A Collaborative Effort

About the Program

Category: Human Services (Best in Category)

Year: 2015

The In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program provides services regarding activities of daily living to elderly and disabled individuals in their own homes to avoid institutionalization. Using federal, state and county funds, the IHSS program pays for homecare services provided by enrolled providers to beneficiaries. In San Bernardino County, the Department of Aging and Adult Services (DAAS) administers IHSS by determining eligibility and establishing services for beneficiaries. The San Bernardino County IHSS Public Authority (PA) is a separate entity that maintains a registry of prospective providers and coordinates collective bargaining with provider unions. DAAS social workers and office assistants have for many years, combined the core function of delivering IHSS benefits to over 22,000 beneficiaries with provider services. This approach has resulted in excessive workload for DAAS staff, leading to delays in processing IHSS applications and service delivery to eligible individuals. To resolve these problems, DAAS and the PA implemented a collaborative effort in January 2014 to centralize provider services and reassign those services from DAAS to the PA. The provider services include enrollment, payroll, criminal background checks, employment verification and workman’s compensation activities. This collaboration has improved efficiency in processing IHSS applications, enhanced customer service and generated labor cost-savings.