AB 2278

AB2278:v97#DOCUMENT

Bill Start

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 2278

An act to add Section 12306.165 to the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to in-home supportive services.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 2278, as amended, Ávila Farías. In-home supportive services: County of Contra Costa: innovative technologies.

Existing law establishes the In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program, administered by the State Department of Social Services and counties, under which qualified aged, blind, and disabled persons are provided with services in order to permit them to remain in their own homes.

Existing federal law, the Community First Choice Option (CFCO) program, authorizes states to provide home- and community-based attendant services and supports to eligible Medicaid enrollees, as specified. Existing federal law provides federal financial participation for a state that provides services under the CFCO program.

This bill would require the department to develop and make available a 5-year pilot project for the County of Contra Costa for the purpose of improving IHSS eligibility and processing times through the use of innovative technologies. Under the bill, the county would be required to test innovative technologies that facilitate transcription and summarization of IHSS in-home eligibility interviews, as specified, and the project would be designed with a focus on decreasing IHSS application processing times for recipients participating in the CFCO program. The bill would require the county to post annual reports on project progress and outcomes. By creating new duties for the county relating to the pilot project, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the County of Contra Costa.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

Digest Key

Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: YES

Bill Text

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

Section 12306.165 is added to the Welfare and Institutions Code, immediately following Section 12306.16, to read:

12306.165.

(a) (1) The department shall develop and make available a five-year pilot project for the County of Contra Costa for the purpose of improving IHSS eligibility and processing times through the use of innovative technologies within the county.

(2) The pilot project shall be available for implementation between the 2027 and 2031 calendar years, inclusive.

(b) (1) The County of Contra Costa shall test innovative technologies that facilitate documentation transcription and summarization of IHSS in-home eligibility interviews, with informed consent of the individual. interviews.

(2) The pilot project shall be designed with a focus on decreasing IHSS application processing times for recipients participating in the Community First Choice Option (CFCO) program, as established pursuant to Section 14132.956.

(c) (1) The County of Contra Costa shall not use innovative technologies to transcribe or summarize information provided by an individual during an IHSS in-home eligibility interview without first obtaining the individual’s separate and distinct written consent.(2) Any request to obtain an individual’s consent shall clearly and conspicuously disclose all of the following:(A) The specific purpose for which the innovative technology will be used.(B) The types of information that will be collected from the individual.(C) That the individual may withhold or withdraw their consent at any time.(D) That withholding or withdrawing consent will not affect the provision, denial, timing, or quality of IHSS services or benefits.(3) The provision, denial, timing, or quality of IHSS services or benefits shall not be conditioned on an individual’s decision to withhold or withdraw their consent.(d) (1) A transcription or summary generated by innovative technologies pursuant to this section shall be reviewed by a human caseworker prior to being used to make or facilitate a decision regarding the provision, denial, timing, or quality of IHSS services or benefits.(2) Any transcriptions or summaries generated by innovative technologies shall be clearly identified as such to the reviewing caseworker.(e) Information collected from an individual pursuant to this section, including a transcription or summary of that information generated by innovative technologies, shall be used solely for the purpose of conducting an IHSS eligibility interview, and shall not be retained, sold, shared, or otherwise used for any other purpose, including by a third-party vendor.(f) (1) A caseworker may discontinue their use of innovative technologies during an IHSS eligibility interview, or disregard any transcript or summary generated by those technologies, if the caseworker determines that a transcription or summary does not accurately reflect information provided by an individual.(2) A caseworker’s exercise of discretion pursuant to this subdivision shall not result in any adverse employment action or penalty.

(c)

(g) During the implementation period, the county shall post on its internet website annual reports on progress and outcomes of the pilot project.

(h) (1) For purposes of this section, “innovative technology” means a software tool that transcribes or summarizes information provided by an individual during an IHSS eligibility interview.(2) “Innovative technology” does not include a software tool that does either of the following:(A) Generates predictions, risk scores, or classifications.(B) Makes a decision or provides a recommendation regarding the provision, denial, timing, or quality of IHSS services or benefits.

SEC. 2.

The Legislature finds and declares that a special statute is necessary and that a general statute cannot be made applicable within the meaning of Section 16 of Article IV of the California Constitution because of the unique demographic and structural circumstances in the County of Contra Costa, as follows:

(a) A pressing need exists to provide fiscal relief and explore innovative system improvements to help expedite recertification times and reduce late penalties under the Community First Choice Option (CFCO) program through the In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program.

(b) Although the County of Contra Costa is a county of approximately 1,150,000 people, constituting around 3 percent of the state’s overall population, the county is responsible for approximately triple that proportion of statewide late penalties.

(c) The County of Contra Costa already significantly overmatches for the administration of the program, with the CFCO late penalties being anticipated to approach nearly $5,000,000 annually if no legislative action is taken.

(d) These high charges will have a detrimental and counterproductive effect, requiring resources to be diverted toward penalties rather than allowing the county to invest in improvements that achieve the intent of improving processing times.

SEC. 3.

If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.