UDW caregivers are strong advocates for our IHSS clients – seniors and people with disabilities. That’s why every year we sponsor and support legislation that will protect and improve the IHSS program as well as the quality of life for IHSS providers and our clients. We also support legislation that promotes social justice and improves the lives of working families in our communities.
BILLS WE ARE SPONSORING
AB 237 would implement the recommendation of the State Auditor to align the IHSS workweek with the pay period. This bill would change the pay period from bi-monthly to bi-weekly (meaning every two weeks rather than twice per month) to simplify the timesheet process and reduce the risk of inadvertent errors and violations. This will help providers avoid paycheck delays so that we get paid on time and accurately.
Status: Passed out of Assembly Human Services Committee (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) Referred to Assembly Appropriations Committee
This bill aims to keep people with disabilities safer in our communities by updating the state’s emergency response system. The modified system would allow people with disabilities to volunteer information about themselves and their disability to the Department of Justice in advance of a crisis so that first responders are prepared to anticipate their reactions and safely assist them during an emergency.
Status: Passed out of Assembly Public Safety Committee (Ayes 6. Noes 1.) Referred to Assembly Appropriations Committee.
This bill would require Alternative Payment (AP) programs to provide family child care providers with an electronic timesheet and a direct deposit option to reduce the amount of time providers wait for their paychecks. It also requires AP programs to promptly notify providers of any change in a family’s child care eligibility status and number of hours of child care they can receive, so that providers do not work hours for which they will not be paid.
Status: Referred to Assembly Appropriations Committee
The bill would require family child care providers to attend a one-time, two-hour training to learn the health and safety risks in their profession and how to avoid them.
Status: Referred to Assembly Appropriations Committee
BILLS WE ARE SUPPORTING
Many low-income Californians who are arrested are forced to stay in jail before their trial simply because they cannot afford bail. AB 42 is a companion bill to SB 10. Both bills seek to safely reduce the number of people who are unable to post bail by requiring a court to release a defendant who is not a threat to public safety or at risk of fleeing.
Status: Will be heard in Assembly Public Safety Committee on 4/18
Parents who receive subsidized child care must report any changes in income and household size within five days. This bill would protect parents from losing their child care by guaranteeing their eligibility for child care for 12 months and update the eligibility income threshold.
Status: Passed out of Assembly Human Services Committee (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) Referred to Assembly Appropriations Committee
AB 160 would restore the 60-month time limit for CalWORKs eligibility and update the program’s earned income disregard from $225 to $450. This bill would help support the needs of California’s working families and improve their economic stability.
Status: Assembly Appropriations Committee Suspense file
This bill would allow workers who provide waiver personal care services (WPCS) to negotiate a contract with their local Public Authority to improve their wages and benefits. This would give them the same right to collective bargaining as IHSS providers.
Status: Assembly Appropriations Suspense File
This bill would reinstate cost-of-living adjustments for SSI and SSP beginning January 1, 2018. By increasing the state portion of the SSI/SSP grant, California’s most impoverished aged, blind, and disabled adults will have additional financial resources to manage the state’s high cost of living.
Status: Assembly Appropriations Suspense File
AB 1021 would provide IHSS applicants with more accessibility and flexibility by allowing an applicant to apply for the program in-person, by telephone or fax, by email, and online.
Status: Will be heard in Assembly Appropriations Committee on 5/10
Immigrants in removal proceedings can face months or years of detention, permanent separation from their families and communities, and return to countries where their lives are at risk. This bill would protect immigrants by creating a program to provide qualified legal counsel in deportation or removal proceedings.
Status: Assembly Desk
Many low-income Californians who are arrested are forced to stay in jail before their trial simply because they cannot afford bail. SB 10 is a companion bill to AB 42. Both bills seek to safely reduce the number of people who are unable to post bail by requiring a court to release a defendant who is not a threat to public safety or at risk of fleeing.
Status – Will be heard in Senate Appropriations Committee on 5/15
This bill would make it illegal for a state or local agency to give federal authorities information about an individual’s religious affiliation for use in a database based on religious affiliation, national origin, or ethnicity. It would limit instances state or local law enforcement can collect information about a person’s religious affiliation.
Status: Senate third reading
This bill would protect undocumented immigrants in California by preventing state and local law enforcement from helping federal immigration authorities with deportations.
Status: Assembly Desk
Caregiver Resource Centers are the lead agency in California that exclusively serve and support unpaid family caregivers through respite and counseling services. This bill would appropriate funds to the eleven statewide Caregiver Resource Centers (CRCs) to reinstate much needed respite care services to unpaid family caregivers so that they will be able to take mental and physical care of themselves.
Status: Will be heard in Senate Appropriations Committee on 4/17
OPPOSE BILLS
This bill would create a sleep exclusion of up to eight hours from hours worked for a domestic worker. This means that the live-in or twenty-four-hour shift worker would not be paid for up to 8 hours of compensable work. This bill would roll back overtime protections for domestic workers and condone a situation in which workers are not compensated for time they are unable to leave work to be with their loved ones, attend to their own needs and live their lives.
Status: Held in Senate Labor and Industrial Relations Committee without recommendation