Effective July 1, 2015, the IHSS 7% reduction is restored. The 7% reduction was part of the settlement in the Oster v. Ligthbourne litigation and was codified in Welfare and Institutions Code Sections 12301.01 and 12031.02. In SB 97, (Budget Act, Section 57, Part 6) the legislature suspended the reduction for one year, from July 1, 2015 to June 30, 2016. In a special legislative session later this year, the legislature will attempt to determine funding sources for making the restoration of the 7% reduction permanent.

Notices of the possibility that the 7% reduction would be restored were scheduled to go out in mid-June. The notices say that restoration was a possibility because the restoration legislation had not yet passed.

The IHSS computer system called CMIPS II is supposed to automatically create a new IHSS authorization with the restored hours added, and to automatically updated provider hours. The ACL warns that there may be an issue assigning the hours when a recipient has multiple providers and if the recipient wants hours divided differently between multiple providers, the recipient needs to file a SOC 838 form with their county.

ACL 15-57

In this letter, CDSS states several policies about several aspects of eligibility for In Home Supportive Services Protective Supervision, which is 24 hour supervision to safeguard against injury, hazard or accident. (MPP § 30-757.17.) These policies include:

• A person must be both mentally ill and non-selfdirecting to be eligible for Protective Supervision. CDSS states it will amend MPP Section 30-757.17 to reflect this policy.
• A person must be physically able to harm themselves to be eligible for Protective Supervision. This can include observation of persons who are bedridden but who are able to harm themselves. CDSS gives the example of a bedridden person who can pull out a G-tube.
• While Protective Supervision is not available to guard against deliberate self-destructive behavior, a recipient who engages in deliberate self-destructive behavior and other behavior that is a basis for Protective Supervision such as wandering can be eligible for Protective Supervision to prevent the wandering.
• Environmental modifications such as removing knobs from stoves or adding safety latches can eliminate the need for Protective Supervision.
• Fluctuating or episodic behavior can be a basis for Protective Supervision if the behavior is unpredictable. However, if the behavior is predictable, IHSS should only be authorized for the time when the behavior occurs.
• Leaving a recipient for fixed short periods of time is not, by itself, a reason to deny Protective Supervision
• Actual injury is not required for Protective Supervision eligibility. A history of a propensity for the recipient to place themselves in danger is sufficient for Protective Supervision eligibility.

The letter also restates criteria for assessing children for eligibility for Protective Supervision. ACL 15-25.

On January 14, 2015, Judge Richard Leon of the U.S. District Court, District of Columbia issued a ruling vacating the U.S. Department of Labor’s revised companionship services definition scheduled to take effect the following day. In response, CDSS has postponed changes related to overtime, travel time and wait time pay for all IHSS providers. The forms and notices previously issued to implement the changes will not be used. Notices were to issue to all IHSS providers and recipients informing them 2014 hours allocations will remain in effect and the planned 61-hour limit will not take effect. The Department of Labor has appealed Judge Leon’s ruling.  ACL 15-10.

Beginning April 1, 2015, prospective IHSS providers must attend an in-person provider enrollment orientation that includes training and materials detailing the applicable federal and state minimum wage, overtime, travel time and wait time laws. Counties must provide the orientation in English and any language spoken by five percent or more non-English speakers in the county. The county’s recognized employee organization must be permitted to make a presentation at the orientation. These changes are pursuant to SB 878. In addition, prospective providers may no longer use printouts from the Social Security Administration as original documentation of identity. However, Social Security cards, state driver’s licenses or identification cards and tribal identification cards are still accepted. ACL 14-102.

IHSS providers who provide services to different recipients at different locations on the same workday are now eligible to be paid for up to 7 hours of travel time per work week in accordance with Welf. & Inst. Code §12300.4(f).  Such providers, effective January 1, 2015, must now submit the IHSS timesheet with travel (SOC 2262) and the travel claim form (SOC 2275) to be paid for their travel time.  ACL 14-103.