by Rose Broyles

Recently, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of my beloved state, proposed the long dreaded cuts needed to keep California afloat from its $46 billion dollar deficit. While I understand the need to make the cuts to several services including welfare-to-work programs, (I think there is rampant abuse in this area anyway, but I’ll save that argument for another time) I am very troubled by the cuts that were made to programs affecting seniors and disabled children. Of all the social programs, those particular programs should have been spared from cuts.

This last tuesday, Schwarzenegger cut $37.5 million from the In-Home Supportive Services program, $50 million from the Early Start program for developmentally disabled children, and more than $6 million in cuts from programs for the aging. While the governor and other legislators believe these cuts are necessary to save money, it actually might end up costing the state more as time goes on. Here’s why:

Stay At Home vs. Nursing Home

• According to the California Legislative Analyst in past years, the IHSS program has cost approximately $9924 annually. Compare that with $60,000 plus for a person to be placed in a nursing home. If you look at the national statistics of nursing care costs, you will see that number climb in some areas.
  
• As California’s population ages (baby boomers), the unavailability of programs such as: adult day care, IHSS and other much needed programs will force seniors who are otherwise healthy enough to stay home, to be institutionalized (especially for those who do not have family or family that cannot afford to care for them).

Cutting those programs may also affect the workers themselves who may see a cut in their financial compensation and crucial health care benefits because of hourly cuts. Programs like the IHSS allow caregivers to be compensated for their time which is a necessity. I know this as we have had to sacrifice our own financial and emotional needs  to care for both parents for two years before we pulled together to hire a live-in caregiver. People who become caregivers by choice or not, lose hours at their own jobs or even lose their jobs because of the tremendous emotional and physical burden of long-term care. Even now, we have to make ends meet and we have an uncertain future. So, can you imagine those families who cannot even afford a private in-home caregiver? They have no choices now, but to send their parents unwillingly to a nursing home or somehow try to juggle their parents with their own families. When there are health issues involved, that is close to impossible!

“The Governor believes that family providers will continue to do the work for free,” said Laura Reyes, President of United Domestic Workers/AFSCME. “I have two problems with that assumption: First, almost half of all providers in this state are not family providers, but they too will be uncompensated for their work. Second, family providers help the state achieve savings through the IHSS program just like non-family providers so why is the Governor trying to target this group of workers. If there were no family and non-family providers the IHSS program would fail to exist and we would see budget deficits like the one this year every year because you would have over 400,000 elderly and disabled people receiving care at a much high cost.”

Possible Legal Issues

There may be a possible violation of the  landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in Olmstead in 1999. The Court told the states that unnecessary institutionalization of people with disabilities violates the Americans with Disabilities Act.

“How can the governor say he upholds the state’s responsibilities to comply with Olmstead and at the same time cut the services which are at the very heart of any compliance?” said Deborah Doctor, Legislative Advocate at Protection and Advocacy, Inc. (PAI).

The Supreme Court stated that “recognition and unjustified institutional isolation of person with disabilities is a form of discrimination reflect[ed] two evident judgements”: 1) “Institutional placements of people with disabilities who can live in, and benefit from, community settings perpetuates the unwarranted assumptions that persons so isolated are incapable or unworthy of participating in community life”; and 2) “confinement in an institution severely diminishes everyday life activities of individuals, including family relations, social contacts, work options, economic independence, educational advancement, and cultural enrichment.” Olmstead, 119 S.Ct. 2176, 2179, 2187 [emphasis added]. This decision effects not only all persons in institutions and segregated settings, but also people with disabilities who are at risk of institutionalization, including people with disabilities on waiting lists to receive community based services and supports.

It sounds to me, that there is something amiss here. If there is a smaller pool of healthcare workers provided by IHSS, and the requirements implemented with stricter standards occur, then hundreds if not thousands of seniors will lose vital services such as daily living tasks: cooking, cleaning, errands, light medical care, groceries, etc. Obviously, if those services are no longer available, and they cannot afford assisted living (which doesn’t accept Medicare or Medicaid anyway), what other choice do they have? This is involuntary institutionalization.

Raising Awareness

What the governor doesn’t realize (which I don’t think he could, given his social and financial status), and most people who have not experienced the burden of long-term eldercare and children with disabilities) is the emotional, physical and financial impact of caregiving. Most of the seniors depending on the public services programs like IHSS did not start off as destitute. These people were like my father who worked hard for many years, only to see their savings depleted to pay for healthcare costs. These people end up on Social Security as their only income and then need publicly funded services in order to stay home. I wrote a letter to the governor, and I’m also aware of a group of IHSS workers and advocates who have protested. I’m hoping the message will not get muttled and our cause lost, I believe that more people should get involved and if you feel the same way, please send the governor a message to protest the healthcare cuts. You can also follow Gov. Schwarzenegger on Twitter

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