In-home supportive services: natural disaster.

(1) Existing law establishes the In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program, administered by the State Department of Social Services and counties, under which qualified aged, blind, and disabled persons are provided with supportive services, as defined, in order to permit them to remain in their own homes. The California Emergency Services Act authorizes the Governor to declare a state of emergency under specified conditions and requires a county, including a city and county, to update its emergency plan to address, among other things, how the access and functional needs population, as defined, is served by emergency communications, evacuation, and sheltering. This bill would require a county to use a void and reissue warrant process for any provider who lost or had damaged an uncashed warrant because of a natural disaster resulting in a state of emergency. The bill would require a county, including a city and county, at the next update to its emergency plan, to integrate and require the assessment and provision of supportive services to IHSS recipients. (2) Existing law establishes the Predevelopment Loan Fund for the purpose of making predevelopment loans and land purchase loans to eligible sponsors, as defined, for assisted housing for occupancy primarily by persons of low income. Existing law requires the Department of Housing and Community Development to award those funds to provide disaster relief in communities subject to a natural disaster, if the funds have been made available for that purpose. Existing law requires those funds to be used for housing persons of low income and moderate income, with first priority given to funding housing for persons of low and moderate income. This bill would require first priority for those funds in providing disaster relief to also be given to fund housing for IHSS recipients. (3) Existing law requires a county welfare department to establish an IHSS recipient's weekly authorized number of hours of services, pursuant to a specified formula. Under existing law, the county welfare department may temporarily adjust the authorized weekly hours of a recipient at the request of the recipient to accommodate unexpected extraordinary circumstances. This bill would specify that the extraordinary circumstance may include a situation arising out of a natural disaster. (4) By increasing the duties of counties, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (5) 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.