Company Profile
California Association of Public Authorities for In-Home Supportive Services (CAPA)
Company Overview
CAPA is a non-profit association comprised of the IHSS Public Authorities in California created to provide proactive leadership to improve the IHSS program in California. There are 56 Public Authority IHSS agencies throughout California’s 58 counties and they serve more than 441,689 consumers and 376,308 caregivers. Some consumers have more than one caregiver. If duplicates are counted, there are more than 447,000 caregivers.
Company History
In the late 80s and early 90s, advocates for seniors and the disabled joined with labor and local government and were successful in securing the passage of legislation in 1993 that allowed Counties to set up a public authority or non-profit consortium that would establish a registry to help consumers find workers, investigate the background and qualifications of the workers, provide for training, and serve as the employer of record for collective bargaining. To ensure a strong consumer voice, consumer-majority governing or advisory boards were mandated.
Public authorities, County government and labor began working together to improve wages and provide health benefits, offer training and other support services to consumers and workers, and to provide opportunities for consumers to influence what and how IHSS services are provided. In the early 1990s, the federal government began funding over 50% of the cost of the IHSS program (and public authorities) under the Personal Care Services Program, a Medicaid Waiver program.
In 1999, AB 1682 became law, requiring each County to establish a public authority or similar entity by January 2003. The original public authorities began meeting as the Public Authority Council in the mid 1990s as an informal workgroup that shared information and their experience. CAPA is a direct descendent of that Council.
Since that time, CAPA has grown to 52 member Public Authorities covering 55 counties. It has established itself as a valuable partner with State and Local governments to address the needs and problems of a program that is growing due to the rapidly expanding population of seniors and people with disabilities. CAPA is proud of its history of advocating that the voice and control of the consumers of IHSS remains paramount.