Via Email

The Honorable Senator Scott Wiener
Chair, Senate Budget & Fiscal Review Committee
The Honorable Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel
Chair, Assembly Budget Committee

RE: Disability Rights California Opposes Elimination of In-Home Supportive Services for Undocumented Californians

Dear Senator Wiener and Assemblymember Gabriel:

Disability Rights California is California’s federally mandated protection and advocacy agency.  Our role is to protect and advance the rights of disabled Californians.  We write to vehemently oppose the elimination of In-Home Supportive Services for undocumented Californians in the May Revise.  This decision places vulnerable community members who rely on these services for daily care and well-being at grave risk. It will strip children and older adults of services they are currently receiving, placing them at risk of institutionalization, undermining their autonomy and increasing long-term costs.  Children in this population have been receiving IHSS since the implementation of SB 75 in 2016, and individuals 50 and over have been receiving IHSS since 2022.  The elimination of IHSS for these populations will place significant economic burdens on family caregivers, who are often low-income women of color, further exacerbating existing health and social inequalities.

Not only is the elimination of these vital services in conflict with California’s values, but it will also result in increased costs to the state.  Individuals who are eligible for IHSS must be “aged, blind, or disabled persons...who are unable to perform the services themselves and who cannot safely remain in their homes or abodes of their own choosing unless these services are provided.” Welf. & Inst. Code Section 12300.  Eliminating IHSS will result in institutionalization for this population, which will vastly increase costs. The right to services which enable seniors and people with disabilities to lead full lives, on an equal basis with those living without disabilities, is undisputed, recognized by the Supreme Court’s Olmstead decision, and California law.  It is a terrible step backwards to treat undocumented Californians with disabilities as less equal than other IHSS recipients.  We urge you not to cut these services.

Please do not hesitate to reach out should you have any questions.

Sincerely,
Andrew J. Imparato
Executive Director

Cc: Honorable Members, Senate Budget Subcommittee #3 on Health and Human Services
Honorable Members, Assembly Budget Subcommittee #1 on Health
Dr. Mark Ghaly, Secretary, California Health & Human Services Agency
Kim Johnson, Director, Department of Social Services
Scott Ogus, Deputy Staff Director, Senate Health & Human Services Committee Sub #3
Andrea Margolis, Budget Consultant, Assembly Budget Subcommittee #1
Christian Griffith, Chief Consultant, Assembly Budget Subcommittee #1
Angela Pontes, Deputy Legislative Secretary, Office of the Governor 
Christine Aurre, Legislative Affairs Secretary, Office of the Governor