California meltdown

No good news this week, but you probably weren’t expecting any, right? Try not to be depressed. We’ve still got it pretty good in the Golden State.

Oct. 28: The Los Angeles Times reports that more than 20 counties are pushing back against the Schwarzenegger administration’s plan to require background checks and fingerprinting for new workers in the In-Home Supportive Services program, which provides in-home care to some 462,000 children and adults with disabilities. Schwarzenegger insisted on the new requirements as part of an anti-fraud effort during negotiations surrounding the July budget revision. The counties warned of “chaos” for county workers and dire consequences for the people in the program, explaining they were unprepared to implement the requirements scheduled to go into effect Nov. 1.

Oct. 28: The Bay Area Council, a business-sponsored public-policy advocacy group, files two initiatives for the November 2010 ballot to allow Californians to call a constitutional convention.

Oct. 29: Representatives of the Schwarzenegger administration tell a legislative budget hearing that it intends to go ahead with background checks and fingerprinting for new hires in the IHSS program beginning Nov. 1, despite some counties’ pleas to delay implementation of the requirements.

Nov. 3: With the state’s water crisis commanding attention at the State Capitol, the Senate narrowly fails to pass SB 69, a bill that would have delayed the Nov. 1 implementation of the new IHSS requirements. The bill receives 23 votes in favor, with 12 opposed, but because it’s an “urgency” bill, it needs 27 votes to pass. It earlier passed the Assembly 68-0.

Nov. 4: The California Progress Report, an online journal of news and opinion, reports that a group of parks supporters, Californians for State Parks and Wildlife Conservation, has filed a proposed statewide initiative that would create a stable source of funding to protect state parks and conserve wildlife.

Nov. 6: California Healthline, a daily online digest of health-care news and opinion, reports that the number of complaints filed by the state’s nursing-home ombudsman program has declined by more than 40 percent, raising fears that some elder-abuse cases are going unreported. Gov. Schwarzenegger vetoed all state funding ($3.9 million) for the program, leaving it with only its $4 million in federal funding. The program cut staff positions and cut back on inspections of long-term care facilities.

Nov. 9: Kaiser Health News reports that increased numbers of low-income Californians are facing difficulty obtaining medical care as state budget cuts take effect. The July budget revision reduced funding for county and community dental clinics, HIV/AIDS programs and home care for the elderly. In addition, on July 1 Medi-Cal ended coverage for such services as adult dental care, hearing aids, mental health, podiatry and vision care.

Nov. 10: The Sacramento Bee reports that Gov. Schwarzenegger has estimated that the state’s budget will fall out of balance by $5 billion to $7 billion this year, on top of a $7.4 billion gap already projected for 2010-11. Schwarzenegger made his comments to the Fresno Bee’s editorial board shortly after signing a bill placing an $11.1 billion water bond on the November 2010 ballot.