Where to find what you need

IHSS Specific Resources IHSS Program Rules: Quick Questions & Answers IHSS Program Rules; Best research documents & websites Legislation and Policy Resources Community Resources & Links IHSS Consumer Resources & Benefits Planning Glossary of IHSS terms and abbreviations

IHSS-Specific Knowledge Bank

IHSS PROGRAM RULES & POLICY; best documents & websites

FAQ (this site) for quick questions & answers

DISABILITY RIGHTS CALIFORNIA (DRC)

• In Home Supportive Services; Nuts & Bolts
  Complete manual on IHSS covers almost every aspect imagineable. Available online or in pdf form. Available in other languages.
• IHSS Fair Hearing and Self-Assessment Packet
  (pdf) Enblish #5013.01. Available in multiple languages.
  Comprehensive multi-topic IHSS document with extensive information as well as worksheets that can be used to help consumers with assessments and hearings.
• What In-Home Supportive Services Recipients Should Know About Home Visits (pdf) #5494.01
• In-Home Supportive Services Protective Supervision (pdf) (rtf) English, #5493.01
• Right to Request a Home Hearing (How to request a Home Hearing) (pdf) (WORD) (RTF), English. #5485.01
• Fact Sheet on California’s Budget Cuts to Benefits Programs, In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS): Elimination of Buy-In (pdf), English #F00701.pdf. Also available in other languages.
• Fact Sheet on California’s Budget Cuts to Benefits Program, In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS): Fingerprinting and Anti-Fraud Activities (pdf), English, #F008.01. Also available in other languages.
• Functional Limitation Self Assessment Packet (pdf) or (rtf), English, #5482.01. Also available in other languages.
• Request for information: Documenting Patient’s Functional Limitations (html) or (pdf), (rtf) English, #5467.01
• “Grandfather” protection for persons enrolled on December 1, 2004, in one of the Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) (pdf), English #5460.01.
• The Multipurpose Senior Services Program May Be the Answer to Staying at Home Rather than Going to a Nursing Home (pdf), English, #5395.01
• How the AIDS Medi-Cal Waiver Can Help You Get the Care You Need at Home Instead of in a Medical Facility (html) or (pdf), English, #5435.01
• How to Get the Extra Help You Need to Stay in Your Own Home and Avoid a Nursing Home (html) or (pdf), English, #5392.01.
• County IHSS Eligibility Workers Must Process The Application of Persons In Nursing Facilities and Hospitals (html) or (pdf), English #5239.01

IHSS Consumer Handbook. (CA DPSS publication) English. 2006 (pdf, 110 pg. 3.5 KB)
Covers many aspects of IHSS, from eligibility guidelines and tasks IHSS will pay for, to “Share of Cost,” organizational skills, and other Consumer responsibilities. Has very specific and detailed information for consumers on how to train, hire, supervise, and communicate with a provider.

IHSS Provider Handbook. (CA DPSS publication) English. 2006. (pdf, 146 pg. 3,9 KB)
Duplicates much of the general program information that is in the Consumer Handbook (above). Has additional information specific to the responsibilities of the provider including interview skills; organizational skills; information about various conditions which may be encountered (stroke, diabetes, etc.); universal precautions; home safety; etc.

What About IHSS? (English, pdf) 1991. Although published some time ago, this document still has pertinent information that is worth referencing for research.

Disability Benefits 101 IHSS “The Basics”; IHSS.Details English, webpage.
This website has numerous IHSS topics including highly developed calculators for determining eligibility, and forums populated by knowledgeable advocates that will answer questions.

Blue Book (SSA Listing of Impairments) English. Web page.
Social Security publication provides detailed information about disability programs to physicians and other health care professionals. Relates to eligibility criteria for IHSS. The Blue Book includes the complete Listing of Impairments, which lists and defines those conditions considered severe enough to prevent a person from doing any gainful activity. The Blue Book can now be accessed online

California Welfare & Institutions Code
This online manual has the exact legal language that IHSS policies are based on.

CA DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES

• DSS All County Letters (ACLs) and All County Information Notices (ACINs)
  Click ACL or ACIN, then choose year. Scroll to find IHSS related letters.
  These are the official notices from the state to counties (issued by the Department of Social Services, and also by the Department of Health Care Services). They provide instruction for policy implementation of new state laws or changes to law that impact IHSS. These are the documents you can quote to your county if you feel thay aren’t implementing a particular regulation correctly.
• CDSS Online Manual of Policies and Procedures. This page has numerous links to PDF documents for various manuals covering Social Services Standards, Adult Protective Services, etc. Good state hearing resource. Of particular interest: 
• DSS Manual of Policies and Procedures Chapter 30-700: IHSS
  PART ONE: http://www.dss.cahwnet.gov/ord/entres/getinfo/pdf/ssman2.pdf
  PART TWO: http://www.dss.cahwnet.gov/ord/entres/getinfo/pdf/ssman3.pdf 
• DSS Manual of Policies and Procedures Chapter 22: Confidentiality, Fraud, Civil Rights and State Hearings Manual
  PART ONE:http://www.dss.cahwnet.gov/ord/entres/getinfo/pdf/4cfcman.pdf
  PART TWO: http://www.dss.cahwnet.gov/ord/entres/getinfo/pdf/5cfcman.pdf
• IHSS Forms & Publications
  By Program. Web Page. Scroll to where it says “IHSS” and click for numerous program specific informational documents as well as actual forms used by counties (such as intake, para-medical etc). Subjects too numerous to list here.
• CDSS; Hearing Information
  This page is a gold-mine of information that includes IHSS hearings and regulations. It has tabs guiding you to different resources including “paraphrased regulations” meaning layman’s terms to make research easier. Decisions and regulations pertain to many aspects of IHSS.