BILL NUMBER: SB 945 INTRODUCED BILL TEXT INTRODUCED BY Senator Padilla FEBRUARY 23, 2007 An act to amend Section 12300.2 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to public social services. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 945, as introduced, Padilla. In-home supportive services: notices of action. Existing law provides for the county-administered In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program, under which qualified aged, blind, and disabled persons are provided with services in order to permit them to remain in their own homes and avoid institutionalization. Existing law permits services to be provided under the IHSS program either through the employment of individual providers, a contract between the county and an entity for the provision of services, the creation by the county of a public authority, or a contract between the county and a nonprofit consortium. In an in-home supportive services action concerning the amount of services to be provided, existing law requires the State Department of Social Services to send the recipient a notice of action, in addition to other related documentation. If the recipient is dissatisfied with the action in question, he or she, either in person or through an authorized representative, may request a hearing from the department. This bill would authorize an IHSS recipient, at any time, to authorize his or her provider to be an advocate and authorized representative for purposes of receiving notices of action and requesting hearings to challenge these actions. The bill would require a provider who has worked for a recipient for 6 months or longer, and who is not an authorized representative or advocate of the recipient, to be recognized as an expert witness regarding the recipient's individual needs during the hearing proceedings. Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 12300.2 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is amended to read: 12300.2. (a) In any in-home supportive services action concerning the amount of in-home supportive services to be provided, the department shall send a notice of the action to each recipient. The recipient shall also receive a description of each specific task authorized and the number of hours allotted. In the case of reassessment, the recipient shall receive an identification of hours for tasks increased or reduced and the difference from previous hours authorized. (b) The recipient may, at any time, authorize his or her in-home supportive services provider to be the recipient's advocate and authorized representative, for purposes of receiving copies of the notice of action pursuant to subdivision (a), and requesting a hearing under Section 10950. (c) In any proceedings conducted pursuant to Section 10950, any provider who has worked for a recipient for six months or longer, and who is not an advocate and authorized representative pursuant to subdivision (b), shall be recognized as an expert witness regarding the recipient's individual needs.