« Previous—Next »

CALIFORNIA BUDGET CUTS SQUEEZE HOME HEALTH CARE WORKERS

Home health care worker Deborah Hibbler, left, brushes Gail Smith's hair in Smith's North Sacramento home. Smith has disabilities that limit her ability to raise her arms or walk long distances.

BY LI LOU

Deborah Hibbler wishes the state would balance its budget without using her paycheck.

For just $20 and two hours of work, Hibbler drives 30 minutes every day from her small house in North Highlands to North Sacramento, where she provides personal care for Gail Smith.

Smith suffers from arthritis and has trouble walking to the bathroom or lifting her arms high enough to brush her hair. Hibbler does dishes and cleans the house. She drives her own car to take Smith grocery shopping, to see a doctor and to pick up her prescriptions. She chats with Smith on phone even after she’s back home.

She said she often works off the clock and doesn’t get compensated for gas.

“Clients are supposed to pay for the gas,” Hibbler said. “But the clients can’t afford that. Gail can’t walk for long distances. I can’t let her walk or take buses.”

Hibbler is one of the 300,000 In-Home Supportive Services workers in California. They provide hands-on care for more than 400,000 people statewide so they can live at home rather than in nursing facilities.

IHSS is the state’s fastest-growing social services program, with the state paying $2 billion of the $5.5 billion cost. During the months-long debate over the state budget this year, in-home care played a starring role – its workers cast both as underpaid, selfless helpers and fraudulent villains.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, complaining that the program was rife with fraud, won agreement from legislative leaders to require fingerprinting of home health care workers and recipients.

The budget deal also cuts $226 million in state funding for the program.

The new cuts come on top of the February budget deal in which the governor and Legislature approved a $2 cut of the state’s maximum contribution to the hourly wages of IHSS workers – from $12.10 to $10.10. The cut was scheduled to take effect July 1 but has been put on hold pending resolution of a court challenge.

The cut isn’t expected to affect Hibbler or other home health care workers in Sacramento County, who currently make $10.40 an hour. The federal government and the county also contribute to IHSS.

From Hibbler’s perspective, the cuts to the IHSS budget are just wrong, and they devalue her work.

“I am preserving someone’s life, preserving somebody’s integrity. Yet, they don’t appreciate what I do. They are not paying what I am worth,” Hibbler said.

IHSS is a state program administered by each county in California. Workers provide non-medical services such as bathing, feeding, dressing, shopping, cooking and housework.

A recent day for Hibbler began with her combing Smith’s hair into three sections and twisting them carefully into a French braid.

“Gail cannot do it herself, so I want to comb it in a way that it will remain (in place),” Hibbler said.

Smith, 53, smiled broadly into the mirror, pleased with the results. “I always like her company,” she said of Hibbler, 52. “She is like a sister for me. I want her to be around longer.”

With limited state funding, IHSS is able to grant Smith only two hours of care each day. She is considered “highly functioning,” although she has suffers from schizophrenia and arthritis.

The average home health care worker in Sacramento County earns about $1,115 per month and works 107 hours, according to Rick Simonson, deputy director of Sacramento County IHSS Public Authority.

“Most IHSS caregivers report their IHSS wages are their only source of earned income. To put this in perspective, the average IHSS caregiver would qualify for food stamps,” Simonson said.

Hibbler has no health insurance and no benefits. During the nine years she worked for her last client, she took no days off and had no vacation.

“If I take days off, I don’t get paid. If I don’t get paid, I don’t eat. I can’t pay my bills,” she said.

Dave Regan, trustee of SEIU United Healthcare Workers-West, said home care providers deserve a decent pay, since in many ways they are the backbone of the state’s social service network.

See Related: HEALTH CARE

See Related: BUDGET CRISIS