CDCAN REPORT #224-2010: Dept of Social Services sends out DRAFT "All County Letter" notice regarding 3.6% cut in authorized hours

SACRAMENTO, CALIF  (CDCAN) [Updated 11/18/2010  07:20 PM   (Pacific Time)]  -  The California Department of Social Services – the state agency that oversees statewide the In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program, released late this afternoon a DRAFT copy of a notice called an “All County Letter” that will be sent – when finalized - to the counties providing them with instructions on how to implement the 3.6% reduction in authorized hours for all In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) recipients beginning February 1, 2011.  Over 460,000 children and adults with disabilities (including developmental), mental health needs, the blind, seniors will be impacted.

The reduction in hours also impacts the IHSS recipient’s IHSS worker (provider) because that also means a reduction in working hours.  There are over 360,000 people who work as IHSS workers (providers).

Final Versions of the Notice of Action Inserts Also Released

Also released today are final versions of the Notice of Action (NOA) message insert (titled “303-A” and “303-B”) that will be included with each Notice of Action sent out by the Department of Social Services.  The complete text of both inserts are included in this CDCAN Report below.  Draft versions of these message inserts were sent out previously for comments and suggestions. 

The Notice of Action message insert will explain the new law to all IHSS recipients and will be available in the four State threshold languages: English, Spanish, Armenian, and Chinese as required by State law.

The Notice of Action message insert will also include the appeals information from the Notice of Action “NA 690” translated into the required languages.

3.6% Cut Part of 2010-2011 State Budget Agreement

The 3.6% reduction was part of the budget agreement between the Legislature and Governor, and was passed as part of the long delayed 2010-2011 State Budget in October.  The provisions requiring the California Department of Social Services to implement the reduction are contained in AB 1612, one of the several budget related (or budget trailer) bills and among other things requires the following:

• Notice of Action to All IHSS Recipients - That the Department of Social Services send out (by US mail) the Notice of Action at least 30 days prior to the reduction going into effect.  The same bill also allows IHSS recipients to choose how this reduction is applied to their own specific authorized service hours. (finalized versions of this notice is attached to this report)
• The 3.6% reduction will first be applied to any documented unmet need (excluding protective supervision).
• AB 1612 included a sunset provision (that ends the reduction) that requires each recipient’s service hours be restored, effective July 1, 2012, to the IHSS recipient’s full authorized level based on the IHSS recipient’s most recent IHSS assessment.

Persons or Organizations Interested In Making Comments or Suggestions to Draft All County Letter Notice

Persons or organizations interested in making comments or suggestions in the information as written in the draft All County Letter notice (draft is included below and also attached to this CDCAN Report) in terms of content (for example, what is missing or what is not clear or instructions that go beyond what was authorized in the bill, etc.) . 

COMMENT DEADLINE ABOUT THE DRAFT ALL COUNTY LETTER:
November 26, 2010 – Friday (close of business or by 5:00 PM)

SEND COMMENTS TO:
Marshall Browne at Marshall.Browne@dss.ca.gov

and to

Victoria Rodriguez at Victoria.Rodriguez@dss.ca.gov

QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS DRAFT ALL COUNTY LETTER:
Charissa S. Miguelino, Manager - Policy, Legislation & Litigation Unit
Adult Programs Policy Bureau/Adult Programs Branch
California Department of Social Services
Phone: 916-229-4000

IHSS Stakeholder Public Meeting November 19th – Can Access By Toll Free Phone Line – Focus On New Disqualifying Convictions for an IHSS Worker (Provider)

NOVEMBER 19, 2010 – FRIDAY

IN-HOME SUPPORTIVE SERVICES (IHSS) STAKEHOLDER PUBLIC MEETING

TIME AND PLACE:  10:30 AM to 12:00 PM,  Dept. of Technology Services Training & Event Center, 9323 Tech Center Drive, Conference Room 2, Sacramento, California 95826

WHAT: This meeting will focus on the new IHSS worker (provider) enrollment requirements which expand the exclusionary crimes that could prohibit a person from working as an IHSS provider as outlined in Assembly Bill 1612.   Additionally, according to the meeting announcement, the California Department of Social Services will discuss the waiver process (by IHSS recipients who still wish to hire a person even if their criminal background check shows disqualifying convictions under AB 1612)  and share draft notices and forms that will inform IHSS recipients that they may hire a person despite a serious or violent felony. (The agenda and draft documents will be sent under separate cover on 11/15/10 prior to the meeting.)

LIMITED NUMBER OF TOLL FREE PHONE LINES:  1-800-288-9626   Confirmation No.: 177580

The Department of Social Services will make available a limited number of toll free lines for those not able to attend this meeting but advises that due to the limitation of the number of lines, interested persons should dial in approximately 15 minutes early to help ensure that a person is able to get an open line.

REASONABLE ACCOMMODATIONS :  The Department of Social Services indicated that persons who may need or require special accommodations, please contact Beverly Garland, Analyst in the Department of Social Services Adult Programs Policy Bureau, at (916) 229-0438 or beverly.garland@dss.ca.gov  by November 8, 2010.

QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS MEETING:  contact by phone or email - Beverly Garland, Analyst in the Department of Social Services Adult Programs Policy Bureau, at (916) 229-0438 or beverly.garland@dss.ca.gov

CDCAN COMMENT: See separate CDCAN Report about this meeting or go to CDCAN website at www.cdcan.us.  These new requirements of additional disqualifying convictions for an IHSS worker (provider) were proposed by the Governor and passed by the Legislature in October2010 as part of the budget agreement to close what was then a $19 billion budget hole.  These additional disqualifying convictions that would disqualify a person from being an IHSS worker could be “waived” by the IHSS recipient – that exact process and what an IHSS recipient can waive is also the topic of the November 19th meeting.    This public stakeholder meeting will not focus on other issues that will be the subject of separate stakeholder meetings or announcements, including unannounced home visits of target IHSS recipients (as authorized as part of the 2009-2010 State Budget as revised in July 2009), and the additional 3.6% reduction in authorized service hours for all IHSS recipients that was passed as part of the 2010-2011 State Budget in October (which goes into effect early next year). 

WHO THIS IMPACTS:  The over 460,000 children and adults with disabilities, mental health needs, the blind and seniors who receive services under IHSS and some number of the over 360,000 persons who work as IHSS providers (workers) and others who are in the process of applying to be a worker, the community organizations and local government entities that deal with IHSS (including IHSS Public Authorities, IHSS Advisory Committees), independent living centers, supported living services agencies, county IHSS programs, etc. 

PRIORITY:  VERY HIGH

COMPLETE TEXT OF DRAFT ALL COUNTY LETTER

The following is the complete text of the DRAFT “All County Letter” below for those people who may not be able to view it in a pdf file or for those using screen reading devices (though the pdf file is saved as a word type document) and titled “2010-11-18 - DRAFT - All County Letter - 3.6 Cut IHSS Hours.pdf”    – Marty Omoto

ALL-COUNTY LETTER NO: DRAFT 11/18/2010

*****DRAFT******

TO: ALL-COUNTY WELFARE DIRECTORS

ALL-COUNTY IN-HOME SUPPORTIVE

SERVICES PROGRAM MANAGERS

SUBJECT: IMPLEMENTATION OF ASSEMBLY BILL 1612 AS IT RELATES TO SERVICE REDUCTIONS IN THE IN-HOME SUPPORTIVE SERVICES PROGRAM

The purpose of this All-County Letter (ACL) is to instruct counties on the implementation of a 3.6 percent service reduction to every recipient in the In-Home Supportive Service (IHSS) program, in accordance with the mandates of Assembly Bill (AB) 1612 (Chapter 725, Statutes of 2010).

Background

AB 1612 added section 12301.06 to the Welfare and Institution Code (WIC) which requires the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) to reduce every IHSS recipient’s total authorized hours by 3.6 percent effective February 1, 2010. AB 1612 requires Notices of Action (NOA) NA 690 to be mailed at least 30 days prior to the reduction going into effect and permits recipients to choose how this reduction is applied toward each of their specific authorized services. The 3.6 percent reduction will first be applied to any documented unmet need (excluding protective supervision). AB 1612 included a sunset provision that requires each recipient’s service hours be restored, effective July 1, 2012, to the recipient’s full authorized level based on the recipient’s most recent assessment.

State Responsibilities

CDSS will do a Case Management, Information and Payrolling System (CMIPS) run in late December 2010 to calculate the 3.6 percent reduction for every recipient’s total authorized hours. In order to meet statutory requirements, CDSS will mail out NOAs to current recipients between December 27 and December 30, 2010.

The NOAs will notify existing recipients that beginning February 1, 2011 their total authorized service hours will be reduced by 3.6 percent. The new NOA message 303 (temp) will show the total authorized hours before the 3.6 percent reduction and the future total authorized hours after the 3.6 percent reduction (see “CMIPS Functionality and Data Entry” below for NOA messages). Only the total authorized hours will show as reduced. As usual, the NOA will show the unreduced authorized hours for each specific IHSS service. Effective July 1, 2012 CDSS will restore recipients’ authorized hours to their full authorized level based on the recipient’s most recent assessment.

Additionally, a NOA message insert (303-A) will be included with each NOA sent out by CDSS. The NOA message insert will explain the new law to recipients and will be available in the four State threshold languages: English, Spanish, Armenian, and Chinese as required by Government Code Section 7295.2. The NOA message insert will also include the appeals information from the NA 690 translated into the required languages.

County Responsibilities

County IHSS staff will continue to conduct assessments/reassessments and enter cases into CMIPS in the current manner. CMIPS will automatically calculate the 3.6-percent reduction and apply the reduction to the total authorized hours (see “CMIPS Functionality and Data Entry” below). Calculations for Severely Impaired and Non-Severely Impaired categories will not be affected by this reduction, as individual authorized IHSS services will not be reduced.

CMIPS will automatically print NOAs with appropriate NOA messages. However, there are two different NOA message inserts: 303-A and 303-B (attached) and appeals information the county will be responsible for including with every NOA sent between December 31, 2010 and June 30, 2012. The appeals information (attached) is intended to be printed on the reverse side of the NOA message insert. Both NOA message inserts and the appeals information are available in the four State threshold languages: English, Spanish, Armenian, and Chinese. Counties may translate the NOA message inserts into other languages as needed.

Beginning December 31, 2010 and continuing through January 31, 2011 counties must include NOA message insert number 303-A, including the appeals information in the appropriate language with each NOA sent. Beginning February 1, 2011 and continuing through June 30, 2012 counties must include NOA message insert number 303-B, including the appeals information in the appropriate language with each NOA sent.

Recipients will choose how the 3.6 percent reduction is applied to each of their specific authorized IHSS services. The recipient is responsible for advising his/her provider about the total reduction in service hours and also the specific service hours they chose to reduce. Recipients do not need to report to the county which hours they choose to reduce. This is between the recipient and his/her provider(s). County IHSS staff will not have a role in distributing or allocating remaining hours after the 3.6 percent reduction is applied.

A county that receives a request for a reassessment during the 90 days following issuance of a NOA related to this reduction should evaluate whether the request is disputing the 3.6 percent reduction, or whether there has been a change in the recipient’s circumstances that impacts their functional abilities. As part of this evaluation process counties may, when necessary, request additional information from recipients to document the change in circumstances necessitating a reassessment. If the request is solely in response to the 3.6 percent reduction, the county should explain the state hearings process (see below) to the recipient and deny the request for a reassessment. If the request is the result of a change in circumstances, the county should accept the request for a reassessment and proceed accordingly.

The NOA message inserts (303-A and 303-B) direct recipients to contact their local IHSS office with questions regarding the 3.6 percent reduction. Counties should prepare for calls from recipients regarding the implementation of this law.

CMIPS Functionality and Data Entry

CMIPS will be programmed to perform a one-time process that reduces existing recipient cases Authorized to Purchase hours by 3.6 percent. This reduction applies to recipients and providers in a one-to-one relationship in either “E” or “L” status. CMIPS will suppress the generation of the In-Home Supportive Services Assessment, SOC 293 and the Provider Eligibility Update Form, SOC 311 for this initial reduction processing. Thereafter, turnaround documents will be produced for the ongoing caseload as usual. The effective date of this change will be February 1, 2011. System edits will not allow creation of eligibility segments that span the February 1, 2011 date. The system will automatically create an ending segment (N line) for existing files that contain open segments and create a new segment (M line) starting February 1, 2011.

CMIPS will also be modified to apply the 3.6 percent reduction to new recipient cases, and any reactivated recipient cases. Date span editing will apply to these cases using a February 1, 2011 effective date. Cases entered after January 1, 2011 will require two segments, a segment for any days of services provided in January and a second segment created beginning February 1, 2011. Please note counties must wait until the following day to create the second segment, February 1, 2011, because a NOA will be generated for the January hours.

The RELC screen will be modified to display the reduction calculation immediately following the current calculation. The new field AB 1612 displays the number of reduction hours. The new field AB 1612 is followed by the reduced hours in the existing

fields of Net Hours, Authorized to Purchase hours and the Unmet Needs hours. The calculation will not display on the SOC 293. Please not, it is possible to have a case where the only adjustment is to Unmet Needs resulting in no actual change to the number of hours the recipient will receive.

CMIPS will produce a one-time 30-day notification for all recipients in “E” or “L” status whose hours are being reduced. The new NOA message 303 (temp), shown below, has been developed and will be displayed on the NOA mailed by CDSS in late December. For new or reactivated cases and other ongoing situations, CMIPS will generate the normal 10-day NOA with the new NOA message number 303 (shown below). Instructions will be added to the CMIPS 2000 manual with the next quarterly manual update.

NOA Messages

303 (temp) - Beginning February 1, 2011and as a result of a new state law your total monthly authorized hours of ###.## will be reduced by 3.6 percent to ###.##. (W&IC 12301.06) Please see the insert for more information about the new law.

303- As a result of a new state law your total monthly authorized hours of ###.## have been reduced by 3.6-percent to ###.## (W&IC 12301.06) Please see the insert for more information about the new law.

State Hearings

Recipients will have their normal appeal rights. Recipient appeal rights will be available in the four State threshold languages (English, Armenian, Spanish, and Chinese) and will be included with each NOA message insert. For IHSS, Administrative Law Judges only have jurisdiction to review cases within 90 days of a county action such as an assessment, failure to assess or reassess, or denial of services.

WIC Section 10950 states: “Notwithstanding any other provision of this code, there is no right to a state hearing when either (1) state or federal law requires automatic grant adjustments for classes of recipients unless the reason for an individual request is incorrect grant computation, or (2) the sole issue is a federal or state law requiring an automatic change in services or medical assistance which adversely affects some or all recipients.” This means hearing requests solely based on the 3.6 percent reduction will be dismissed. Recipients will continue to have the right to appeal any county action made on their IHSS case.

If the county receives an oral request for a state hearing regarding the 3.6 percent reduction, the county should refer the recipient to the State Hearings Division at 1-866-513-5103. Likewise, if the county receives a written request for a state hearing regarding the 3.6 percent reduction the county should fax the request to the State Hearings Division at 916-651-2737.

For questions regarding the contents of this letter, please contact Victoria Rodriguez, Analyst in the Adult Programs Division Policy Bureau, Operations and Technical Assistance Unit at 916-229-4587 or

Victoria.Rodriguez@dss.ca.gov

Sincerely,

EILEEN CARROLL
Deputy Director
Adult Programs Division
Attachments

TEXT OF NOTICE OF ACTION –  FINAL VERSION OF 303 A INSERT

This is also attached as 1 page pdf file titled "2010-11-18 - Notice of Action - 303-A Insert Final.pdf"

IN-HOME SUPPORTIVE SERVICES

NOTICE OF ACTION MESSAGE -303-A

Beginning February 1, 2011, your total authorized monthly hours will be reduced by 3.6 percent. Here is why:

A new state law (Section 12301.06 of the Welfare and Institutions Code) says the California Department of Social Services must reduce all IHSS recipients’ total authorized monthly hours by 3.6 percent.

The new law allows you to choose which of your specific authorized IHSS services, shown on the front of your IHSS Notice of Action, will be reduced. For example, if you lose three hours of service per month, you can choose to reduce three hours from one authorized service or split it up among different services. You are responsible for informing your provider(s) of your reduction in total authorized services and which specific service hours you have chosen to reduce. You do not have to report which hours you choose to reduce; this is between you and your provider.

The 3.6 percent reduction will remain in effect until June 30, 2012. The new law also applies to all reassessments made during this timeframe. On July 1, 2012 your total monthly hours will go back up to your full authorized service level, based on your most recent assessment.

Your hearing rights are included with this message. However, requests for a state hearing only about the new state law requiring the 3.6 percent reduction in service hours will be dismissed.

If you do not understand the changes or have questions about the new law please contact your county IHSS office.

TEXT OF NOTICE OF ACTION – FINAL VERSION OF 303 B INSERT

This is also attached as 1 page pdf file titled “2010-11-18 - Notice of Action - 303-B Insert Final.pdf”

IN-HOME SUPPORTIVE SERVICES

NOTICE OF ACTION MESSAGE-303-B

Your total monthly authorized hours have been reduced by 3.6-percent. Here is why:

A new state law (Section 12301.06 of the Welfare and Institutions Code) says the California Department of Social Services must reduce all IHSS recipients’ total authorized monthly hours by 3.6 percent.

The new law allows you to choose which of your specific authorized IHSS services, shown on the front of your IHSS Notice of Action, will be reduced. For example, if you lose three hours of service per month, you can choose to reduce three hours from one authorized service or split it up among different services. You are responsible for informing your provider(s) of your reduction in total authorized services and which specific service hours you have chosen to reduce. You do not have to report which hours you choose to reduce; this is between you and your provider.

The 3.6 percent reduction will remain in effect until June 30, 2012. The new law also applies to all reassessments made during this timeframe. On July 1, 2012 your total monthly hours will go back up to your full authorized service level, based on your most recent assessment.

Your hearing rights are included with this message. However, requests for a state hearing only about the new state law requiring the 3.6 percent reduction in service hours will be dismissed.

If you do not understand the changes or have questions about the new law please contact your county IHSS office.

File Attachments: 

2010-11-18 - DRAFT - All County Letter - 3.6 percent cut IHSS hours.pdf

2010-11-18 - Notice of Action - 303-A Insert Final.pdf

2010-11-18 - Notice of Action - 303-B Insert Final.pdf