Recently an investigative reporter for the Times Sacramento Bureau Chief Evan Halper uncovered that violent felons have been permitted to enter the homes of the frail and sick to perform healthcare services. Is this an incendiary story with little statistical significance designed to give the Governor an excuse to cut the In Home Supportive Services Program (“IHSS”)? Or is it a horrifying reality of an industry fraught with problems such as high stress, relatively low wage positions?

IHSS, is intended to provide an alternative to nursing homes for low-income residents. Here in California, one must qualify for Medi-Cal in order to receive this benefit which is 283 hours a month.

According to Halper, individuals convicted of crimes such as rape, elder abuse and assault with a deadly weapon are permitted to care for some of California’s most vulnerable residents as part of the government’s home health aide program. The facts:

1. Data provided by state officials show that at least 210 workers and applicants flagged by investigators as unsuitable to work in the program are nonetheless scheduled to resume or begin employment. Current rules allow California to hire convicts, and privacy laws often keep patients in the dark about their caregiver’s past. Simply stated, thousands of current workers have had no background checks.
2. A court ruling earlier this year that said only specific types of child or elder abuse or fraud disqualify a person from being a caregiver in the state’s In Home Supportive Services. As a result, people convicted of crimes such as rape and assault with a deadly weapon have been permitted to provide care.
3. The 210 providers alleged to be dangerous felons with convictions represent 0.00005 percent of the 380,000 homecare providers in IHSS.
4. Many homecare providers are family members or friends.
5. If this program is cut, many older poor frail adults will have no assistance with daily tasks critical to thriving such as eating, bathing, walking, toileting, etc.
6. The budget was initially passed by the state assembly and senate last week and was approved by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger the same day. Schwarzenegger implemented nearly $1 billion in additional spending cuts by exercising his line item veto power. He cut $300 million cut from In-Home Care.

I don’t usually believe in conspiracy theories, but here’s a question. If our legislature truly cared for the sick and disabled, wouldn’t he keep the program alive and put in place systems to ensure that this population can safely age in place instead of killing it?