By: GIG CONAUGHTON - Staff Writer
Ask county supervisors to 'have a heart,' but county officials point to stingy state | ∞
Mohamed Osman of San Diego holds a sign with letters from several in-home caregivers during a protest Thursday in support of higher pay for the workers in front of the San Diego County administration building in San Diego.
SAN DIEGO ---- Amputee Michael Staton shivered in his wheelchair in a steady drizzle outside the San Diego County Administration Center on Thursday, part of a prayer-protest demanding better pay for in-home caregivers.
Staton and others said caregivers such as Staton's girlfriend, Susan Stansberry, find it hard to live on the $9.25 an hour the county pays her, and deserve more.
"She feeds me, cares for me, goes to the pharmacy for me," said Staton, who lost all of one leg and part of another to a circulatory disease. "I'm this much short of a vegetable. They don't pay her enough for what she does."
Carrying signs reading "Have a heart," dozens of in-home caregivers, religious leaders, union officials and patients held a Valentine's Day prayer vigil and protest to demand that county supervisors offer more money to caregivers, who are negotiating a new contract.
About 22,700 in-home support workers in the county earn up to $9.25 an hour working in a program that saves millions in taxpayer dollars by keeping elderly, sick and disabled people in their homes and out of more expensive nursing homes. The population being served by in-home care is growing by more than 10 percent per year, county officials say.
Union leaders want the county to give workers $12.10 an hour.
County officials say they don't have the money. They say they'd have to take funding away from child protective services to increase the $38 million they already spend on the in-home care program.
County officials also say the state is responsible for the program and should cough up more funding.
That, however, appears unlikely: In January, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger proposed cutting $361 million from the $1.6 billion program in 2008-09.
Sister Justine Church, part of an interfaith group that stood with the protesters Thursday, said she hoped county supervisors would change their minds.
Church, a missionary-economist-theologian who has served missions in Bangladesh, Ghana, Tanzania and Rwanda, said the pay raise was a matter of fairness for caregivers, who earn about $19,000 a year, and their patients.
"There are 22,000 workers probably taking care of maybe 50,000 or 60,000 disabled, elderly and blind people," she said. "If they do not make a decent wage to support their families, then all those elderly, disabled and blind would have to be in institutions. We're here because we want to promote dignity and respect."
Supervisor Bill Horn said the protesters were looking in the wrong place for help.
"I think they should go to the state Legislature," he said. "That's where they should take their valentine."
Laura Reyes, a caregiver and union organizer for the United Domestic Workers, said county negotiators were offering a pay raise of just 30 cents over three years, a figure she said was "insulting."
Carlos Arauz, the county's director of human resources, said he couldn't talk about county negotiations. But he said the caregivers were bound to be disappointed if they continued to push for an increase to $12.10 per hour.
"They want a 23 percent increase in salaries," he said. "First of all, that's outrageous. And the problem is their caseload keeps growing," driving up the overall program's cost to the county.
Earlier in the week, county Chief Administrator Walt Ekard told protesters at Tuesday's Board of Supervisors meeting that they should look to state lawmakers for help.
"The state has the money," he said. "They should be paying for the program because they're the ones who directly benefit from the savings you're achieving by taking care of people in their homes."
Bob Garcia, chief deputy director of the state's Department of Social Services, confirmed those savings in a Wednesday phone interview. He said the in-home support services program saves taxpayers millions of dollars each year because the state would otherwise have to pick up the cost of nursing home expenses through Medicaid.
However, Garcia also said the state, at Schwarzenegger's order, was planning to cut the program's funding this year to help deal with California's $14.5 billion deficit.
Garcia said that 60 percent of all the caregivers in the program across the state were related to their patients. Garcia and other officials said that made them more comfortable cutting funding because they felt family-caregivers would still run errands, do shopping and prepare meals for patients.
A handful of protesters, however, said many caregivers had to give up other jobs in order to take care of their loved ones.
"I had to stop going to college full-time," said Reyes, who said she cared for a son who has cerebral palsy.
All of the protesters said it is hard to make ends meet on the $9.25 an hour, especially because few are paid as full-time workers.
Arcadia Gutierrez, a 66-year-old retired machinist, said his wife suffers from glaucoma, arthritis and lung problems and would be in a nursing home if he couldn't care for her.
"Oh boy, it's hard," he said. "(The cost of) everything goes up, gasoline goes up, you can hardly get around."
Contact staff writer Gig Conaughton at (760) 739-6696 or gconaughton@nctimes.com.
Bad Timing wrote on Feb 15, 2008 6:38 AM:Although they may have a point, asking for a raise in this economy is certain to fail. The state is having a financial crisis - there's simply no more money to give.
What! wrote on Feb 15, 2008 6:40 AM:Why is the state paying for caregivers to tend to their own family members? Which lunatic in Sacramento thought about this one? Sorry - not sympathic about their plight.
Ken wrote on Feb 15, 2008 7:53 AM:Well What, suppose there is no family to provide this care? What then? You really need to be much better informed about this issue. Right now private in-home health care is about $7500 to $8000 a month—and that’s the low-end of care.
Paul wrote on Feb 15, 2008 8:28 AM:Humm, I take care of my elderly Mother (92) and I am retired. I don't get paid, nor do I expect to, it is my responsibility.
Karl wrote on Feb 15, 2008 9:20 AM:To "Ken
[-] wrote on Feb 15, 2008 7:53 AM:" I agree that if the hourly wage is not paid to a family member it will be paid to someone else. It's just that it seems odd to pay a family member to take care of it's own. Hell, my wife has been keeping me out of trouble for years, does she deserve a stipend from the State? I think we need to look at the original intent of this program.
Marcia wrote on Feb 15, 2008 11:31 AM:Ok, then have your taxes go up so that YOU can take care of them in some dirty institution. GOD HEPL YOU!!!
Monica wrote on Feb 15, 2008 11:35 AM:We put our board of supervisory's in office, they give themselves a raise whenever they feel like it so, who can it be bad timining to ask for a wage to keep our loved ones at home?????
Monica wrote on Feb 15, 2008 11:45 AM:To Paul, You are Retired with a check from that job, some of us had to stop working ( I was a Nurse ) to take on our Responsibilty for our loved one. We do pay taxes just like every body else so we are not just taking from the state.
God Bless the good Son.
Monica wrote on Feb 15, 2008 11:50 AM:To What, I pry to God that everyone in your blood line now and behond has GOOD Medical, Reteriment, Savings and most of all good health forever.
No shoes, No feet to put them on THEIR BY THE GRACE OF GOD GO I AT ANY POINT IN LIFE.
Kristine wrote on Feb 15, 2008 12:23 PM:I am a recipient of homecare services (wheelchair user) and would be institutionalized without the IHSS program. I don’t have family that can do it without pay. People like me should not be expected to beg for charity in order to survive. Many of our elderly are in a similar position. For those who do have family that can afford to do it for free - consider yourself blessed. I live in Riverside County, where we have negotiated a decent wage for our home care providers. I am familiar with how the program is funded and it simply is not true that the problem is with the state or that the money isn’t there because of the budget crises. The funding for wages/benefits of $12.10 an hour is already approved and laid aside by state & federal sources. The county is literally TURNING DOWN millions in state and federal funding by keeping workers wages low. That money could be spent with local merchants, and would HELP the economy. This is a travesty that should concern the whole community – not only the disabled and elderly. If this were not a social program, and a business enterprise was offering that kind of capital to San Diego county for such a small investment, the BOS would likely roll out the red carpet. Shame on them.
james wrote on Feb 15, 2008 1:14 PM:So much if not almost everything we have is funding this war on terror. We need to stop the war and use the money for health care, helping the elderly, and social security. The war in this country is the common man vs. health care system.
Randy wrote on Feb 15, 2008 3:58 PM:I would LOVE to shed some light to this subject..!! As a "caregiver", I take care of a handicapped man, 42 years old, who cannot take care of himself. I cook for him, dress him, bathe him, clean him, wash his clothes, take him to all of his needed appointments, feed him, and so on..i think you know SOME of the things we do for these folks.I personally, feel blessed to be able to help this man, with a better life, than what he had before i started taking care of him. He was in a nursing home, (costing the state over $7,600 a month, PLUS) I earn UNDER $2,000 a month..( $9.25 an hour, and limited to 175 hours a month) NOW..I take care of him 24/7..GO FIGURE!!!! To ask for a cost of living increase to $12.00 an hour, is not asking alot, what-so-ever, compared to what the state would have to pay, if myself, and all other IHSS workers walked out. What if all of us did, walk out??? Surely, there is NO WAY enough nursing homes with ANY openings to take on even 10% of the handicapped people we take care of! Law makers, congress give themselfs raises, all the time. We are not asking alot!! I could say i should get paid for 24 hours as i do, but, I am allowed only 5.7 hours a day for all his care, and all of his needs. This is a total outrage, for those of you thinking we should not get paid to take care of these wonderful folks! I moved here from Oregon to help this man (not related to me) get out of the nursing home he was in, and in a warm, loving, home enviroment that he says he loves, and never wants to have to return to a nursing home, and, as long as I can survive on the income that IHSS pays me, He will never have to do that! In short, there is ALOT more to a "caregiver" than really meets the publics eye!!
Paul wrote on Feb 15, 2008 4:00 PM:Monica, too many times I have seen elder parents just shoved into the dust bin, the old folks home, because the kids where too selfish. Well, what goes around comes around, those children will be old one day. I have seen those homes - it is not a pleasant sight. These parents usually sacrificed so much for their children, (I know mine did) is there not then an obligation for the children? And most (not all) of the cases that have I have seen do this, could have afforded to take care of their parents.
Randy wrote on Feb 15, 2008 4:14 PM:Thanks Kristine, for all your kind words of wisdom, and your positive thoughts. It does seem that SOME people say things, before knowing the facts. this is what wars start from. I beg all of you to KNOW the facts of IHSS program, before you state anything, as if you did know why, family members are paid to take care of thier own, please know WHY they are there, and all they do for the handicapped. If someone from thier own family did not take care of them, it would be someone they did not know, and, if it were me, i would much rather have a family member take care of me, than someone I did not know. I truely hope for a pay raise for all the caregivers, as it really takes one special to do all the things we do for these great folks, who have been sticken with disablities. We are here to help them become more sucessful at being more independant, where it does apply, and just help those who can not progress a better quailty of life on thier own, just be able to meet and do the daily things that need to be done, to survive another day, being handicapped.
We love our clients!!! wrote on Feb 15, 2008 9:23 PM:It is not only the care that we give to our clients, sometimes the care givers have to take a lot of abuse too. I work with adult males with mental retardation and I'm a 6'3" guy but still once in a while I get smuck by the patients; I've seen my coworkers getting broken bones and deep lascerations from the patiens, once I was hit on the face and I was knocked down by a patient. we care a lot for our patients ,sometimes we are the only family that they have; I think we deserve to have a better income to be able to have a more decent living. don't judge us with out knowing all the sacrifice that we make for our patients. God make people like us to take care of the people that a lot of times the society left behind and want to forget!!!
Take care of mom in law wrote on Apr 13, 2008 8:19 AM: If you left the elderly to the health care system it costs the local gov't a great deal more than it would if the local gov't just paid a wage to the family for their care. The local gov't doesn't pay for the cost of housing or things of that nature. I plan on getting some sort of compensation to take of her. The reason is that she never planned for retirement and so am I supposed to take that finacial burden? I don't make what these senators and Other gov't officals make. She paid into the system so why not let the system help her in these later years with finances while I give her the love and attention she needs?
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