COUNTY TO BETTER PROMOTE IN-HOME CARE SERVICES

San Diego County plans to raise the profile of its in-home supportive services program and to raise the pay of workers who care for its elderly or disabled clients, according to measures the county Board of Supervisors approved Tuesday.

The in-home services program is paid for primarily by the state of California and administered by the county. Most of its 25,000 workers help with bathing, dressing, meals and medical appointments for people on federal Supplemental Security Income.

On Tuesday the supervisors directed county staff to return with a proposal to create an education and awareness program to inform potential clients about the program, as well as recommendations for improving the pay and work conditions for its employees.

“IHSS workers provide critical care to our county’s most vulnerable residents, low-income seniors and those with disabilities,” Board of Supervisors Chairman Nathan Fletcher said Tuesday.

“It allows them to stay home, to retain some independence. It also keeps them out of hospitals and nursing homes. These caregivers are lifesavers, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Not only are they providing care, but they are combating the social isolation many medically vulnerable individuals are currently facing.”

But the program is difficult to navigate, he said, so many people who may be entitled to its services aren’t aware of it.

Even after clients receive services, changes in availability of home care staff have resulted gaps in service for some clients, exposing them to injury and hardship, according to an audit of the system in San Diego and three other counties.

With an aging population, the county must strengthen the program and its workforce, officials said.

“More must be done to anticipate this coming exponential increase in need,” Fletcher said. “The audit also recognized something that we know: that these caregivers who are lifelines to so many in our community must be paid more. We will continue to advocate for higher wages from the state government and do everything we can as a county to support these workers.”

Recruiting new caregivers will be difficult because the job pays minimum or nearminimum wage, the audit stated, and no county in California pays caregivers a living wage, which is the amount needed to cover basic necessities without public assistance. In San Diego, a living wage is calculated at $24.62 per hour, while home care workers receive about half of that with wages of $12.50 per hour, the audit stated.

Labor leaders also spoke in support of improved pay and working conditions for the more than 25,000 employees of the system, saying they are facing increased risks and demands during the pandemic.