In-Home Supportive Services Program: provider shortage: grant-based outreach program.

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. Existing law establishes the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services, under which qualified low-income individuals receive health care services. Existing law authorizes certain Medi-Cal recipients to receive waiver personal care services (WPCS) in order to permit them to remain in their own homes. 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. This bill would require the department, by March 1, 2024, to issue a request for proposals for a 3-year, grant-based program to support outreach and education to encourage immigrants to become in-home supportive services (IHSS) providers, contingent upon an appropriation by the Legislature for that purpose. The bill would require eligible grantees for the program to include nonprofit, community-based agencies that engage with immigrant populations, counties administering the IHSS program, and county public authorities. The bill would set forth eligible outreach activities, including developing educational and outreach materials, and providing community outreach workers. The bill would require grantees to report to the department, at least semiannually, on the outcomes achieved by the outreach campaign, including, but not limited to, activities and methods utilized to reach and recruit providers. If the grantee reporting requirements result in additional workload for counties, those provisions would be implemented only if funding for that purpose is provided in the State Budget. The bill would require the department to report to the Legislature, within 6 months after the conclusion of the program, on the effectiveness of the program, including the extent to which the outreach campaign resulted in an increase in the IHSS provider workforce. The provisions of the bill would be repealed on January 1, 2028. The bill would make related findings and declarations relating to the existence of a shortage in the IHSS program workforce. The bill also would declare the intent of the Legislature to enact subsequent legislation that permits undocumented in-home supportive services recipients to select a relative as their provider of choice, regardless of immigration status.