California Budget Cuts Target Ethnic Elders
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Press Release: NSCLC analysis shows that proposed budget cuts in California would disproportionately hurt immigrants and communities of color
For Immediate Release
June 8, 2009
Contact:
Anna Rich
National Senior Citizens Law Center
510-663-1055, ext. 305
arich@nsclc.org
California Budget Cuts Target Ethnic Elders:
Seniors and Individuals with Disabilities May Lose Help Needed to Stay Safely in Their Homes
While everyone in California has heard about the budget crisis that threatens crucial health and social services, less has been heard about the people are who could be harmed. As a group, immigrants and communities of color would be disproportionately hurt by the proposed cuts. Data obtained by the National Senior Citizens Law Center show that among recipients of In-Home Supportive Services, one of the biggest targets for Governor Schwarzenegger’s cost-cutting, approximately 49 percent speak a language other than English at home.
In-Home Supportive Services, or IHSS, is a program that provides assistance to seniors and individuals with disabilities so that they can live safely at home instead of in a nursing home. Under the most recent budget proposals, an estimated 404,000 people would lose services they need to age at home, such as personal assistance with eating and bathing. Because ethnic elders are more likely to get long term care at home than in a nursing home, cuts to IHSS have a disproportionate impact on California’s racial and ethnic minority families and communities. More than sixty percent of IHSS recipients aged 65 and older are from communities of color. In contrast, the majority of nursing home residents are white.
There are no good alternatives for ethnic elders hurt by proposed cuts. Most people prefer to age at home, avoiding the expense and isolation of a nursing home. Furthermore, research shows that non-whites in nursing homes do not get as good care as white residents. And there simply aren’t enough beds in the state to house all the IHSS recipients whose services would get cut off. Instead, a senior who is not able to prepare and eat a healthy diet on her own, or who needs some help getting to and from the bathroom, will instead be left to fend for herself. The result will be weight loss, broken hips—and worse.
“These short sighted proposals would cause a health crisis and undermine the stability of thousands of families who currently care for their frail and elderly immigrant parents and grandparents,” says National Senior Citizens Law Center attorney Anna Rich. “The governor and legislature need to stop trying to squeeze savings out of the most vulnerable members of society.”
IHSS is one of many programs supporting vulnerable seniors that are now on the chopping block due to the state’s budget crisis. Thousands of older immigrants would be left destitute, unable to pay for housing, food, medicine and other necessities by the proposal to eliminate the CAPI program. Others will find their already low incomes reduced due to rollbacks to the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program. Recent legal immigrants and other poor seniors who don’t get SSI would lose access to healthcare. Any of these cuts alone would be devastating; all together the results are truly unthinkable.
For questions, or for additional information about how the proposed cuts to In-Home Supportive Services and other programs will impact particular immigrant groups and communities of color, please contact Anna Rich, arich@nsclc.org, 510-663-1055, ext. 305.
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