Adult Services - APS, IHSS

Imperial County

Department of Social Services

2995 South Fourth Street

Suite 105

El Centro, CA 92243

Ph: (760) 337-6800

FAX: (760) 337-5716

Adult Services

In Home Supportive Services

The In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program provides domestic and personal care to Medi-Cal eligible aged, blind and disabled individuals so that they can remain safely in their own homes. In addition to program eligibility, IHSS staff meets with clients in their homes to assess their in-home care need. Once approved, the clients may hire providers of their own choosing, or are referred to the IHSS Public Authority of Imperial County, to hire provider to perform the authorized services. Approximately 3,500 service providers are employed at any given time.

The IHSS program has experienced rapid growth in Imperial County in recent years, expanding from 2,000 active cases in January 2000 to 4,936 cases as of May 2008. The average IHSS caseload consists of 327 cases per worker. California estimates that the caseloads will continue to grow by 4.8% per fiscal year. The administration of the IHSS program has changed due to the implementation of the IHSS Plus Waiver and Senate Bill 1108 which requires implementation of the quality assurance program. Due to new regulatory material and guidelines, case processing time has increased. The Adult Services has requested more staff to reduce the caseloads to a manageable size comparable to the caseloads of other like counties and to provide full IHSS at the Brawley One Stop by 2009.

The contract with the payroll system (CMIPS II) has been approved and will be fully implemented by 2011. CMIPS II will provide full access of the client’s history through computers, in order to provide more efficient service and reduce the need for costly paper files and forms. CMIPS II will also provide a central location so that service providers may have their bi-monthly time sheets processed more expediently.

The Social Worker Training Academy developed in the fall of 2005 has continued to provide updated training modules to all IHSS workers throughout the State. As a result of the social worker training academy and quality assurance program, Imperial County social workers provide consistent and uniform assessments, and authorization of IHSS. IHSS continues to participate in community outreach activities as more aging individuals qualify for services. Outreach activities include the annual Disability Awareness Fair at Imperial Valley College and El Centro’s Health and Wellness Fair.

Adult Protective Services

The Adult Protective Services (APS) program responds to reports of suspected abuse and/or exploitation of the elderly and dependent adults in our community. APS social workers work with family members and coordinate various community resources to help resolve current issues and prevent future instances of abuse.

APS services are strictly voluntary. The elder or dependent adult can refuse services at any time. When services are refused, APS collaborates with partner agencies to seek other options that the client may be willing to accept.

The APS program has grown considerably in recent years. Due to the general public’s awareness of elder abuse issues through various outreach efforts on the federal, state and local levels, Imperial County is now receiving two to three times more referrals monthly than were received in the last three years.

In 2007 APS received an average of 63 reports of abuse each month of which 52 met the criteria to open a case for investigation. If an investigation is not warranted, the social worker will offer to research and provide information of resources available to assist the person’s needs.

IHSS Quality Assurance (QA)

The purpose of the QA initiative is to improve the quality of IHSS/PCSP service needs assessments, enhance program integrity and detect and prevent program fraud and abuse.

The QA program was implemented in late 2005. The QA Analyst is responsible for reviewing a minimum of 250 IHSS cases and conducting 50 home visits each fiscal year. The reviews consist of desk/phone reviews and/or home visits. Targeted reviews are also utilized to focus on specific topics that have been identified by QA staff. Various reports are completed and turned in to the State. Upon management request, QA provides statistical data/reports, such as caseload reports identifying geographic demographics, language, number of providers, and reports that reflect potential savings to the program as a direct result of the QA activities.

IHSS Clerical Support / Payroll

Clerical support/payroll staff provides all of the IHSS case data entry using the Case Management Information Payroll System (CMIPS). Over 10,000 time sheets are processed per month to provide payroll to IHSS providers. The reception and screening staff are responsible for greeting the public, answering and transferring phone calls, conducting applicant screening interviews, enrolling providers, accepting income/employment verifications from providers and communicate basic program information. The responsibility of monitoring the annual supply budget, inventory and purchases of office supplies, maintaining the Adult Services fleet of vehicles is also assigned to the clerical support unit.

Strategic Plan

Adult Services Strategic Plan

Goal #1: Adult Services will research, explore and plan for implementation of new automation in IHSS (CMIPS II) and APS, to strive for improved worker performance, efficiency and for accuracy in program and state reporting.

Goal #2: Adult Services will seek out opportunities to partner with community agencies to elicit their participation in active team meetings, such as the Multi-Disciplinary Team and IHSS Advisory Team, to ensure resources are being used most efficiently; and to research available grant opportunities to enhance our capability of serving the elderly and disabled adult population.

Goal #3: Through the case reviews by QA, trends and/or training needs will be identified; Adult Services will utilize training opportunities such as, the social worker academy, UC Davis and other training made available by the county and community partners; and to seek training avenues for management and supervisory staff to ensure that we are up to date with the latest management and leadership techniques.