[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Jovan Agee
Political and Legislative Director
United Domestic Workers of America

Governor Schwarzenegger has proposed ravaging cuts to the In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS), which provides personal care and domestic services enabling 408,000 California seniors and people with disabilities to remain at home safely and avoid unnecessary, expensive and unwanted institutionalization.

"Governor Schwarzenegger has failed to protect the needy, blind, disabled and aged in our communities, and has shown a total disregard for what should be a top priority of California lawmakers overseeing state spending," said Bill Young, an IHSS consumer in Sacramento County and a member of the California Senior Legislature. "To deny those in need in the name of fiscal restraint is shameful for any leader, but especially desperate for Governor Schwarzenegger, who continues to disregard the plight of low-income families across the Golden State."

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

Reductions in home care and income will leave thousands struggling to survive

By Jovan Agee

After the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office today released its report on Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s proposed 2008-09 state budget, hundreds of Californians—all people who use or advocate for the state’s In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program—criticized the unnecessary and drastic proposal for 18 percent cuts in vital domestic services. Those cuts would mean that low-income people with disabilities and seniors lose precious hours of help with meal preparation, clean-up, housekeeping, laundry, and food shopping, all of which make it possible for them to avoid or delay costly and unnecessary institutional care.

“Which day of the week should I go without my meals, Mr. Governor? That’s what you and other lawmakers are asking me to decide if you go forward with these cuts,” said Herb Meyer, 76, a disabled consumer of IHSS services in Marin County.

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

There they go again.

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Ryan Rauzon

The Senate Budget Subcommittee on Health and Human Services yesterday rejected Gov. Schwarzenegger's budget proposal to freeze state funding for wages and benefits for California's In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program workers. Both legislative committees with oversight of IHSS funding have now dismissed the administration’s draconian spending cut. IHSS provides personal care and domestic services to more than 375,000 people with disabilities, including seniors. The program saves taxpayers millions of dollars every year by helping Californians who need assistance to live at home, avoiding costly long-term care institutions.