Posted on 04/10/2026 4:42:05 AM PDT by MtnClimber
California’s In-Home Supportive Services Program is ripe for scams, experts say.
California Governor Gavin Newsom is embroiled in a national fraud scandal. Thus far, much of the coverage has focused on alleged schemes related to unemployment insurance, hospice care, and food stamps. In this exclusive investigation, we shine a light on one of California’s largest initiatives: the In-Home Supportive Services Program, or IHSS, which pays family members and other individuals to provide home-based care for the elderly and disabled—at a cost of nearly $30 billion per year.
On the surface, IHSS presents itself as an instrument of compassion, directing billions to caregivers who help with cooking, personal care, laundry, and other daily needs inside recipients’ homes. But a growing number of experts and critics argue that the program is rife with fraud, losing roughly an estimated $6 billion to $12 billion yearly to scammers. Meantime, the state’s powerful home-care unions collect more than $149 million in membership dues, funneling money into the political network supporting Newsom and California Democrats.
This is the story of a government that has allowed compassion to become a mask for fraud, creating a self-reinforcing system that keeps the Democratic establishment in power.
In 1973, California created what became the IHSS program to provide in-home care to the elderly and disabled. The IHSS caseload exploded in the 1980s, prompting the state to impose hour caps on care providers. California offers the program through Medi-Cal, its version of Medicaid, and pays providers with a combination of federal, state, and county funds.
IHSS has long been considered a magnet for fraud. In 2009, then-Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger estimated that up to 25 percent of IHSS claims were fraudulent. A Sacramento grand jury report that year found that providers had “no meaningful oversight, no assessment of skills to meet client needs, no monitoring of the validity of service hours, and no background checks.”
After growth of the program’s rolls exploded in the early 2000s, Schwarzenegger signed legislation aimed at curbing abuse, requiring IHSS providers to undergo criminal background checks and introducing random claim reviews.
But soon after the law’s passage, a state workgroup, teaming with representatives from “labor organizations,” introduced a key loophole. Citing concerns about disruptions for “vulnerable members of the IHSS community,” the task force barred regulators from conducting fully randomized, unannounced home visits, leaving the program more exposed to scammers.
Since then, the program has expanded dramatically again. “IHSS provider” has become the largest low-wage occupation statewide, with more than 800,000 taxpayer-funded caregivers offering everything from grocery shopping to personal care.
Applying for IHSS care is straightforward. First, a prospective beneficiary files a California Department of Social Services application. Second, a county social worker visits his home to determine his need for care. Third, the county or public authority reviews the application and, if it approves, designates the applicant as a beneficiary, who can then use taxpayer funds to hire the caregiver of his choice—in more than 70 percent of cases, a direct family member.
The system operates largely on trust. Providers self-report their timecards and check-in records. In roughly 60 percent of cases, providers and beneficiaries live together, delivering care in private homes—typically without the threat of random, unannounced visits.
County-level fraud controls appear to be lacking. State regulations prevent IHSS staff from making unannounced visits unless a whistleblower files a “specific” complaint or regulators identify clear red flags. Even when complaints are lodged, investigations apparently can be slow, and prosecutions slower still. According to the state’s Department of Social Services, for one 12-month period between 2023 and 2024, counties received nearly 7,000 fraud complaints; 28 counties recorded 964 fraud investigations, resulting in just 39 cases prosecuted.
County-level regulators face additional problems. A 2021 Riverside County audit claimed that the local IHSS program did “not adhere to review and approval procedures for program integrity referrals.” In addition, more than 60 percent of county staff at the Department of Public Social Services, which, according to the auditor, handles program oversight, were IHSS providers themselves—meaning they had an interest in maintaining the status quo.
California, in other words, is sending billions of dollars per year to a program that is easy to exploit, difficult to administer, and almost impossible to supervise.....SNIP
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One might say that it appears the program was designed with fraud and kickbacks in mind.
Unearthed clip exposes shocking claim by Newsom’s wife about inmates at violent California prison
NYS to CA: Hold my beer.
Thanks for posting. Kudos to Rufo & Schrupp. Gavin Newsom - D evil (and those who support him)
So California’s pays you to help your elder parent? What could go wrong?
NEVADA HAS A SIMILAR PROGRAM-—”FREEDOM SOMETHING”===
MEDICARE “PERSONAL CARE SERVICES”
PAYING FAMILY MEMBERS TO TAKE CARE OF OTHER FAMILY MEMBERS...
THAT USED TO BE CALLED “BEING RESPONSIBLE”.
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