In-home supportive services: registries: criminal background checks.

Existing law provides for the In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program, under which, either through employment by the recipient, by or through contract by the county, by the creation of a public authority, or pursuant to a contract with a nonprofit consortium, qualified aged, blind, and disabled persons receive services enabling them to remain in their own homes. Existing law requires a nonprofit consortium or public authority to provide for various functions, including establishing a registry of in-home supportive service providers and investigating the qualifications and background of prospective registry applicants. Under existing law, the investigation may include criminal background checks requested by the nonprofit consortium or public authority and conducted by the Department of Justice. This bill would, instead, require the investigation to include criminal background checks. This bill would require that, as part of the criminal background check, an in-home supportive services provider be fingerprinted and submit the fingerprint images and any other related information required by the Department of Justice to assist the department in obtaining information related to the existence and content of any records of any state or federal convictions and arrests. The bill would provide that an in-home supportive services provider shall be responsible for covering the cost of providing fingerprint images and other information to the Department of Justice. This bill would provide that, in order to be employed as an in-home supportive services provider in a county that has contracted with a nonprofit consortium or established a public authority, an applicant shall, as a condition of employment, be on the registry or be placed on that registry within 90 days of when the applicant first begins to provide in-home supportive services. The bill would provide that an in-home supportive services provider who is already providing services on January 1, 2010, and who is not on the registry on that date shall have until April 1, 2010, to be placed on the registry in order to continue to provide in-home supportive services. Because the bill would require certain counties to perform additional responsibilities in administering the IHSS program, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.