This is yet another misstep, as the anti-IHSS bureaucracy grows larger even as resources dwindle. There is nothing in statute that authorizes the State or County staff to snap photos of elderly and disabled beneficiaries of the IHSS program. Some program participants are extremely self-conscious of their appearance as a result of disfiguring injuries or debilitating disease; others may be at a stage of dementia that the idea of having their photo taken will seem menacing.
And to what end? Others already have noted that "duplicate identity" has not been identified as an issue that contributes to fraudulent expenditure. And it must be noted that IHSS beneficiaries and providers have offered their assistance to the State--they want to help root out any fraud that there is so that they no longer are cast in this horribly negative light--but the State has refused to permit them to join the planning team, sending the clear message that they cannot be trusted.
Each stepping stone in this story increases the shame and blame, a horrendous and undeserved assault on the low-income, disabled residents of our communities. It is fraud at the highest level when powerful institutions including the Governor and the State Departments of Social Services and Health Care Services inflate statistics and demonize the most vulnerable population of disabled people and their low-paid providers of care.
If those of us who are able and strong do not speak up on their behalf, then we must share the shame, and the blame.
The DCHS representative states that individuals like Michael Condon "should not be intimidated!" when badge-brandishing fraud investigators show up unexpectedly. That's ridiculous. You would be intimidated, and I would be intimidated, no matter whether we had believed we had done anything wrong. If the IRS shows up at my house, I'm intimidated, okay?
In these cases, the State and Counties need to have some kind of probable cause--check out the 4th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The surprise bang-bang home visit is specifically DESIGNED to be intimidating--to catch someone in some imagined act--and this is why folks are scared. It's all part of the grand plan to demonize the disabled individuals who benefit from this program, along with their caregivers who do work from which most of us would shrink.
This should be a source of profound shame for all Californians, and KPBS's Amita Sharma should be recognized for her role in ferreting the truth from the spin. This is excellent journalism.
These are the kinds of cuts that represent the Governor's view of "shared sacrifice." Neither California's corporations nor its wealthiest citizens were asked to share any sacrifice, of course; the caregivers of the neediest among us and the needy themselves did the sacrificing. Somehow, the imposition of a tax on oil extraction is too "burdensome" to the oil giants, yet the most minimal support for the disabled is yanked from them.
And how does the Governor justify this? Neither he nor his Director of Social Services have the courage to call it what it is, and that is their deliberate targeting of the weakest among us in their desire to reduce expenditures. No, they raise this false spectre of "fraud," cloaking their intentions in the counterfeit claim that individuals such as those interviewed for this article are undeserving, that they likely are fraudulent deceivers, violating the public trust. But they are not the ones who violated the public trust. Governor Schwarzenegger, Secretary Belshe and State Director Wagner are the ones who have violated the public trust.
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California Social Services Using New Cameras In Attempt To Eliminate IHSS Fraud
This is yet another misstep, as the anti-IHSS bureaucracy grows larger even as resources dwindle. There is nothing in statute that authorizes the State or County staff to snap photos of elderly and disabled beneficiaries of the IHSS program. Some program participants are extremely self-conscious of their appearance as a result of disfiguring injuries or debilitating disease; others may be at a stage of dementia that the idea of having their photo taken will seem menacing.
And to what end? Others already have noted that "duplicate identity" has not been identified as an issue that contributes to fraudulent expenditure. And it must be noted that IHSS beneficiaries and providers have offered their assistance to the State--they want to help root out any fraud that there is so that they no longer are cast in this horribly negative light--but the State has refused to permit them to join the planning team, sending the clear message that they cannot be trusted.
Each stepping stone in this story increases the shame and blame, a horrendous and undeserved assault on the low-income, disabled residents of our communities. It is fraud at the highest level when powerful institutions including the Governor and the State Departments of Social Services and Health Care Services inflate statistics and demonize the most vulnerable population of disabled people and their low-paid providers of care.
If those of us who are able and strong do not speak up on their behalf, then we must share the shame, and the blame.
March 29, 2010 at 8:46 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
State Steps Up Random Home Visits For In-Home Care Providers
The DCHS representative states that individuals like Michael Condon "should not be intimidated!" when badge-brandishing fraud investigators show up unexpectedly. That's ridiculous. You would be intimidated, and I would be intimidated, no matter whether we had believed we had done anything wrong. If the IRS shows up at my house, I'm intimidated, okay?
In these cases, the State and Counties need to have some kind of probable cause--check out the 4th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The surprise bang-bang home visit is specifically DESIGNED to be intimidating--to catch someone in some imagined act--and this is why folks are scared. It's all part of the grand plan to demonize the disabled individuals who benefit from this program, along with their caregivers who do work from which most of us would shrink.
This should be a source of profound shame for all Californians, and KPBS's Amita Sharma should be recognized for her role in ferreting the truth from the spin. This is excellent journalism.
December 16, 2009 at 3:36 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Caregiver Sick About IHSS Cuts
These are the kinds of cuts that represent the Governor's view of "shared sacrifice." Neither California's corporations nor its wealthiest citizens were asked to share any sacrifice, of course; the caregivers of the neediest among us and the needy themselves did the sacrificing. Somehow, the imposition of a tax on oil extraction is too "burdensome" to the oil giants, yet the most minimal support for the disabled is yanked from them.
And how does the Governor justify this? Neither he nor his Director of Social Services have the courage to call it what it is, and that is their deliberate targeting of the weakest among us in their desire to reduce expenditures. No, they raise this false spectre of "fraud," cloaking their intentions in the counterfeit claim that individuals such as those interviewed for this article are undeserving, that they likely are fraudulent deceivers, violating the public trust. But they are not the ones who violated the public trust. Governor Schwarzenegger, Secretary Belshe and State Director Wagner are the ones who have violated the public trust.
September 29, 2009 at 10:31 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )