Lake County News

Written by Elizabeth Larson   

Monday, 15 October 2007

LAKE COUNTY – Lake County's proposal to create a two-tier pay system for In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) workers has gotten attention in Sacramento, and it's resulted in a hearing scheduled for today in the Assembly.

Subcommittee No. 1 on Health and Human Services agenda

1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 16

State Capitol, Room 4202

Opening remarks:

·         Assemblymember Patty Berg and other members present

Panel One: Background on the In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) Program, discussion of research on IHSS wages and review of Lake County proposal

Background on the IHSS program:

·         Ginni Bella, fiscal and policy analyst and Todd Bland, director, Social Services, Labor and Information Technology Section, Legislative Analyst's Office

Overview of relationship between compensation and quality of care:

·         Carol Zabin, Ph.D., employment specialist, University of California, Berkeley

Discussion of Lake County proposal:

·         Eva Lopez, deputy director, Adult Programs, California Department of Social Services

Panel Two: Description and discussion of Lake County's wage structure proposal for IHSS workers

·         Lake County representatives

Panel Three: Response and feedback from IHSS consumers

·         Deborah Doctor, policy advocate, Protection and Advocacy Inc.

·         Janie Whiteford, president, California IHSS Consumer Alliance and Santa Clara County Advisory Board member

·         Perry McCosker, Vietnam veteran and IHSS consumer, Lake County

·         Nancy Krook, mother of Laurel Elliot and IHSS consumer, Lake County

Panel Four: Response and feedback from IHSS providers

·         Tyrone Freeman, chair, California Home Care Council

·         Doug Moore, vice chair, California Home Care Council

·         Laurel Elliot, daughter of Nancy Krook and IHSS provider, Lake County

·         Joyce Overton, IHSS provider, former mayor of Clearlake, Lake County

·         Marilyn Swann, IHSS provider, Lake County

Public comment

The Health and Human Services Subcommittee No. 1, chaired by Assemblymember Patty Berg (D-Eureka) – who represents Lake County – will hold the hearing beginning at 1:30 p.m. in State Capitol Room 4202.

Berg's staff said the hearing will be streamed live on the Assembly's Web site at www.assembly.ca.gov/committee_hearings/defaulttext.asp.

On June 5, the Board of Supervisors voted to forward to the state a proposal that would pay $1 an hour more to IHSS providers – who currently make $7.50 an hour – who agreed to undergo a drug test, as Lake County News previously reported.

IHSS providers included in the IHSS Public Authority Registry also would need to undergo a criminal background check and complete first aid training. Registry members currently must provide references, attend a mandatory two-hour orientation/training, meeting with public authority staff for a face-to-face interview and passing a Department of Justice criminal records check, according to IHSS Public Authority staff.

Will Shuck, Berg's chief of staff, said the proposal had received a lot of attention amongst Assembly staffers, who in turn brought it to Berg.

Shuck said the hearing's meant to explore how the proposal fits in with the state's overall goals for the In-Home S

“The intent is to learn whether or not there are policy needs,” said Shuck.

HEARING TO EXPLORE PROPOSAL'S IMPLICATIONS

Berg's office supplied Lake County News with a copy of a letter Berg sent to Board Chair Jeff Smith on Oct. 9, announcing the hearing time and date.

“I understand your concerns about the scheduling of this hearing, and we have taken steps to allow for adequate travel time for board members and county staff,” Berg wrote to Smith.

Berg told Smith in the letter, “Any proposals relating to the provisions of IHSS with consequences for IHSS consumers are of particular concern to this Subcommittee and will receive its full attention.”

The hearing, Berg told Smith, will examine “the potential statewide impact and consequences of a proposal at the local level.”

She added, “The Lake County proposal raises several important questions and concerns, meriting this kind of study. This hearing will offer an opportunity to investigate the proposal, understand its implementation challenges and possible effects on consumer choice of providers, and to hear from relevant stakeholders, including the Lake County Board of Supervisors.”

The hearing includes four panels, with the board scheduled as the second panel, according to a schedule provided by Berg's office. Each panel will be given 15 minutes.

BOARD HOPES FOR EXPANDED INPUT

Supervisor Ed Robey, who also chairs the IHSS Public Authority, said the board will discuss whether or not to send delegates to the hearing today, which falls right in the middle of the board's usual meeting day. The board today has a full agenda, Robey said.

Asked about the timing of the hearing and the board's weekly meeting, Shuck said, “We did make clear that it would be perfectly acceptable to send a department head or someone charged with implementing a program like this.”

He said the board did give them a list of representatives who might attend. Those were not, however, specified on the hearing's roster.

Robey said he wants to ask the subcommittee to continue the hearings and expand them, allowing input from other agencies.

Robey said the two-tier proposal is meant to give IHSS clients more choice in who provides their care; besides the issues of drug testing and background checks, the registry also highlights those providers who have training.

“We're trying to improve the health and safety of these clients,” he said.

The county's public authority, said Robey, is the employer of record, and must deal with issues about care and qualifications.

He added that the state either needs to let the county do its work or take over as the employer of record.

UNION HAS CONCERNS

California United Homecare Workers, the union representing Lake County's IHSS workers – which at last count numbered between 1,300 and 1,500 – has disputed the county's two-tier proposal, saying it was not brought to the union during formal negotiations.

Union President Tyrone Freeman also has stated that it is not clear who would pay for the testing, although the Board of Supervisors has insisted it would not be passed on to clients or providers.

In a letter dated June 8, union President Tyrone Freeman wrote to IHSS providers in Lake County calling for their support for a recall action against Supervisors Jeff Smith, Ed Robey, Anthony Farrington. In July, the union launched a recall effort in Imperial County as well.

Formal recall paperwork has so far not been filed with the Lake County Registrar of Voters, that office reported recently.

Freeman is on the fourth panel at today's hearing, representing the California Home Care Council. He did not return a call seeking comment.

Scott Mann, another union representative, responded to Lake County News' calls, saying the union would not have comments until after the hearing Tuesday afternoon.

Among those scheduled to give testimony Tuesday are Laurel Elliot of Nice, who provides IHSS care for her mother, Nancy Krook, who also will testify; Clearlake City Council member Joyce Overton, who also is an IHSS provider; and another local IHSS provider, Marilyn Swan.