IHSS information please! (Sacramento: home, income, living in)

[ashmfro]

I am looking for people's personal experiences with the IHSS program, specifically parent caregivers.

We are making a move this year to California (exact location to be determined,) and we have two children with a progressive, terminal genetic condition. I already know they will meet the qualifications for the maximum amount of hours allotted (my understand ins 283?)

I am wondering what kind of income this will amount to? I haven't really found any detailed information on what I can expect to make as their stay at home parent care provider, and having this information would make setting a housing budget much easier.

Any information or insight would be appreciated!

[cb73]

The IHSS program in California has been cut repeatedly due to budget issues and too many people wanting the State to pay them to care for their own children.

[rosa surf]

Its about 9.50 per hour.

If you qualify, a worker visits your home and asesses how many hours you qualify for. You don't automatically qualify for the maximum hours.

[rosa surf]

Originally Posted by cb73

The IHSS program in California has been cut repeatedly due to budget issues and too many people wanting the State to pay them to care for their own children.

The program is still pretty large, and many people still qualify easily.

[ashmfro]

The reason I am confident I qualify for the maximum hours is because there are other families we know whose children have the exact diagnosis ours do. They all receive Max hours. The condition the suffer from is very involved and requires constant and totally care.

[nightlysparrow]

Originally Posted by rosa surf

Its about 9.50 per hour.

No, the wages vary county-to-county: IHSS

[ashmfro]

So hypothetically, if my sons qualify for the max hours, would they each get 283 hours, or would it be a combined 283? That I'm confused about.

[DCMann2]

OP, I currently work in the payroll department for Humboldt County IHSS and can answer pretty much any question you have about the program. Wages vary from county to county (here in Humboldt it's minimum wage which is currently $9/hr slated to go up to $10/hr January 1st, 2016). Whether you get max hours is totally dependent on the type of care required, and there is currently a 7% reduction in hours applied to all cases. So for example, if you're assigned max hours (283/month), if you have no unmet need your hours will actually be 263:11/month. If your recipient DOES have unmet need - that is, hours required for care are over the current maximum - then you will not be affected by the 7% cut and you'll be assigned 283:00.

As of January 1st we switched to new timecards and we were gearing up to comply with new Fair Labor and Standards Act laws, but those are currently on hold per a federal judge in Washington, D.C. so we're waiting for instruction from the State. What the new rules would mean is that care providers are capped at a certain amount of hours per week (66 less the current reduction, which means a CP could only work a total of 61 hours across all recipients per week, OR if a CP has a 1-to-1 relationship with an unmet need recipient (that is, you're the sole CP for a 283 hour/month recipient) you can claim a maximum of 66 hours per week) and can claim travel time (travel from one recipient directly to another with a 7 hour per week maximum).

The thing is though, like I said, these changes are currently on hold pending court cases so as it stands the only thing we have right now are the new timecards. If both of your sons qualify for 283 hours per month, under the new rules you would NOT be able to be the sole care provider for both of them; you would be forced to hire another care provider (spouse, other family member, or random other enrolled care provider). Currently the overtime and travel time rules are not being enforced, but it's something to keep in mind depending on how the court cases play out.

If you have any other questions about the IHSS program feel free to ask in this thread or send me a direct message.

[ashmfro]

DCmann thank you for such detailed information!

My boys are 8 and 5. They suffer from a progressive and terminal genetic disorder. They are unable to do anything on their own: neither boy is potty trained, neither can dress themselves, feed themselves anything that isn't a finger food, both are totally non verbal and have severe hearing loss, the pain receptors in their brains do not function properly so they don't know when they've hurt themselves unless it is severe, and have no concept of danger, fear, and cannot be without arms reach supervision at any time.

Off the top of my head, a few more questions:

In the case that the cap goes into place, would I be able to designate my spouse as a care provider for the remaining hours if he is also working outside the home?

It is my understanding that there will be some forms our physician would need to fill out. Since we are currently living in ND and will be moving down, (Sacramento area) is this something I could have our current doctor do, or will I need to establish a relationship with a local physician first and have him or her fill them out for us?

Can you tell me anything as far as timeline: for example, from the time I submit my application and paperwork to when they home visit is conducted and I am given an approval or denial?

Thank you again, for taking the time to answe my questions. I'm sure others will come to mind after I've had my morning coffee

[ashmfro]

Another question....will I need to be a California resident for a certain period of time before I Am eligible to apply for the kids or before they are eligible to receive ihss services?