IOn October 19, 2009, US District Court Judge Claudia Wilken issued a temporary restraining order on the cuts which were set to begin on November 1, 2009. The temporary restraining order does not show that the judge will rule in favor of IHSS clients but only prevents California from sending out notices of service reduction until the case has been heard in court.
A class-action suit was filed on October 1, 2009, by United Domestic Workers (UDW/AFSCME) ,Disability Rights California, Disability Rights Legal Center, National Health Law Program and National Senior Citizens Law Center, to stop the service reductions. The suit contends that the functional index score is arbitrary, unscientific, and not designed to determine eligibility for services. The suit also argues that the cuts violate due process, the Medicaid Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act.
UDW President Laura Reyes, an AFSCME International Vice President, described the cuts, "By cutting IHSS, the Governor and Legislature are actually putting people's lives at risk. A person with Alzheimer's may be capable of capable of cooking and cleaning for herself, but without assistance, she is likely to leave the stove on after she finishes cooking and burn her house down." She continued, "Instead of using each consumer's individual needs to determine what services they need, the Governor and his supporters are cutting services the quick-and-dirty way. This is arbitrary, ineffective, and morally disgraceful."
IHSS cuts were used to close the budget gap. The plan was to have IHSS clients disallowed from receiving services if their functional index score was below 2.0. Clients are ranked for a variety of tasks, and a composite score is calculated. A score of 2 means verbal assistance or reminding is needed to perform a task. Scores of 3 or above indicate the help of another person is needed to some degree to complete a task. For instance, a healthy Alzheimer's patient in the early stages of the disease could have a score of 2 because they are physically able to complete the tasks, but they need verbal coaching to finish the task safely.
People who work with IHSS patients help with cooking, transportation, bathing, laundry, and other household tasks which the patient would be able to do if well and able-bodied. Everyone knows an Alzheimer's patient or a disabled person or an elderly person who lives with family because the patient can't live on their own. Their family makes sure they are fed healthy meals, their laundry is done, their personal hygiene needs are met.
What if there was no family available to do this? Or if the family members couldn't quit their jobs to stay home full time to take care of this person? This is when IHSS workers can come in and help out everyone - the patient and the family. IHSS allows everyone, patient and family, to live higher quality, more independent lives. IHSS is an important service for all Californians and should be supported to allow all Californians to live their lives with independence and dignity.
Comments