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DAS director warns counties face increased financial risk from IHSS reassessment penalties
Summary
DAS Executive Director Kelly Dearman told the commission federal and state budget changes mean counties will shoulder growing penalties for missed IHSS reassessments, and San Francisco has been working to reduce its backlog but faces significant exposure beginning July 1, 2026.
Kelly Dearman, executive director at San Francisco’s Department of Aging and Adult Services (DAS), told the commission the federal government shutdown that began Oct. 1 has not yet interrupted safety-net programs but heightens financial uncertainty.
Dearman described a separate, ongoing fiscal exposure: a state shift in responsibility for penalties tied to Community First Choice Option (CFCO) reassessments for In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS). She said the 2025 Budget Act shifted half of the penalty cost to counties beginning in July 2025 and that, starting July 1, 2026, counties will be responsible for the full penalty if the state does not achieve 100% timely reassessments.
Dearman told commissioners San Francisco has 29,435 IHSS cases and that roughly 48% (about 14,000) are CFCO cases. She said IHSS staff reduced overdue reassessments from about 1,173 in July to about 663 in September and cleared over 400 cases in a two-week period between August and September. Dearman said county managers are pursuing overtime, internal reassignments and hiring where possible, but warned that achieving 100% compliance is “almost impossible” without additional state or federal relief because focusing on reassessments can put other cases at risk.
Dearman said the County Welfare Directors Association (CWDA) is pursuing a legislative proposal to reduce penalties to counties. Commissioners praised IHSS staff for their progress and asked whether staffing reductions were hampering reassessment completion; Dearman said staffing constraints were a challenge and that the department is attempting temporary staffing fixes while seeking permanent hires.
Dearman also updated the commission on the Dignity Fund Community Needs Assessment work and on planned disability-employment programming in October; those items were reported as ongoing work rather than actions requiring commission approval.
