This letter provides the general fund allocation amounts by county for administrative costs associated with In Home Supportive Services Programs. [Download]
Summaries of select CalWORKs, CalFresh, Health and Housing Regulations
IHSS
ACL 11-55: IHSS Medical Certification Form (7/27/11)
Starting August 1st, all new IHSS applicants must have a new form SOC 873 completed. Recipients must have the form completed around the time of their reassessment. (The ACL also describes alternative documentation to the 873 that will be acceptable.) New WIC section 12309.1 required a medical certification form that includes a declaration from a licensed health care professional that the applicant/recipient is unable to independently perform some activity of daily living and that without the assistance of IHSS services, the applicant/recipient would be at risk of placement in out-of-home care. The form must also include a description of any condition or functional limitation that has resulted in, or contributed to, the applicant/recipient’s need for assistance. (Same purpose, new look.) Individuals will have 45 days from the date the county requests the form to obtain the verification, with good cause extensions for recipients (but not applicants). The form must have questions 5 and 6 completed. The county will perform an assessment only if both 5 and 6 answers are YES. If either is a “no” IHSS will be denied, and for recipients, services terminated. Once the new form is completed, it does not need to be done at subsequent reassessments, as counties can use the 873 or their own form at that time.
Counties can give the form to the applicant/recipient, but if the person requests assistance, the county must send it for them. (Even if the county sends the form, it is the individual’s responsibility to ensure it is returned, but can sign the release section on the form, which permits the counties to contact the provider.) If 5 and 6 are marked “yes” the form will not be the sole determinative factor in services, as usual. [Download]
ACL 11-19: IHSS Plus Option (IPO) (2/23/11)
Before you get too excited that IHSS is going public with an offering, this letter sets out more info on the implementation of the In-Home Supportive Services Plus Option (IPO) program. Unlike the Demonstration Waiver IPW, the IPO is a State Plan Option, and therefore follows the State Plan PCSP regarding program eligibility and services. Under the IPO program, eligibility is the same as for PCSP (categorically or medically needy and has a disabling condition) . The IPO does not include teaching/demonstration, and has different program rules regarding care provided by a spouse/parent. There are also enhanced assessment processes. CDSS is in the process of developing regulations for the IPO. [Download]
ACL 11-12: Criminal Background Checks For IHSS Providers; Expansion Of Exclusionary Crimes; Individual Waivers And General Exceptions Of Exclusions (1/26/11)
Implementing instructions for changes, effective 2/1/11, to W&IC 12305.87, which expands the list of crimes for which a conviction, or incarceration following a conviction, within the last ten years would exclude an individual from being enrolled as an IHSS provider. The statute also establishes provisions which will permit an individual, under certain circumstances, to be enrolled as an IHSS provider in spite of a conviction for an exclusionary crime. In addition to the original set of crimes (now called “Tier 1”) the legislation now covers “Tier 2 exclusionary crimes” (A violent or serious felony, a felony offense for which a person is required to register as a sex offender, and a felony offense for fraud against a public social services program). The Letter includes a complete listing of Tier 2 exclusionary crimes, the specific code sections, and title as well as “plain English” descriptions of the crimes.
An applicant provider found ineligible on the basis of a conviction(s) for a Tier 2 crime, but who otherwise meets all of the provider enrollment requirements, may be permitted to provide services to a specific IHSS recipient(s) if the recipient(s) who chooses to hire the individual despite the conviction(s) submits a request for an individual waiver of the exclusion. The letter reviews the notice and forms to be used for this waiver. [Download]
ACIN I-06-11: Update On Adult Programs Division’s Phone And Fax Numbers (1/12/11)
The latest numbers for those in the APS world. [Download]
ACL 10-61: Implementation Of AB 1612: Service Reductions In IHSS (12/17/10)
AB 1612 added WIC Section 12301.06, requiring CDSS to reduce all IHSS recipients’ total authorized hours by 3.6%, effective February 1, 2011. NOAs are to be mailed at least 30 days prior to the reduction. The NOAS are in English, Spanish, Armenian and Chinese, and counties must provide translations for any other language hitting the (5%) threshold. Recipients choose how this reduction is applied toward their specific authorized services. The 3.6 percent reduction will first be applied to any documented unmet need (excluding protective supervision). This cut expires July 1, 2012. [Download]