UDW President Laura Reyes speaks at Capitol Rally

The day after Governor Brown released his May budget revision, home care providers and care recipients rallied at the State Capitol to declare that home care cuts are off the table in the coming budget year. The effort was part of the “Let’s Get Healthy at Home” campaign to advance a smarter, more compassionate alternative to the $225 million in budget cuts proposed for In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS), SB 1503.

UDW President Laura Reyes was among the speakers at the rally. Click here for her remarks

Also, click here for the statement made by Doug Moore, UDW Executive Director, following the release of the Governor’s budget.

READ UDW PRELIMINARY BUDGET OVERVIEW

UDW Notified of Potential Breach in IHSS Security: Members Should Take Steps to
Protect Their Personal Information

Update-May 16: As CDSS continues to investigate the IHSS security breach, UDW is urging the state to take additional steps to protect providers and clients who may have had their personal data compromised. UDW President Laura Reyes said: “We are working with the state to find ways to protect providers and clients and to prevent incidents like this from happening again.”

See Letter sent from CDSS to all IHSS providers and recipients during the week of May 14, 2012: Read letter (pdf)

UDW has called for the State Legislature to investigate the IHSS security breach Read more»

UDW was notified on May 11 by the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) of a potential loss of IHSS payroll data which could possibly affect all IHSS providers and recipients. Here is a fact sheet from CDSS which explains the situation.

A data shipment of October-December IHSS payroll information by CDSS was reported missing. The missing information included: IHSS provider names, Social Security numbers, IHSS case numbers, IHSS provider numbers, wages, and the IHSS recipient’s state employer identification numbers. CDSS has not yet determined how many providers and recipients may have been affected.

CDSS has established a toll free telephone number–(888) 362-8947– for providers and recipients to call to obtain additional information. Information is also available on the CDSS web site: www.cdss.ca.gov. The department also will notify all IHSS providers and recipients and providers of the security breach by mail starting Monday. Read more»

URGENT: Please share the above information with your consumers and others in the IHSS community—especially those who do not have computer access.

Related:

• LA Times, May 12: Personal data for home care workers, recipients lost in the mail
• Fox News: California authorities lose data for 700K-plus home-care workers, recipients

UDW’s “Let’s Get Healthy at Home” IHSS reform campaign continues to grow. Launched in February by UDW and its labor and consumer allies, the campaign is designed to protect IHSS from continued budget cuts and fix the program so that it works for all of us.

Throughout the state, UDW and its allies have been holding membership meetings, lobbying visits, teleconferences, and other activities aimed at building broad support for IHSS reform. In the latest issue of UDW’s Caregiver newsletter, UDW members are being asked to sign and return a petition showing their support for “Let’s Get Healthy at Home.”

Our plan to improve IHSS includes the following: Read more »

Related:

• Mercury News, April 24th: Coordinated care key to saving health care for seniors
• Video of State Senate President Pro-tem Darrell Steinberg’s speech at IHSS Reform Capitol News Conference