BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó




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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                       AB 1797|
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                                   THIRD READING 


          Bill No:  AB 1797
          Author:   Lackey (R) and Weber (D), et al.
          Amended:  8/1/16 in Senate
          Vote:     21 

           SENATE HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE:  4-0, 6/14/16
           AYES:  McGuire, Hancock, Liu, Nguyen
           NO VOTE RECORDED:  Berryhill

           SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE:  Senate Rule 28.8

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR:  79-0, 4/21/16 (Consent) - See last page for  
            vote

           SUBJECT:   In-home supportive services:  application


          SOURCE:    Coalition of California Welfare Rights Organizations


          DIGEST:  This bill requires the county, upon receipt of an  
          application for in-home supportive services (IHSS), to provide  
          the applicant a confirmation number, as specified. 


          ANALYSIS:  

          Existing law:
          
          1)Establishes the IHSS program to provide defined supportive  
            services for aged, blind, or disabled persons who are unable  
            to perform the tasks themselves and who cannot safely remain  
            in their homes unless such services are provided. Those  
            supportive services include, but are not limited to, domestic  
            services, heavy cleaning, personal care services, and  








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            accompaniment during travel to health-related appointments or  
            to alternative resource sites, yard hazard abatement,  
            protective supervision, and paramedical services, as defined.  
            (WIC 12300 et seq.)
            
          2)Provides that a recipient who is authorized to receive IHSS  
            supportive services shall direct those authorized services,  
            and the authorized services shall be performed by a provider  
            or providers within a workweek and in a manner that complies  
            with the requirements, as specified. (WIC 12300.4)

          3)Establishes county authority to contract with a nonprofit  
            consortium or a public authority for the delivery of IHSS  
            supportive services.  Requires those nonprofit consortia and  
            public authorities to establish a registry in order to assist  
            IHSS recipients with hiring providers, and to investigate the  
            background and qualifications of potential providers, as  
            specified. (WIC 12301.6)

          4)Requires that the application for IHSS services shall contain  
            a notice to the recipient that his or her provider or  
            providers will be given written notice of the recipient's  
            authorized services and full number of services hours allotted  
            to the recipient. The application shall inform recipients of  
            the Medi-Cal toll-free telephone fraud hotline and Internet  
            Web site for reporting suspected fraud or abuse. (WIC  
            12301.15)

          This bill:
          
          1)Requires that, upon receipt of an application for IHSS  
            services, the county must provide the applicant a confirmation  
            number to serve as documentation that the application was  
            filed. 

          2)Permits the county to use the applicant's case number as the  
            required confirmation number.

          Background

          According to the author, many IHSS applications that are filed  
          telephonically have been getting lost in the system, and  








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          applicants are not told how to best track their applications.   
          The author states that AB 1797 provides that any person who  
          needs in-home services to avoid being placed in a nursing home  
          shall receive a confirmation number for the application when  
          applying by phone.  AB 1797 allows the counties to use the  
          currently issued case number as a confirmation number.  

          IHSS.  The IHSS program, which is administered by the California  
          Department of Social Services (CDSS) provides in-home services  
          for low-income aged, blind and disabled individuals who are  
          unable to perform the tasks themselves and who cannot safely  
          remain in their homes unless these services are provided.  IHSS  
          recipients need those services in order to avoid out-of-home  
          care. 

          IHSS services may include domestic and related services, like  
          housework, meal preparation, laundry and shopping; personal care  
          services; accompaniment to medical appointments; protective  
          supervision for the mentally-impaired recipients who may place  
          themselves at risk for injury; and hazard or accident and  
          paramedical services when directed by a physician. 

          Potential IHSS recipients must apply for IHSS services with the  
          county in which they reside.  Often, these applications are  
          initiated over the phone, but they can be completed in person at  
          a county IHSS office.  Either way, county workers assist with  
          completing the application and enter information directly into  
          the Case Management, Information and Payrolling System (CMIPS),  
          which tracks case information and processes payments for IHSS.   
          CMIPS generates a case number.  

          After the initial application is completed, a county social  
          worker conducts a home visit to determine the type of services  
          needed and the number of hours for each service. The county  
          considers medical condition, living arrangement, and any  
          resources that may already be available.  The applicant also  
          must submit a Health Care Certification Form, which is completed  
          by the applicant's doctor, and certifies the need for IHSS. This  
          form must be completed before services can be authorized.

          Once approved, the county notifies the IHSS recipient which  
          services have been approved, how much time is authorized for  








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          each service, and how many total monthly hours have been  
          approved.  IHSS recipients are responsible for hiring, firing,  
          directing and supervising their IHSS provider.  These  
          responsibilities include some administrative duties, such as  
          scheduling and signing timesheets.  However, the state handles  
          payroll via CMIPS.   

          Providers must complete an enrollment process, including  
          submitting fingerprints for a criminal background screening and  
          participating in an orientation prior to receiving payment for  
          services.  

          Approximately 464,000 Californians receive IHSS and about 99  
          percent of recipients receive IHSS as a Medicaid benefit. There  
          are currently about 433,400 IHSS providers in the state.   
          Approximately 69 percent are relatives and about 50 percent are  
          live-in providers.   

          Related/Prior Legislation

          AB 19 (Evans, Chapter 17, Statutes of 2009), a human services  
          budget trailer bill, included a requirement that applications  
          for IHSS shall provide written notice of the recipient's  
          authorized services and full number of service hours allotted to  
          the recipient, as specified. 


          FISCAL EFFECT:   Appropriation:    No          Fiscal  
          Com.:YesLocal:   Yes


          SUPPORT:   (Verified  8/2/16)


          Coalition of California Welfare Rights Organizations (source) 
          AARP
          Bet Tzedek Legal services
          California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform
          California Commission on Aging
          California Council of the Blind
          California In-Home Supportive Services Consumer Alliance
          Disability Rights California








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          Law Foundation of Silicon Valley
          Personal Assistance Services Council, the Los Angeles County  
          Public Authority
          Senior and Disability Action
          The Arc & United Cerebral Palsy California Collaboration
          UDW/AFSCME Local 3930


          OPPOSITION:   (Verified  8/2/16)


          None received


          ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT:     According to the sponsor, in order to  
          receive the IHSS services an elderly, disabled or blind person  
          must make an application for IHSS.  Just about every county  
          requires that the application be done telephonically.   
          Sometimes, an application gets lost in the system. This has been  
          a major issue for advocates representing IHSS recipients  
          throughout the state for several years.




          ASSEMBLY FLOOR:  79-0, 4/21/16
          AYES:  Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Arambula, Atkins, Baker,  
            Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke,  
            Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley,  
            Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth  
            Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto,  
            Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper,  
            Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim,  
            Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis,  
            Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte,  
            O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Quirk, Rodriguez, Salas,  
            Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner,  
            Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Rendon
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Ridley-Thomas

          Prepared by:Taryn Smith / HUMAN S. / (916) 651-1524
          8/3/16 18:54:23








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