Governor Schwarzenegger Proposes to Cut $750 Million from IHSS

Faced with an estimated $19 billion budget deficit for the upcoming fiscal year, Governor Schwarzenegger released a budget proposal in January designed to close the gap by shifting funds, imposing cuts to various programs, and obtaining additional funding from the federal government.  Included in the governor's proposal were cuts and changes to many programs that are utilized by the senior and disability communities, including In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS). Specifically, the governor proposed to 1) eliminate all IHSS services for consumers who have a functional index of less than 4, 2) reduce state participation in IHSS worker wages to the minimum wage of $8.00/hour, 3) reduce funding for county administration of the IHSS Program, and 4) eliminate the IHSS Program if a specified amount of additional funding is not received from the federal government by June 15th.

On May 14th, the governor released a set of revisions and additions to his state budget proposal for fiscal year 2010-2011. The revised budget proposal rescinds all of the above proposed cuts to IHSS, and replaces them with a new proposal to reduce funding for the program by $637.1 million in the 2010-2011 fiscal year and $750 million in subsequent years (an estimated 42% of the state’s share of the program’s cost).  The governor’s revised proposal does not specify how the reductions would be made, but establishes a stakeholder group to develop a plan to implement the reductions. The final proposal will be submitted to the Legislature by the governor’s office in time for legislative enactment by July 1st.

In addition to the cuts to IHSS, the governor has proposed cuts to several other programs that could impact IHSS consumers and providers including:

• Elimination of the CalWORKs program
• Reduction of SSI/SSP payments for individuals to the minimum level allowed under federal law ($830 per month)
• Elimination of the Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants (CAPI)
• Elimination of the California Food Assistance Program
• Various reductions and changes to the Medi-Cal program (see article below)

It is important to remember that the above are only proposals and require passage by both the state Senate and Assembly before being enacted. More information on the governor's proposals and the budget process will be posted on PASC's website, and in future editions of PASC E-News as it becomes available. To subscribe to PASC E-News, click here.

Back to Homepage

Phone 818-206-7000 | Toll Free 877-565-4477 | Fax 818-206-8000 | TTY 818-206-7015

User Policy | Privacy Statement