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IHSS provider urges supervisors to back higher pay to prevent institutionalization of clients
Summary
An IHSS provider and caregiver said there are 43,000 providers for more than 51,000 authorized recipients in California and urged supervisors to support better pay to avoid forcing clients into nursing homes; the speaker said providers will continue pressing the county until a "real and respectable offer" is made.
Michael Van Coulson, an In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) provider from Garden Grove, addressed the board about provider pay and staffing shortages, saying IHSS workers "work long hours and go above and beyond" for clients and that there are more authorized recipients than providers in the broader program.
Van Coulson said IHSS providers enable seniors, veterans and people with disabilities to remain in their homes with dignity and warned that inadequate pay will push clients into expensive nursing homes and personal-care facilities. "Our life saving work deserves better pay and our clients deserve the quality we care and we can provide," he said.
He told the board there are "43,000 providers to the more than 51,000 authorized recipients" (as stated in his remarks) and urged supervisors to show support by negotiating better compensation. Van Coulson said providers will continue returning to public comment until the county presents "a real and respectable offer." No county staff response or board directive was recorded on the matter during the meeting.
Van Coulson identified himself as an IHSS provider who cares for his mother and previously cared for his veteran father; he called for supervisors to demonstrate support for the provider workforce to protect clients' ability to remain at home.
