(The Center Square) – California Assemblyman David Tangipa called for regulators to adopt more “checks and balances” and verification procedures for the state’s $30 billion per year IHSS in-home care program in response to an investigation by The Center Square.
The program uses taxpayer funds to pay mostly live-in family members to provide in-home care, including cooking and cleaning, to elderly or disabled low-income relatives.
Last week, TCS exposed that the program is responsible for 41% of net jobs growth since Gov. Gavin Newsom took office in January 2019, and found that state protocols explicitly do not allow randomized, unannounced visits that would detect unreported fraud.
“If there are no checks and balances, who is to know if they are even there, or are we paying people to just stay home?” Tangipa said in an interview with TCS. “That’s an issue that we have, especially when 41% of the statewide job growth under the governor has been staying home taking care of your family.”
California’s 799,379 taxpayer-funded IHSS providers are paid an estimated $2,170.27 per month, making IHSS provider — according to federal occupational data — the most common job in the state.
“We’ve seen in different communities across the entire state, there is a disproportionate number who are actually on IHSS,” said Tangipa, referencing TCS’s findings that, according to state IHHS data and federal Census data, nearly one in three Armenians in Los Angeles County appear to be enrolled as providers or recipients in the program.
Tangipa noted that while legislation on the matter would be difficult, it’s possible to work with state regulators at the California Department of Social Services that oversees IHSS protocols to quickly adopt anti-fraud reforms.
“Passing a law here is difficult, but what we can do is change some of the regulations,” Tangipa said. “Get with the regulatory agencies, and say, you should add to your protocols — verification if we are paying people to stay home. The problem with fraud, waste, and abuse in California is that we are finding waste everywhere, we are finding fraud everywhere.”
While Tangipa didn’t address why legislation would not be an option, he has taken a proactive role in promoting greater government accountability in California. Last year, his bill to require the California High Speed Rail Authority to publish its actual plan for funding, costs, timelines, and revenue sources was signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Newsom’s office responded to TCS’s media inquiries about IHSS’s protocols preventing random, unannounced visits, by directing TCS to CDSS, which did not respond.
Newsom’s office called TCS’s earlier inquiries about IHSS being the state’s main driver of jobs growth a case of “California Derangement Syndrome.”
Tangipa placed IHSS’s rapid growth — an increase of 11.6% in the current fiscal year compared to the year prior — in the context of the overall state budget, saying changes in IHSS eligibility — which includes illegal immigrants — must be considered.
“Our budget has almost increased by 100% over the past decade, but has life gotten 100% better? Are our roads 100% better taken care of? Are services, the DMV, permitting for our businesses, are those 100% better? They’re not,” Tangipa said. “One thing that I remind my colleagues is that there are an infinite number of problems in the world and only a finite amount of resources, and it is our job as legislators to prioritize those resources to the people of California.”
