BILL NUMBER: ACR 151 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 12, 2010
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Ma
( Principal coauthors:
Assembly Members Cook, Nestande, and
Yamada )
( Coauthor: Assembly Member
Jones )
APRIL 7, 2010
Relative to In-Home Supportive Services
in-home supportive services .
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
ACR 151, as amended, Ma. In-Home Supportive Services.
In-home supportive services.
This measure would declare the intent of the Legislature to ensure
the preservation of home care services to the elderly,
blind, and disabled and personal care services to
seniors and people with disabilities through the In-Home
Supportive Services program.
Fiscal committee: no.
WHEREAS, For over a quarter century California has provided
home care and personal assistance services to seniors and people with
disabilities through a unique, consumer-directed, fiscally sound
program called the In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program; and
WHEREAS, The IHSS program was signed into law by Governor
Ronald Reagan in 1973 to avoid unnecessary institutionalization and
help IHSS program consumers to live independently in the community;
and
WHEREAS, The IHSS program has become nationally recognized as
the preferred way to provide assistance to people who need long-term
care, and is now being replicated in other states; and
WHEREAS, The IHSS program is a prime example of the
home-based, long-term care solutions that were the focus of President
George W. Bush's "New Freedom Initiative" in 2001; and
WHEREAS, According to the State of California IHSS Management
Statistics Summary, dated February 2010, the IHSS program serves
nearly 450,000 California residents who qualify for services because
of functional limitations and financial need; and
WHEREAS, The average per capita cost of services under the
IHSS program is one-fifth of the average per capita cost to taxpayers
of nursing homes; and
WHEREAS, The IHSS program is acknowledged as the reason
California has a relatively low number of people in nursing homes and
other institutions; and
WHEREAS, The IHSS program is key to fulfilling the civil
rights of Californians with disabilities to live in the most
integrated settings, as affirmed by the 1990 Americans with
Disabilities Act and the 1999 United States Supreme Court Olmstead
decision; and
WHEREAS, Nearly 370,000 IHSS providers deliver the home care
services and support to make it possible for California seniors and
people with disabilities to remain living independently in their
homes; and
WHEREAS, Numerous national organizations join together
annually to declare the month of November as National Home Care
Month, to recognize, honor, and support the valuable contributions of
home care and personal assistance workers; and
WHEREAS, The work of California's IHSS providers is essential
to the independence of seniors and persons with disabilities in
California and thus deserves the respect and appreciation of all
Californians; now, therefore, be it
Resolved, By the Assembly of the State of California, the
Senate thereof concurring, That the Legislature of the State of
California hereby declares its intent to ensure the preservation of
home care and personal assistance services to seniors and people with
disabilities through the In-Home Supportive Services program; and be
it further
Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit
copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.
WHEREAS, For over a quarter century California has provided home
care services to qualifying residents through a unique, fiscally
sound alternative to institutional care; and
WHEREAS, California's home care program, In-Home Supportive
Services (IHSS), was signed into law by Governor Ronald Reagan in
1973 to provide care to elderly, blind, and disabled Californians, to
avoid their premature institutionalization and allow consumers to
live independently in the community at a lower cost than
institutional care; and
WHEREAS, IHSS is recognized nationally as the preferred way to
provide assistance to people who need long-term care, and is now
being replicated in other states; and
WHEREAS, IHSS has been nationally praised as a model state program
for helping elderly blind, and disabled persons, live independently,
and is a prime example of the home-based, long-term care solutions
that were the focus of President George W. Bush's "New Freedom
Initiative" in 2001; and
WHEREAS, According to the State of California IHSS Management
Statistics Summary, dated February 2010, IHSS serves nearly 460,000
aging, disabled, and blind California residents at one-fifth of the
cost to taxpayers as care provided in nursing homes; and
WHEREAS, Nearly 375,000 IHSS caregivers provide the home care
services and support to make it possible for these aging, disabled,
and blind residents to remain living independently in their homes;
and
WHEREAS, Numerous national organizations join together annually to
declare the month of November as National Home Care Month, to
recognize, honor, and support the valuable contributions of home care
workers; and
WHEREAS, Providing services and support to the aging, disabled,
and blind to remain living in their homes is a humane, dignified, and
compassionate alternative to hospitalization or other institutional
placement; and
WHEREAS, The work of California's IHSS caregivers is both
physically demanding and emotionally challenging, as it requires
great sensitivity, honesty, patience, trust, commitment, dedication,
and compassion; and
WHEREAS, California's IHSS program and its caregivers promote
independence, dignity, and quality of life for California's disabled
and elderly residents; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate
thereof concurring, That the Legislature of the State of California
hereby declares its intent to ensure the preservation of home care
services to the elderly, blind, and disabled through the In-Home
Supportive Services program; and be it further
Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of
this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.