Comments on: Latest IHSS Requirements for Providers

By: Kristine

Kristine — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 20:21:52 +0000

First of all – thank you for being a care provider. The homecare community needs providers and it takes a very special kind of person to do this important work.

The fingerprinting and other requirements should not take 2 months to process. Kelli (and veryone out there that might be going through this) you should call your local IHSS Public Authority and find out what is happening after about 2-3 weeks. Some counties take longer than others, and there can also be mistakes made so you need to keep after them and track what is happening.

Good luck – and bless you.

Kristine

By: Kelli

Kelli — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 07:49:02 +0000

Im new at this. I was caregiving my partner who had cancer, and was told i had to wait till his medi-cal kicked in to apply, 6 months later it came through and i applied. As we were waiting to get the in home interview with social worker, my partner died. The social worker still came out to meet me, said he would expedite the paper work. i got all paperwork sign, finger printing, an orientation! its been two months, how long does this process of approval take?

By: Kristine

Kristine — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 03:16:49 +0000

Yes – it is my understanding that the current governor is attempting to make the list of disqualifying crimes longer, but for now that is where it stands. Please make sure you are registered and VOTE so we can change some of the prejudice against homecare. People that work in institutions are not placed under the standard our governor wants to enforce on homecare.

Kristine Loomis

By: lasonja smith

lasonja smith — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 21:30:41 +0000

So as long as you have no convictions on those three felonies you should be eligible to work as a provider?

By: Jeremy Wright

Jeremy Wright — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 17:46:39 +0000

Christina, knowledge is power!

By: Christina

Christina — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 14:28:04 +0000

I’ve also read in documentation sent by mail that certain key misdemors were also reason to be disqualified, but the state site (thanks Theresa) does not mention misdemors at all. Any clarification is greatly appreciated.

By: Steve Mehlman

Steve Mehlman — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 21:19:04 +0000

Thanks, Theresa, for bringing this to our attention. I’m not sure what document contained the word “incarcerated,” but we’ve eliminated it so that our language is now the same as the state’s:

“Any individual convicted in the last 10 years of three specific crimes — defrauding a government health care or supportive service programs, felony child abuse or felony elder abuse — will be excluded from the program.”

By: Christina

Christina — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 22:01:28 +0000

Good luck providers. I went into my local office to complete at least one of the requirements in order to have more time and was really discouraged from submitting anything. The only thing that the local office cares about is the fingerprinting. They tried to turn me away repeatedly, but I knew what I was allowed to do so I stayed and insisted that they take my forms.

By: Theresa Wall

Theresa Wall — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 05:35:40 +0000

I happen to be a former IHSS provider and volunteered to investigate the new provider requirements for a friend who is an IHSS recipient. His provider was convicted of a drug felony over 20 years ago and long before now completely turned his life around, however, there was a concern that a conviction for ANY felony would make him ineligible to continue his work under the new rules.

Based on the information I obtained from the State of California and on this website I am very comfortable assuring both recipient and provider that the provider’s ancient criminal history does not make him ineligible to continue his work. I am, however, recommending they confirm this in a conversation with the recipient’s social worker.

I am writing because I have a concern about the wording on YOUR SITE which is not at all the same as on the state site I am using for my resource. As a matter of fact, I am concerned that the way it is worded on your site would violate one’s civil rights and the whole tenent that, in America, a person accused of a crime is considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

On the state cite (here’s the link):

http://www.dds.ca.gov/Budget/Docs/BlueBook_CHHSRevisedBudget09.pdf

the new rule concerning criminal history states “Any individual convicted in the last 10 years of three specific crimes — defrauding a government health care or supportive service programs, felony child abuse or felony elder abuse — will be excluded from the program.” (see pg 21 of the document).

On this site, you state, “If you were convicted or incarcerated within the last 10 years of elder / dependent adult abuse, child abuse or fraud against a government health care or supportive services program you are not eligible to be an IHSS provider.” (this same page, above).

What concerns me is the addition of the words “or incarcerated” on your site.

When were the words “or incarcerated” added to the new rules and by whom?

Thank you for a prompt reply!

Theresa Roberts-Wall
Santa Barbara, CA