BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1703
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 1703 (Hall)
As Amended May 23, 2014
Majority vote
HUMAN SERVICES 6-0 APPROPRIATIONS 14-0
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|Ayes:|Stone, Maienschein, |Ayes:|Gatto, Bigelow, |
| |Ammiano, | |Bocanegra, Bradford, Ian |
| |Ian Calderon, Garcia, | |Calderon, Campos, Eggman, |
| |Hall | |Gomez, Holden, Linder, |
| | | |Pan, Quirk, |
| | | |Ridley-Thomas, Weber |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Adds to the list of authorized In-Home Supportive
Services (IHSS) assistance in reading and completing financial
and other documents for a blind or visually impaired IHSS
recipient.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee:
1)$900,000 in additional wages to IHSS providers. (Based on 50%
of the approximately 10,000 visually impaired or blind
individuals receiving IHSS services being authorized for this
service and receiving about 1.5 hours per month in reading
assistance.)
2)Unknown costs to provide reading services to IHSS recipients
who have "another disability that affects his or her ability
to read."
3)Unknown, but likely minor, costs to counties for social
workers to add eligibility determination for reading services
to the IHSS in-home assessment.
COMMENTS :
Background on IHSS: The IHSS program is a Medi-Cal benefit,
providing personal care services to over 460,000 qualified
low-income individuals who are aged, blind, or disabled. The
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purpose of the IHSS program is to provide eligible individuals
with an array of personal care and domestic aide services to
allow them to remain in their homes, as opposed to receiving
care in an institutional facility, such as an adult care home or
nursing home. According to the Department of Social Services
(DSS), there are approximately 464,402 IHSS recipients, 10,153,
or two percent of whom are visually impaired or blind.
The IHSS program is administered by CWAs, in coordination with
DSS, whose social workers determine IHSS eligibility and perform
case management after conducting a standardized in-home
assessment of an individual's ability to perform activities of
daily living. Based upon the assessment, IHSS providers are
authorized to provide an array of daily supportive services,
including "paramedical services," which medical services that
are to be rendered under the direction of a licensed health care
professional. Based on authorized hours and services, IHSS
recipients are responsible for hiring, firing, and directing
their IHSS provider(s). About 70% of IHSS recipients receive
their care from a family member or relative provider. In order
to become an IHSS provider, an individual must undergo a
criminal background check, attend a provider orientation, and
meet other requirements.
Limited availability and access to written information for the
blind and visually impaired: Considered a low incidence
disability under federal and state law, persons who are blind or
visually impaired face a number of challenges in obtaining,
navigating and acquiring information. Due to their visual
impairment, many require either access to audio reading
technology or braille services in order to conduct daily tasks,
such as shopping, reading and understanding instructions,
overseeing their own personal finances, and otherwise living
self-sufficiently. Unfortunately, the types of services and
methods available to the visually impaired to help them access
and understand written information are limited, especially for
those who do not have the resources to afford them.
Adding to these challenges is the significant decline in the use
of braille and the costs associated with accessing written
information in braille. According to the National Braille
Press, only 12% of legally blind individuals can read braille,
in contrast to 50% of blind individuals who could do so in the
1960s. The costs can be substantial. For example, academic
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textbooks in braille can cost over $1,000 and can be significant
in size. Although more affordable than braille, electronic
means of acquiring information is also costly for the blind or
visually impaired. Many look to digital audio files, reading
software such as text-to-speech programs, and audio files,
however, availability of this technology is limited, as well.
For visually impaired individuals, lacking the means and
resources to acquire evolving technology that can help them read
written information can result in limited access to information
considered necessary to conduct day-to-day tasks. This
especially rings true for IHSS recipients who are blind or
visually impaired due to their lack of income and the
limitations on their IHSS providers to provide them reading
assistance.
Previous legislation: This bill is a reintroduction of AB 238
(Beall) of 2007, which was passed by the Legislature but vetoed
by then Governor Schwarzenegger. Stating his reasoning for his
veto, the Governor wrote:
I strongly support the In-Home Supportive Services
(IHSS) program which provides services to low-income
aged, blind or disabled persons so they can remain
safely in homes. My Administration has worked hard to
secure more than 1.7 billion in federal funds to
protect these important services. However, I cannot
support expanding the program's scope to include
reading services. This expansion would add more than
one million dollars in new costs at a time of ongoing
budget challenges. We must balance our need for
important program services with our fiscal reality.
Analysis Prepared by : Chris Reefe / HUM. S. / (916) 319-2089
FN: 0003822