Governor Deepens Cuts to Seniors and Disabled As He Signs the Budget
Line-Item Vetoes Believed To Be Illegal!

The latest in a long line of attacks on the home care program, the Governor furthered his assault on home care providers and consumers by exercising his veto power when signing the new state budget on July 28, 2009.

With the swipe of his pen, Governor Schwarzenegger removed important exemptions that the Legislature put into place to protect the domestic services of In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) recipients with paramedical services, protective supervision, and receiving 120 overall hours or more on a monthly basis. He also slashed an additional $9.4 million from the budget of public authorities – funding used in part to operate the Registry and ensure that reassessments by social workers were completed in a timely manner.

WHAT THIS MEANS:
For Home Care Recipients, this means that the lives of our most vulnerable residents will be placed in even greater jeopardy. Here is an example of someone who will be hurt because of the Governor’s veto: a person with Alzheimer's who requires protective supervision may not have a lot of physical disabilities but will probably lose the protective supervision that makes the difference between living safely at home or being placed into an institution. They’ll also experience delays in County reassessments that are critical to ensuring that the hours of care they’re allotted accommodate their deteriorating condition.

For Home Care Providers, this means the possibility of additional cuts to hours that would result in a loss of income and for some their health care benefits (since benefits are based on the number of hours worked). Care providers would also be forced to consider whether or not to ‘work off the clock’ even more than they currently do to ensure their client’s health and well-being.

Action is being taken to determine whether or not the Governor overstepped his veto authority with these last minute cuts – making them illegal.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:
The Governor’s ongoing attacks only reinforce the need to stay vigilant in our fight to protect our seniors, people with disabilities and those who care for them, and seek an alternative funding solution for the home care program – one that will remove the program from the Governor’s reach.

To accomplish this, here’s what you can do…

- Register to vote! Take an active role in the political process and upcoming races.

- Sign the on-line card below and get others involved in the fight and have 5 friends and family members do the same!

- Call the Governor and your Legislators and tell them that home care should be a California priority!

 

TAKE ACTION NOW TO PROTECT SENIORS, PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES AND THOSE WHO PROVIDE THEM WITH CARE!

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