In-home supportive services: peer-to-peer training.

Existing law establishes the county-administered In-Home Supportive Services program to provide supportive services to aged, blind, or disabled persons, as defined, who are unable to perform the services themselves and who cannot safely remain in their homes or abodes of their own choosing unless these services are provided. Existing law requires the State Department of Social Services to perform certain administrative duties in connection with the program. Existing law authorizes a county board of supervisors to contract with a nonprofit consortium, or to establish a public authority, to provide in-home supportive services and requires those entities to perform specified functions, including providing training to providers and recipients. This bill would require the department, on or before July 1, 2019, and in consultation with employee representative organizations, to adopt a process to compensate providers of in-home supportive services for conducting peer-to-peer training. The bill would require the subject areas of the training to include how to enroll as a new provider in the In-Home Supportive Services program and how to navigate the program, as specified. The bill would require a provider conducting peer-to-peer training to be compensated at the county's prevailing wage rate for providing in-home supportive services. The bill would require the department to ensure that peer-to-peer hours are reimbursed to the employee representative organization for disbursement to the provider, no later than the 15th day of the following month. The bill would make attendance at the peer-to-peer training voluntary and would not require compensation to attendees. By imposing new duties on counties, 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 the statutory provisions noted above.