As a Parent, Do I Qualify for (IHSS) Protective Supervision as a Provider?

Protective Supervision is part of the In-Home Support Services (IHSS) program in California. If you are raising a child with special needs like as autism, Down syndrome, epilepsy, or cerebral palsy, you might be eligible for IHSS Protective Supervision as a provider. This can give you financial support of up to $3,000 per month.

What is an IHSS Protective Supervision provider?

An IHSS Protective Supervision provider takes care of children with severe mental impairments and makes sure they don’t hurt themselves while they are living at home. An IHSS provider may be paid to watch a child who has special needs to prevent injuries or accidents, when that child needs 24-hour supervision so he can remain safely at home.

Does my child qualify?

This program is especially for children with disabilities who show dangerous behavior without regard to consequences. This includes:

• A child who makes bad decisions about her health or safety, is confused or wanders off, gets lost, or forgets to start or finish something
• A child who may get hurt if she is left home alone because she may wander out of the house, let strangers in, light fires, leave water running, eat inedible things, or do things that are self-harming such as head banging, biting, and scratching
• A child who must be supervised 24-hours a day

If your child engages in any of the examples listed above or similar activities, you should look into becoming a Protective Supervision provider.

Applying for Protective Supervision as a provider

If you feel your child might meet the qualifications, call your social worker and ask for an assessment for IHSS Protective Supervision.

Because case workers are so overloaded, you must keep calling every single week and checking in if you have an open case waiting for a decision. Additionally, you must have these documents organized and ready to submit:

• Dangerous Behavior Log: The best way to show that your child qualifies for IHSS Protective Supervision is by examples of what your child does that may cause injuries. Get supporting statements from anyone who looks after your child as well. Keep a log to describe all the potential accidents that would happen if your child were not supervised. Make sure that your daily log shows that the dangerous behaviors can occur at any time of day or night. It will also show when you provided protective supervision to prevent injuries or accidents.
• IHSS SOC 821 Protective Supervision Form: Print this form and take it, along with the dangerous behavior log, to the doctor who treats your child. Do not mail in this form or drop it off at the doctor’s office. Sit in person with the doctor while she fills out the form, while telling her to use your list of dangerous behaviors from your log to write on the form. Make sure that most of the boxes are marked severe or at least moderate.
• Regional Center Individual Program Plan (IPP): This is a document created by the Regional Center. An IPP identifies the goals for your child, who will provide services or support to reach these goals, and if there is a cost associated with the service or support, who will fund it.
• Client Development Evaluation Report (CDER): This is a document created by the Regional Center. It’s a summary of your child’s abilities and the challenges associated with his disability.
• Individualized Education Program (IEP): This document will be created by your child’s school. The IEP outlines that your child is eligible for special education and related services to benefit from the general education program. It’s not a contract, but it does guarantee the necessary support and services that are agreed upon and written for your child.

Now look through all three documents: IPP, CDER, and IEP, to see if any of the three mentions any of the dangerous behavior your child engages in and highlight them.

If there are behaviors he engages in that are not noted, you could call a meeting and have them added to his school and/or Regional Center reports.

Once you have all the above completed, call your social worker and tell him or her that you are applying for IHSS Protective Supervision as a provider. Also, keep track of every phone call, email or in-person contact you have with IHSS, including the date, time, the person you spoke with, and a summary of your conversation.

If this process sounds daunting and you need help, you can always reach out to us. Our advocates can lead you through everything, as well as provide resources to better assist you and your child with special needs.

Go to http://www.americanadvocacygroup.com or call us directly at (877) 762-0702, and we will assist you in getting your child the funding he or she deserves.