of Supervisors to negotiate directly with the union representing the county's IHSS workers
* The existing IHSS Public Authority governing board would become an Advisory Board on IHSS issues to the Board of Supervisors, but would have no oversight functions and would no longer be the employer of record and would have no full-time support staff.
* The Department of Social Services, in overseeing the oversight functions of the current IHSS Public Authority, for the Board of Supervisors, would increase the number of their county employed staff by 5 (the number that currently staffs the independent Public Authority The San Luis Obispo County IHSS Public Authority staff are not county employees. If the proposal is approved by the Board of Supervisors, the current IHSS Public Authority staff could apply for the county positions - but they would have to compete with county employees for those positions.
* As presented in September, the changes, if approved by the Board of Supervisors, would have gone into effect January 1, 2006. That has subsequently been changed to February 28, 2006, and the budget for the current IHSS Public Authority, approved by the Board of Supervisors on December 6, 2005 only provides funding through that date.

Impact to People With Disabilities - Advocates Raise Major Concerns
* The impact of the proposal to people with disabilities and low income seniors in San Luis Obispo County who receive In-Home services is not clear at this point. While such a change in theory does not directly impact the IHSS recipients or workers if a smooth transition plan is put in place, advocates say the confusion and conflicting information on the proposal, and the lack of any transition plan that the public can review and comment is a bad sign. It is known that many non-county agencies that provide other services and supports to IHSS recipients are not even aware that any change was being considered - and such changes would impact them in some way.
* Some advocates say that the the county Department of Social Services - the county agency responsible for overall IHSS budget, assessments for eligibility for IHSS services, and payment to IHSS workers, has not taken any steps to inform or involve the public, especially the people with disabilities and seniors and their families who receive IHSS services, IHSS workers - which they say is shutting out those most impacted before any action is taken. Advocates have raised some concerns about whether this is a trend that may impact other counties or programs and will closely monitor what is happening there now.
* The IHSS Public Authority meanwhile, in the confusion, is faced with a staff in turmoil because of the confusion and uncertainty of what the county intends to do. Some staff - including the bi-lingual staff who work with non-English speaking IHSS recipients and workers, have left to find other jobs - while others are looking.
* It is not clear from the county of Department of Social Services how the IHSS worker registry would continue to function and how a transition - if the proposal goes forward - would work to ensure that it can respond to people with disabilities and seniors needing temporary or permanent IHSS workers. The Department of Social Services in San Luis Obispo has declined to respond to requests from advocates, including CDCAN for further information and comment on this.
* It is not certain how the existing union contract between the county and IHSS workers is impacted - or how future talks on a new contract in 2006 will be effected. The Department of Social Services in San Luis Obispo has declined to respond to requests from advocates, including CDCAN for further information and comment on this.
* The issue regarding transition is one that crosses issue areas and the borders of San Luis Obispo County. The State has been heavily criticized by advocates for making changes in various programs critical to the needs of persons with disabilities and seniors when, they say, the State was clearly not ready to make such changes. Some disability rights advocates say lack of a good transition plan is a sure sign that people most impacted - people with disabilities, families, workers and others - were not included or listened to in the review or development of a transition plan. They point to the unsuccessful effort last year by the Schwarzenegger Administration to move over 500,000 people with disabilities and seniors on Medi-Cal, into Medi-Cal managed health care plans; the federal Medicare Part D Drug Prescription Plan; the California High School Exit Exam impact on special education students; the change by the Department of Education on how it will provide special education due process and mediation services (see CDCAN DIsability Rights News Report #94-2005 for report on lawsuit filed) as examples of the failure of the State and other government entities in having a transition or being "ready" to implement the new changes in program. The State largely disputes those allegations.

Background of the IHSS Public Authorities
* Existing state law created the IHSS program to provide in home supports and other personal services to those eligible low income children and adults with developmental and other disabilities, the blind and seniors.
* California state law passed in 1992, requires every county to establish an "employer of record" for its' IHSS workers (providers), that gave workers the opportunity to band together to negotiate with their county for pay and benefits, and also whether or not they wish to join a union. The "employer of record" also was had responsibilities to provide some levels of training, and background checks for certain IHSS workers.
* Counties are allowed by state law to choose from one of three models to create its "employer of record" and oversee its IHSS program: the county can become the "employer of record" - something which the San Luis Obispo County proposal is attempting to do; or the county can contract with a non-profit group; or the county can, through an ordinance or local law, establish a Public Authority - the current model used in San Luis Obispo County and in most of the counties in California. Only about 5 small counties currently are acting as the "employer of record" for their county IHSS workers.
* State law requires that if a county chooses to establish a public authority, as they did in San Luis Obispo County, the county ordinance creating it must specify the membership of the governing body of the public authority, the qualifications for individual members, the manner of appointment, selection, or removal of members, how long they shall serve, and other matters as the board of supervisors deems necessary for the operation of the public authority.
* Public Authorities, besides designated as the county "employer of record" for their IHSS workers, also are required to create and maintain a registry or pool of IHSS workers that IHSS recipients can call upon for either temporary or permanent work. Those IHSS workers on a registry are required to go through background checks, which the Public Authority is responsible for. In addition, public authorities are also required to provide some level of training for IHSS workers. Recent legislation and also the IHSS Quality Assurance Initiative now being implemented, is also addressing the issue of statewide uniform training
* IHSS recipients - persons with developmental or other disabilities, including traumatic brain injuries, and seniors, under any model, retain the right to hire, fire and supervise their IHSS workers.

Next Steps
* In theory, the IHSS Public Authority in San Luis Obispo County can continue - at least until and if the Board of Supervisors there takes any further action. The Public Authority there is authorized, by a contract with the county approved on December 6, 2005, to continue to receive funding from the county at least through February 28, 2006.
* The county Board of Supervisors will need to take some action on before February 28, 2006 to authorize funding for the IHSS Public Authority beyond that date. It is not clear what happens after that date if the Board of Supervisors fails to take any action, though presumably the IHSS Public Authority staff and other expenses would not be paid until some action was taken. IHSS workers would continue to be paid however.
* If the county Board of Supervisors decides to abolish the IHSS Public Authority and designate itself as the "employer of record", state law requires that it do so by a county ordinance. To date, no such action has been taken.
* The state Legislature is in not in session and will not return to Sacramento until January 4. If the issue in San Luis Obispo is not resolved by then, it is possible that legislators representing the area - Assemblymember Sam Blakeslee (R-San Luis Obispo) or state Sen. Abel Maldonado (R-Santa Maria) could get involved or other legislators could introduce legislation addressing the issue in some way.
* Advocates in San Luis Obispo and other nearby communities, including people with developmental disabilities who are members of the San Luis Obispo People First group, were reportedly astonished to hear about the proposal and plan to take action in the coming weeks.