In-home supportive services: application.

Existing law provides for the county-administered In-Home Supportive Services program, under which qualified aged, blind, and disabled persons are provided with services in order to permit them to remain in their own homes. This bill would require each county to accept applications for benefits under the program by telephone, through facsimile, or in person, or, if the county is capable of accepting online applications or applications via email for benefits under the program, by email or other electronic means. By creating additional duties for counties, this 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 the statutory provisions noted above.