Agency Details:

The mission of San Francisco's IHSS Public Authority is to provide and promote a service delivery model of consumer-directed in-home support that maximizes the potential of older adults and people with disabilities to live independently and participate in their communities.

Description:
In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) is a statewide publicly funded program providing personal assistance services to low-income people with chronic and disabling conditions who need such assistance to remain safely in their homes and engaged in their communities. In San Francisco, most consumers served by IHSS are over 65 years of age. The remainder are younger adults and a small number of children.

History:
In the early 1990's, consumers, workers and advocates of In-Home Supportive Services around the state were looking for ways to improve the quality of the IHSS program. Some barriers to improvement were clear: difficulty for consumers in finding screened workers, very low wages for the workers, virtually no worker benefits, and a lack of training opportunities for both consumers and workers. They developed the idea of a Public Authority, an innovative way to address these concerns, and advocated for laws that allowed establishment of public authority as a county option. As of January 2003, the existence of a Public Authority has been mandated for every county by the State of California .
In May 1995, the Board of Supervisors of San Francisco City and County voted to create the first Public Authority with an independent Governing Body to manage and deliver in-home supportive services (IHSS).

Contact people:

Manuel Molina, Operations Manager, (phone), (email) Cheryl Durley, Administrative Assistant, (phone), (email)

Address:

832 Folsom Street 9th Floor San Francisco, CA 94107 (See a map)

Web Site: http://www.sfihsspa.org

Miscellaneous Information

Besides English, which languages are spoken at your agency?
	Cantonese, Russian, Spanish
What is the minimum age for volunteers at your agency?
	18
Is your agency wheelchair accessible?
	Yes
Does your agency have the capacity to host groups of more than 10?
	Yes
Does your agency have the capacity to host groups of more than 20?
	Yes

Last updated on August 28, 2009