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Dear Union Sisters and Brothers,
Forty-three years ago, a struggle by 1,300 AFSCME city sanitation workers who were being denied the fundamental right of collective bargaining brought Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to Memphis, Tennessee. After marching with these workers, Martin Luther King Jr. declared: “Work that serves humanity… It has dignity and it has worth.” Dr. King was assassinated hours later on April 4, 1968. Read the rest of this entry »
Michael Moore talks about the real reason that working class people are being attacked all over the nation:
| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: | Contact: Governor’s Press Office |
| Tuesday, March 29, 2011 | (916) 445-4571 |
SACRAMENTO – Governor Jerry Brown today issued the following statement on his decision to halt budget negotiations:
“Yesterday, I stopped the discussions that I had been conducting with various members of the Republican party regarding our state’s massive deficit.
The budget plan that I put forth is balanced between deep cuts and extensions of currently existing taxes and I believe it is in the best interest of California. Under our constitution, however, two Republicans from the Assembly and two from the Senate must agree before this matter can be put to the people. Read the rest of this entry »
The following is the list of 53 budget demands issued by Senate Republicans they want in exchange for voting in favor of legislation to place tax extensions on a statewide ballot. Senators Dutton (R-San Bernardino) and Huff (R-Riverside) released the following list to reporters on Friday, March 25th with their notes on the status on negotiations with Brown for each item.
California Progress Report, March 29, 2011
Paul Kleyman
By Paul Kleyman
Felipe Garcia, 79, looks up with a ready smile as his two-year-old granddaughter, Marina, orbits his shuffling legs—her mother Elena keeping a sharp eye on the toddler to avoid any mishaps around the family’s modest home in Silicon Valley. Elena says Marina doesn’t quite understand yet that her abuelo (grandpa) has Alzheimer’s disease and can’t concentrate on her for long periods of time.
Felipe, who migrated from Mexico in his youth, is among 5.5 million Americans diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Of those cases, 588,000 are in California, a number that is expected to double by 2030. The number of Latinos and Asians living with the disease will triple during the same time period, according to a new state plan jointly released by the Alzheimer’s Association, California’s Health and Human Services Agency and the Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders Advisory Committee. Read the rest of this entry »
A series of budget cuts signed last week by Gov. Jerry Brown will force many Humboldt County seniors to live below the federal poverty line and gut many of the services they depend on.
The reductions — which hit everything from Supplemental Security Income to Adult Day Health Care — also may lead to more seniors going into assisted living and nursing home facilities, according to a host of Humboldt County senior advocates, who believe the cuts may cost the state more money in the long run.
”We’re into a classic penny-wise, pound-foolish situation here,” said Cynthia Denbo, executive director of the Area 1 Agency on Aging.
Denbo and others said it’s also imperative to view the cuts’ cumulative affect and not to look at each in an isolated vacuum. Read the rest of this entry »
On Thursday, March 24th, Governor Jerry Brown signed 13 budget trailer bills, enacting $11.2 billion in solutions to the ongoing state budget deficit. $8.2 billion was in the form of spending cuts, many of which begin on July 1, 2011. The bulk of those cuts will be in health and human services programs that provide essential services to low-income children and adults and individuals with disabilities. Changes to the IHSS program were contained in SB 72, the human services trailer bill, and amounted to a $486 million reduction to the program. For information on these changes, click here.
The Governor has yet to sign the main budget bill (SB 69) as well as any revenue-related bills. These include his controversial proposal to eliminate redevelopment agencies, his proposal to extend increased tax rates, which are scheduled to expire in June, and the elimination of certain corporate tax loopholes. This is because the legislature needs a 2/3s majority vote to pass any bills that raise taxes and as of this point the necessary votes have not been garnered.
Gov. Brown and legislative negotiators were nearing agreement on a five-year spending cap, Capitol sources said, a critical piece of any budget package requiring Republican support.
The cap, long sought by GOP lawmakers, would limit spending to a level reflecting cost-of-living and population growth.
The proposal was one of “several moving pieces” in the governor’s budget package that appeared to be nearing fruition Thursday afternoon, sources said. Read the rest of this entry »
Governor’s Proposal (January 2011)
Governor Jerry Brown submitted his budget to the state legislature on January 10, 2011. Faced with an unprecedented deficit of $26.6 billion, the Governor proposed approximately $12.5 billion in spending cuts, approximately $12 billion in increased revenues and approximately $1.1 billion as a reserve. The spending cuts included a $486.2 million reduction to the In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program. This reduction was achieved by a combination of across the board cuts ($127.5 million), the elimination of domestic and related services for most recipients ($236.6 million), the elimination of services for those without a physician’s certification ($120.5 million), and the elimination of state funding for IHSS Advisory Committees ($1.6 million). Read the rest of this entry »
CDCAN DISABILITY RIGHTS REPORT , #081-2011 – MARCH 21, 2011 – MONDAY
State Budget Crisis
Assembly Adjourns – No Action On State Budget – Next Scheduled Assembly Floor Session Friday 09:00 AM – State Senate Scheduled To Convene Today At 2 PM
SACRAMENTO, CALIF (CDCAN) [Last Updated 03/21/2011 1:18 PM] – The Assembly adjourned this afternoon just before 1:20 PM taking no further action today on the 2011-2012 State budget after a nearly two hour ceremony honoring “women of the year” from each of their legislative districts and is scheduled to meet again on Friday (March 25) at 09:00 AM and Tuesday (March 29) at noon [Monday, March 28th is a state holiday honoring Cesar Chavez]. The Assembly remains “on call” by the Assembly Speaker on the remaining other days this week and during the weekend should new developments on the State budget require action. Read the rest of this entry »
Kenneth Jones Huffington Post, March 21 2011
Kenneth Jones, IHSS Provider
I am a small businessman from California, a retired Air Force Reserve member and a lifelong Republican. I am also a single dad and an In Home Supportive Services (IHSS) home care provider for my 29-year-old daughter Barbara.
Our lives changed forever one dark night in 1996 when Barbara — then only 14 — was involved in a horrific accident caused by a drunk driver. While she survived, she had to have a portion of her brain removed. From that day on, she has been physically disabled and requires 24-hour constant care. Read the rest of this entry »
That’s where Judy Hayes comes in, his longtime home health care worker. Hayes prepares meals – McCauley’s a fan of tuna sandwiches – and helps him out with chores, visiting several days a week. She brings Buddy, a 10-year-old terrier who lolls on the utility-grade carpet in McCauley’s low-income apartment. Read the rest of this entry »
| 1. | Applicants for and current recipients of IHSS are required to obtain certification from a licensed health care professional declaring that the applicant or recipient is unable to perform one or more activities of daily living independently and that, without one or more IHSS services, the applicant or recipient is at risk of being placed in institutional care. |
| “Licensed heath care professional” is defined in the bill as “including, but not limited to, a physician, physician assistant, regional center clinician or clinician supervisor, occupational therapist, physical therapist, psychiatrist, psychologist, optometrist, ophthalmologist, or public health nurse” | |
| This requirement will not apply to current IHSS recipients until the time of their next reassessment after July 1, 2011. | |
| This policy is estimated to result in annual budget savings of $120 million | |
| 2.. | The Department of Health Care Services is required to determine whether it would be cost efficient for the state to participate in the new Community First Choice Option available under Federal law as of October 1, 2011. If it does participate in this option, the state will receive a six percent increase in federal matching funds for costs associated with covered home and community based services programs (such as IHSS). |
| This policy is estimated to result in annual budget savings of $128 million. | |
| 3. | Counties are no longer required to establish IHSS Advisory Committees. However, counties are free to create or retain such committees if they wish. |
| This policy is estimated to result in annual budget savings of $1.4 million. | |
| 4. | The Department of Health Care Services is required to implement the Medication Dispensing Pilot Project beginning July 1, 2011. They will identify eligible Medicaid recipients who meet certain criteria as being at a high risk of not taking their medications as prescribed. These recipients will participate in this pilot project on a voluntary basis. The department will purchase, install and monitor automated medication dispensing machines in participants’ homes. These machines will assist these recipients with taking their medication, thus avoiding costly hospitalization or institutional care. |
| Should the Department of Finance determine after July 1, 2012 –after reviewing relevant data–that the Medication Dispensing Pilot Project or alternative programs will not achieve the $140 million annual budget savings target, the Department of Social Services will be required to implement an across-the-board cut in IHSS authorized service hours beginning October 1, 2012. | |
| This new project is estimated to result in annual budget savings of $140 million. |
CUIDO—Communities United in Defense of Olmstead—is planning a mass rally at the Republican Convention in Sacramento, to fiercely protest the Republican party’s depraved determination to balance the budget on the backs of elderly, disabled, and poor people, as well as students, workers, and everyone else in CA, except, of course, the corporations.
TAX THE RICH! SAVE THE PEOPLE!
THINK EGYPT!
Rally on Sat. Mar. 19,
2 pm California Republican Convention
Hyatt Regency Hotel, 13th & L Streets, Sacramento Read the rest of this entry »
CDCAN DISABILITY RIGHTS REPORT
#078-2011 – MARCH 16, 2011 – WEDNESDAY, 9:23 PM
State Budget Crisis:
LEGISLATURE APPROVES OVER $6 BILLION IN HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES SPENDING CUTS – WILL TAKE UP REVENUE, OTHER TRAILER BILLS AND MAIN BUDGET BILL POSSIBLY THURSDAY
Republicans Give Support to Spending Reductions – But Still No Support Yet for Revenue Piece of Governor’s Plan – Spending Cuts Budget Trailer Bills For Medi-Cal, IHSS, SSI/SSP, Developmental Services, CalWORKS, Adult Day Health Care, Multipurpose Senior Services Program, Proposition 63 Mental Health, Proposition 10 Head Next To Governor – Elimination of Redevelopment Agencies Trailer Bill Falls 1 Vote Short in Assembly – Will Likely Be Taken Up Thursday – Both Houses To Meet 11 AM Thursday Read the rest of this entry »
CDCAN DISABILITY RIGHTS REPORT
#076-2011 – MARCH 15, 2011 – TUESDAY
State Budget Crisis:
SENATE AND ASSEMBLY SCHEDULES VOTE ON BUDGET WEDNESDAY 1 PM – SPENDING CUTS COULD PASS BUT NOT PROPOSAL TO PLACE TAX EXTENSIONS ON JUNE SPECIAL ELECTION BALLOT
Governor and Legislative Democrats Still Lack Republican Votes To Place On A June Special Election Ballot Proposals To Extend for 5 Years Temporary Tax Increases – Package of Identical Budget “Trailer Bills” Impacting IHSS, SSI/SSP, Medi-Cal, Regional Centers, Healthy Families, Redevelopment, Proposition 10 Funding and More Released Read the rest of this entry »
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Shannon Murphy (916) 319-2408
March 15, 2011
Speaker Pérez Statement on California Budget Read the rest of this entry »
CDCAN DISABILITY RIGHTS REPORT
#075-2011 – MARCH 15, 2011 – TUESDAY
BUDGET TRAILER BILLS RELEASED – FIVE BILLS DEALING WITH HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES AMENDED YESTERDAY IN STATE SENATE
Action Signals Possible Vote on Budget Plan in State Senate Even If Stalemate Between Governor and Legislative Republicans Continues Read the rest of this entry »
Riverside County covers nearly 250 incorporated areas, from the city of Riverside, Corona, Lake Elsinore, Murrieta and Hemet, through the desert areas of Palm Springs and Indio, all the way to Blythe. There are more than 17,000 IHSS consumers in Riverside County and around 11,500 providers.
UDW Riverside holds periodic Area Informational Meetings (AIM’s) in different locations throughout the county so that care providers will not have to travel too far to get information that impacts their jobs and their families. We also conduct IHSS Program Advocacy Workshops to help IHSS consumers and their providers be prepared for yearly or intake assessments.
Contact UDW Riverside or check out the UDW Events Calendar to find a meeting in your area.
Sacramento Bee, Sunday, Mar. 13, 2011
Like hundreds of people this winter fighting budget cuts, Steve Doherty trekked to the state Capitol on a recent Monday to argue his case.
The 50-year-old Walnut Creek resident spoke in a casual but unwavering tone to policymakers and others about the importance of four state-run institutions serving developmentally disabled people.
He brought his pitch home by describing his severely disabled 54-year-old sister Maureen, who’s lived in one institution all her life.
“I’m a sibling,” Doherty said. “I’m not a parent. I didn’t expect to be as involved as I have been. It’s just coming up to the plate to do what needs to be done.” Read the rest of this entry »
