MediCal program, In Home Support Services (IHSS) seeks to equalize services for families of minors with those over 18, bringing relief to needy families.

SANTA ROSA, CA, UNITED STATES, February 6, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program provides care to more than 591,000 lower-income elderly or disabled Californians, helping them to live independently in their homes. (2020)

On December 21st, 2023 an All County Letter was published regarding In Home Supportive Services. The State of California passed Assembly Bill 120 which eliminated provider eligibility requirements for minor recipients of IHSS. In order to comply with the new Bill, ACL 23-106 was published to instruct counties how best to implement the new change.

Previously, there were restrictions on the parents of minors seeking IHSS. Only a parent who was unable to work a full time job because of the child’s needs was allowed to be a provider. Minority groups, single parent families and undocumented parents, who were already at the poverty level, were being hit the hardest by this restriction.

As of February 22, 2024, that restriction is going away. Parent’s work status will no longer be a barrier to IHSS for minor recipients. They will have “the same access to IHSS providers that is currently available to adult recipients.” This means that the child receiving IHSS, or their legal representative, will be able to choose any qualified provider of IHSS regardless of whether the parents work or not.

For families that already get IHSS, they will now be able to be more flexible with their work hours, or even split the IHSS care hours between multiple family members.

A family with a parent who is unable to work, for instance due to undocumented status, will now be able to hire a provider. A change that will bring relief to many in California's poorest communities.

In addition, a non-parent provider for a minor recipient who could only claim hours that the parent was at work, will now be able to contine care when the parent is at home, better serving the needs of the child.

This change will not effect how minors are assessed for need. Age will still be a consideration and their hours may be adjusted accordingly. The process for becoming a provider is also remaining unchanged. Parents will still have to go through the enrollment process to become IHSS providers. A parent who was ineligible to be an IHSS provider for other reasons- I.e. undocumented residents or providers with certain legal issues, will still be ineligible under the new rules. But an eligible provider can now be sought to provide the care.

The ACL states that these changes will go into effect 60 days from the date of publication. Since the date of publication is December 21st, that puts the effective date somewhere between February 19th-22nd, 2024. From that time on, all new cases should be handled in accordance with this new policy.

If you are a current provider for a minor, you will need to contact your County IHSS office after the 22nd. If your child was denied IHSS due to your work status, please reapply after the 22nd. Although it appears none of these changes to the law will be applied retroactively, we have yet to see the new policy in action. We will watch to see as it unfolds. For more information, visit galtadvocacy.com

Teresa Hall
Galt Advocacy
+1 707-566-7600
email us here
Visit us on social media:
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
YouTube
Other