Solano County Grand Jury
• 2023-2024
In-Home Supportive Services Program Oversight and Management
⚠️ Translation Notice: This content has been automatically translated. The original English text is the official version. Translation may contain errors.
⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
Findings and Recommendations 5 findings
F1
– The Solano County In-Home Supportive Services program has failed to meet minimum state standards for quality assurance, quality improvement and anti-fraud efforts for four or more years. The root cause of this persistent failure of regulatory compliance results from a lack of effective program oversight and management by the Solano County Department of H&SS and the ODAS office in particular. There is a prevailing practice of regulatory non- compliance as an operational norm.
Related Recommendations (1)
R1
– The Solano County Board of Supervisors and County Administrative Officer hold Health and Social Services Department management personnel, particularly within the ODAS office, accountable for IHSS program compliance.
F2
–Solano County’s IHSS program management and compliance oversight functions have failed to achieve minimum objective measures of program integrity over the last five years due to the lack of effective use of H&SS departmental resources.
No recommendations for this finding
F3
– The Solano County Department of Health and Social Services’ welfare fraud investigative unit, the Special Investigations Bureau, has been precluded from participating in In- Home Supportive Services program fraud investigation and prosecution by H&SS departmental policy and budget decisions.
Related Recommendations (2)
R3a
– The Special Investigations Bureau be transferred to the District Attorney’s Office.
R3b
- The current ‘Purchase of Service Agreement for Investigation of Welfare Fraud’ between the Solano County H&SS Department and the D.A.’s Office be rewritten to specifically include investigation and prosecution of IHSS program fraud.
F4
– IHSS provider time cards continue to be a significant source of potential fraud. The electronic IHSS provider electronic time card has been adopted by Solano County but is not mandatory.
Related Recommendations (1)
R4
– The Solano County Public Authority require that the IHSS electronic time card is a condition of employment for all providers. Granting of the power of proxy second signatures to the IHSS electronic time card should be limited to instances that meet the legal standard requiring a notarized power of attorney for a financial transaction.
F5
– Health and Social Services Department management stated that its primary concern is IHSS Program sustainability and quality of services rather than program integrity and regulatory compliance. 12
Related Recommendations (1)
R5
– Program integrity and regulatory compliance be the primary focus of H&SS management to ensure IHSS program sustainability. COMMENTS The 2017-2018 Solano County Grand Jury shares the concerns of the Solano County Department of Health and Social Services management regarding IHSS program sustainability, but we feel strongly that the ultimate basis for community support is taxpayer confidence that the program is well managed and compliant with state requirements. H&SS Department efforts to combat fraud, waste and abuse within the program must be aggressive and transparent.
Comments 1
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CO1The 2017-2018 Solano County Grand Jury shares the concerns of the Solano County Department of Health and Social Services management regarding IHSS program sustainability, but we feel strongly that the ultimate basis for community support is taxpayer confidence that the program is well managed and compliant with state requirements. H&SS Department efforts to combat fraud, waste and abuse within the program must be aggressive and transparent.