By Greg Lucas, California’s Capitol

More than 400,000 low-income elderly Californians who receive in-home care through the state – and their caregivers — will not need to submit fingerprints to receive the services, under legislation on Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk.

The fingerprinting requirement was approved as part of the budget for the fiscal year that ended June 30, ostensibly to combat “fraud” allegedly occurring in delivering In-Home Supportive Services, the fastest growing social program in the state budget.

Combined with other policy changes like criminal background checks on caregivers and more surprise visits to the homes of recipients, the fingerprinting was estimated to help generate some $135 million in general fund savings during the first year of implementation.  Read More »

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Urge Gov. Brown to sign SB 930: here is an editable fax to the governor that will not cost you anything and is easy to send using UDW web-page.