BILL NUMBER: SB 930 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Senator Evans
(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Yamada)
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Beall)
FEBRUARY 18, 2011
An act to amend Section 12301.25 of, and to repeal Sections
12305.73 and 12305.85 of, the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating
to public social services.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 930, as introduced, Evans. In-home supportive services:
enrollment and fingerprinting requirements.
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 authorizes 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.
Existing law provides for the Medi-Cal program, administered by
the State Department of Health Care Services, under which health care
services are provided to qualified low-income persons. Under
existing law, IHSS recipients who are eligible for the Medi-Cal
program, are provided with personal care option services, as defined,
in lieu of receiving these services under the IHSS program.
Under existing law, the State Department of Social Services, in
consultation with the county welfare departments, is required to
develop protocols and procedures for obtaining fingerprint images of
all individuals who are being assessed or reassessed to receive
supportive services, as specified. Existing law also requires the
standardized time provider timesheet used to track the work performed
by providers of in-home supportive services to contain specified
information, including, effective July 1, 2011, designated spaces for
the index fingerprints of the provider and recipient.
This bill would delete the requirements pertaining to obtaining
fingerprint images of IHSS recipients, and the requirement that the
provider timesheet include spaces for provider and recipient
fingerprints.
Existing law requires an IHSS provider enrollment form to be
completed using the provider's physical residence address, and
prohibits the use of a post office box address. Existing law also
prohibits a county from mailing a provider's paycheck to a post
office box address, unless the county approves a provider request to
do so, as specified.
This bill would delete the requirements and prohibitions relating
to the use of a post office box address by an IHSS provider.
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 12301.25 of the Welfare and Institutions Code
is amended to read:
12301.25. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the
standardized provider timesheet used to track the work performed by
providers of services under this article shall contain both of the
following:
(1) A certification to be signed by the provider and recipient,
verifying that the information provided in the timesheet is true and
correct.
(2) A statement that the provider or recipient may be subject to
civil penalties if the information provided is found not to be true
and correct.
(b) A person who is convicted of fraud, as defined in subdivision
(a) of Section 12305.8, resulting from intentional deception or
misrepresentation in the provision of timesheet information under
this section shall, in addition to any criminal penalties imposed, be
subject to a civil penalty of at least five hundred dollars ($500),
but not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000), for each violation.
(c) Effective July 1, 2011, the standardized provider timesheet
shall also contain designated spaces for the index fingerprint of the
provider and the recipient. The provider and the recipient shall
place their respective index fingerprint in the designated location
on the timesheet in order for the timesheet to be eligible for
payment. An individual who is a minor or who is physically unable to
provide an index fingerprint due to amputation or other physical
limitations shall be exempt from the requirement to provide an index
fingerprint under this section, and documentation of this exemption
shall be maintained in the recipient or provider file, as applicable.
SEC. 2. Section 12305.73 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
repealed.
12305.73. (a) The department, in consultation with the county
welfare departments, shall develop protocols and procedures for
obtaining fingerprint images of all individuals who are being
assessed or reassessed to receive supportive services under this
chapter.
(b) (1) For any recipient whose initial client assessment occurs
on or after April 1, 2010, he or she shall be fingerprinted at the
same time of initial assessment by a social worker, in the recipient'
s home, as specified in the protocols and procedures developed by
this section.
(2) For any recipient already receiving in-home supportive
services on April 1, 2010, during the recipient's next reassessment,
a social worker shall obtain fingerprint images for that recipient,
in the recipient's home, pursuant to this section.
(c) Fingerprint imaging information obtained from a recipient
pursuant to this section shall remain confidential, and shall only be
used for identification purposes directly connected with the
provision of supportive services to that recipient and program
integrity.
(d) An individual who is a minor or who is physically unable to
provide fingerprints due to amputation or other physical limitations
shall be exempt from any requirement to provide fingerprints under
this section.
(e) Upon completion of the development of protocols and procedures
pursuant to subdivision (a), the department shall be authorized to
take the necessary steps to implement this section by April 1, 2010.
SEC. 3. Section 12305.85 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
repealed.
12305.85. (a) A provider enrollment form shall be completed using
the provider's physical residential address, and shall not be
completed using a post office box address.
(b) A paycheck for a provider shall not be mailed to a post office
box unless the county approves a written or oral request from the
provider, which shall include an explanation of the circumstances
that make the use of a post office box appropriate or necessary. The
county shall document an oral request received pursuant to this
subdivision the provider's request and the county's approval or
disapproval shall be retained in the provider's file.