Sutter County Municipal Code Ch. 73 In-Home Supportive Services Public Authority

This ordinance shall be known as the "IHSS PUBLIC AUTHORITY ORDINANCE."

As required by Welfare and Institutions Code Section 12302.25, the Board of Supervisors of Sutter County determines that the establishment of a public authority whose powers are derived from and consistent with the provisions of Welfare and Institutions Code Section 12301.6 is necessary for the public health and welfare. The public authority shall serve as the "employer of record" of providers of In-Home Supportive Services for purposes of the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act.

For purposes of this Chapter, the following definitions apply:

Advocate means a person(s) who provides an advocacy component for clients.

Authority means the Sutter County In-Home Supportive Services Public Authority.

Client means a person eligible for and authorized to receive In-Home Supportive Services.

County means Sutter County.

Directors means the governing body of the Public Authority.

IHSS means the Sutter County In-Home Supportive Services Program.

Provider means a person who provides authorized In-Home Supportive Services.

The Board of Supervisors establishes a public authority whose powers and authority are derived from and consistent with the provisions of Welfare and Institutions Code sections 12300 et seq. The public authority shall be known as the Sutter County In-Home Supportive Services Public Authority and shall be referred to as the "Authority".

The governing body of the Authority shall be the Sutter County Board of Supervisors.

The County's In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) Advisory Committee was established by the Sutter County Board of Supervisors in accordance with the requirements of Welfare and Institutions Code section 12301.6(b)(3)(C). The existing IHSS Advisory Committee shall serve as the advisory committee to the Authority and shall fulfill the roles and responsibilities required by Welfare and Institutions Code section 12301.6.

The IHSS Advisory Committee will be composed of nine members at least 50% of whom are current or past clients of personal assistance services paid for through public or private funds and shall be appointed by the Board of Supervisors. The term of service shall be three years, but any member may request consideration to be reappointed to the Advisory Committee for additional terms.

Membership on the IHSS Advisory Committee shall be as follows:

(1) Five members to be current or previous users of personal assistance services.

(2) One member to be a current or past provider of IHSS Services.

(3) One member to be an advocate for seniors or persons with disabilities.

(4) One member to be from Sutter County Staff.

(5) One member to be from a Community Based Organization involved in home care.

The duties and responsibilities of the Authority shall be as follows:

(a) To exercise all powers, duties and functions as are prescribed by statute, or Ordinances of the Board of Supervisors.

(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a)(4), the Authority shall not be obligated to, but may provide training directly, to pay for training provided privately or in the community, to pay for the providers' time spent in training, to accompany clients to training, to pay for transportation to training or to pay for any materials required by the training. The Authority shall not be obligated to ensure that any provider or client attend or complete any training.

(c) Pursue and apply for available additional funding for IHSS services through grants and other non-profit sources of funding.

(d) The Authority shall not be responsible for:

(1) Authorizing services for an IHSS client;

(2) Determining a client's need for IHSS, the level and quality of services required, and the eligibility of individuals to be served;

(3) Conducting the initial or any subsequent assessment of need for services;

(4) Terminating the client's participation in the IHSS program;

(5) Providing advice to clients with respect to client's hiring and firing of providers;

(6) Client problem solving;

(7) In-home monitoring of service delivery;

(8) In-home client IHSS orientation.

(9) The above-referenced services and functions shall be the exclusive responsibility of the County of Sutter.

(a) To promote administrative efficiencies and to avoid unintended duplication of resources prior to initiating delivery of IHSS through the Authority, as described in this Chapter, the County and the Authority shall enter into an agreement specifying the purposes, scope or nature of the agreement, the roles and responsibilities of each party including provisions that further compliance with all applicable County, state and federal labor laws, and compliance with all statutory and regulatory provisions applicable to the delivery of IHSS.

(b) In order to assure the preservation of the individual provider mode and limit the liability of the Authority, the Authority shall have no authority or jurisdiction to regulate, control, or limit the rights and responsibilities of clients of In-Home Supportive Services to hire fire or supervise providers. The right to supervise includes, but is not limited to, the right to determine matters such as work schedules, IHSS Program approved and authorized tasks and duties, assignments and direction of work, methods and standards of care and conduct, discipline, provisions for safety and security, control of premises, any in-home living or other accommodations, and final resolution of concerns, problems and complaints relating to such supervision. Clients retain such rights and responsibilities independent of the Authority, just as they held such rights and responsibilities independent of the County prior to the formation of the Authority.

(a) All contracts, leases, or other agreements of any nature, including collective bargaining agreements, between the Authority and any party, except those with the County, shall contain the following statement: "The Authority is an independent legal entity, separate and apart from the County of Sutter. The Authority has no power to bind the County to any contractual or legal obligations. Nor may the obligees of the Authority seek recourse against the County of Sutter for any financial or legal obligation of the Authority".

(b) The Authority shall maintain all insurance coverage necessary in an amount to be determined adequate by the Directors. If the Authority purchases its own insurance, the limits of liability shall be in an amount acceptable to the Directors and shall name the County, its elected and appointed officers, employees and agents, as additional insureds.

(c) The Authority shall indemnify, defend and hold harmless the County, its elected and appointed officers, employees and agents from and against any and all liability, including defense costs and legal fees, resulting from claims for damages of any nature whatsoever, including but not limited to personal injury or property damages arising from or connected with any act or omission of any officer, employee or agent of the Authority.

The Directors of the Authority shall determine the staff necessary to administer the Public Authority.

The Authority shall adopt rules and regulations for administration of employer-employee relations. Only those employee organizations recognized in accordance with the Authority's labor relations resolution shall be entitled to negotiate with the Authority on matters within the scope of representation and such other rights that may be granted to recognized employee organizations pursuant to Chapter 10 (commencing with section 3500) of Division 4 of Title 1.

The Authority shall adopt its budget under the same laws, rules and policies that control the County budget process. The Authority will be maintained as a separate budget entity. The budget will be submitted to and adopted through the Sutter County Department of Human Services, Welfare & Social Services Division.

(a) The establishment and operation of the Authority or application or Government Code section 3500, et seq., shall not result in payments from the County's general fund beyond the County's annual appropriation for the Authority, if any, which shall be an absolute limit on County cost.

(b) The total of all operating costs, wages, and benefits proposed or established by the Authority shall be consistent with the provisions of the County budget. The Authority shall not establish a payment rate, including costs of wages, benefits and operation, until the Authority determines that the funds necessary for the payment rate are legally available.

(Ord. 1342, Sec. 1, Oct. 22, 2002)