In-Home Supportive Services program: fraud.

Existing law provides for the county-administered In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program, under which qualified aged, blind, and disabled persons are provided with services in order to permit them to remain in their own homes and avoid institutionalization. Under existing law, the State Department of Social Services is vested with state administrative authority over the IHSS program. Existing law permits services to be provided under the IHSS program either through the employment of individual providers, a contract between the county and an entity for the provision of services, the creation by the county of a public authority, or a contract between the county and a nonprofit consortium. Existing law, upon request of a recipient of in-home supportive services, or a recipient of personal care services under the Medi-Cal program, authorizes the procurement of a criminal background check on certain provider applicants, pursuant to specified provisions. Existing legislation that will become effective on October 23, 2009, requires counties, public authorities, and nonprofit consortiums to complete criminal background checks of specified persons who seek to become supportive services providers. That legislation requires that the criminal background checks be conducted at the provider's expense. This bill would, instead, require that the criminal background checks be conducted at the provider's expense, unless the nonprofit consortium or public authority agrees to pay for the criminal background check in which case the department shall seek federal financial participation, to the extent possible, to cover costs associated with conducting the criminal background check. This bill would also incorporate changes to Section 12301.6 of the Welfare and Institutions Code proposed by AB 19 of the 2009–10 4th Extraordinary Session, to take effect if this bill and that bill are enacted and become effective on or before January 1, 2010, and this bill is enacted last.