Disability Rights California Released the following Summary of the proposed 2014-2015 Budget.
The Governor’s Budget Proposal: time is standing still for seniors and people with disabilities as critical services are not restored
Sacramento, January 15, 2014 — When Governor Brown proposed his budget for 2014-2015, he said that “California, more than any other state, provides a very generous amount of funding to help poor families under our Medi-Cal program – to take care of disabled and elderly people and often, in most cases, their relatives.”
His budget, by failing to restore cuts made over the last several years, says otherwise.
Low-income Californians who are elderly or have disabilities have borne the brunt of cuts to their income and their services year after year. As California’s economy continues to improve, all Californians, particularly those who because of their age or disability rely on government services, should expect that critical services will be restored and the safety net mended.
Medi-Cal: Some adult dental services will be restored in May, but this budget does not complete that restoration, and does not restore audiology services, podiatric services, incontinence creams and washes, and speech therapy services.
SSI/SSP: These modest payments, available only to the poorest elderly and people with disabilities, were reduced to federal minimums in 2009 and 2011. The Governor’s proposed budget does not restore the annual state cost of living adjustment (COLA) that was eliminated in 2009, or the SSI/SSP cuts enacted from 2009 to 2011. SSI/SSP grant levels are $877 for individuals below the poverty threshold and $1,478 per month for couples, to meet all expenses, including housing, utilities, transportation and food. According to a 2013 Kaiser Family Foundation study, using the Census Bureau’s Supplemental Poverty Measure, 20% of California seniors live in poverty – only the District of Columbia does worse.
In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS): This program allows 440,000 low-income Californians to stay home safely and out of institutions, by providing low-cost personal and household care. Although California’s revenues are projected to grow by 5.9% percent, IHSS recipients will continue to see their service hours cut 8% through June and 7% ongoing.
In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS): The federal government recently enacted new rules which require overtime to be paid for domestic workers, including IHSS workers. Instead of funding that requirement, the Governor proposes to ban overtime. This means for many IHSS consumers, the workers who know their needs the best and provide the most intimate and personal care will no longer be able to provide all of their services. Read more
To read the Governor’s full Budget Proposal, click here.