You can use these talking points when visiting with legislators or talking to the media:

In 1973 Governor Reagan created the In Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program to provide services to the elderly and disabled at a far lower cost than institutionalized care.Today, IHSS homecare services are an essential safety net for nearly a half million elderly, blind and disabled Californians. Many of these people must rely for their care on relatives–who, in many cases, have had to give up other jobs and even careers to care for their loved ones. Others have to rely on outside homecare workers. Whether related or not, many providers receive wages of less than $10 an hour.

IHSS saves taxpayers money and stimulates local economies in several ways:

• Home care is at least FIVE TIMES less costly than institutional care. A year of IHSS homecare costs around $13,000; while nursing home care costs taxpayers at least $55,000 a year.
• The IHSS program brings hundreds of millions of dollars of Federal funds to California . California will lose this money if the program is cut.)
• Homecare workers and their clients spend millions of dollars in local communities, supporting local businesses that also pay taxes
• IHSS provides jobs for hundreds of thousands of Californians. Home care providers pay millions in income and sales taxes
• IHSS keeps these workers off of welfare and other social programs that cost taxpayers money.

Elderly and disabled Californians should have the option of receiving support in their own homes rather than being forced into far more costly nursing facilities or other institutions, where they will receive impersonal–and sometimes substandard–care.The In Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program was created to provide that alternative, yet state budget issues are now threatening the program’s existence.When speaking to legislators or the media, these facts are important, but YOUR PERSONAL CIRCUMSTANCES are even more important. By telling YOUR story, you show how valuable IHSS is in human terms and what the impact will be if the program is cut.

For Homecare Consumers:

• What would happen to you if your services are reduced?
• Will you have to move or be institutionalized due to lowered authorized hours or pay rates?
• If your authorized hours are cut, what crucial services will you have to do without? 
• How would reduced hours impact your ability to hire a new provider or keep your current worker?



For Homecare Providers:

• What will happen to your family, if your available earnings are reduced?
• If your  hours of employment are cut back, will you have to get a second job to replace lost wages?
• Will you have to give care to someone without being paid for it, in order to keep them out of an institution?
• If your hours are reduced, will you lose medical coverage?
• Will you have to quit homecare work?