The agreement, tentatively reached Jan. 8, was approved overwhelmingly by IHSS providers, who were represented by the California United Homecare Workers Union.

Although it's been years in the negotiations process, the contract wasn't greeted with universal enthusiasm amongst the Board of Supervisors, acting in the capacity as the Lake County IHSS Public Authority.

Supervisor Anthony Farrington wanted more specifics included in the memorandum of understanding regarding an enhanced IHSS provider registry, which would offer a wage above the $8.33 an hour – plus 60 cents per hour in health benefits – that will now be offered to all of the roughly 1,400 IHSS providers in the county.

Social Services Director Carol Huchingson, whose department oversees the IHSS program, said it would take time to work out the enhanced registry and its details. “I would hesitate to have the language be more specific at this time and absolutely commit to an enhanced wage.”

Farrington said that, for him, the driving issue was making the IHSS program a quality one.

He also noted his concern about the lack of drug testing, an issue that has come to divide the union and the public authority.

Supervisor Rob said union President Tyrone Freeman had told the board last year that he supported drug and background testing, “and we saw what happened to that.”

Supervisor Jeff Smith said it was time to move forward and get past the sticking points of the past. He said he has confidence an enhanced IHSS provider registry will work in Lake County because the union has put a similar program in place in Los Angeles County.

“It's for the benefit of the folks who are out there working,” he said. “I want to see it happen.”

Brown remained skeptical.

Getting up from his seat on the dais, Brown put up a display of several blown up, poster-size mug shots from the Lake County Sheriff's Web site showing several IHSS providers who had been arrested and convicted for various crimes.

They included Andre Stevens, convicted last year of a murder in Clearlake. Stevens, who had a previous robbery conviction and had done time in state prison, worked as his girlfriend's IHSS worker, as Lake County news has reported.

“These are the IHSS workers that I don't think we should be representing,” said Brown. “We shouldn't be giving them a raise.”

Brown said his first priority was for the clients. There are about 1,600 IHSS customers in the county, many of them elderly and disabled, according to the IHSS Public Authority.

“We've had a long history of fighting against giving these people a raise without drug testing and background checks,” Brown said, gesturing to the mug shots.

He added that he considered it a slap in the face to the good IHSS providers to lump them in with the criminal element.

Board Chair Ed Robey agreed, but said ultimately the state Legislature had created the system and its inequities.

Brown said it would do little good to appeal to Sacramento, where “all we have is some whiney activist.”

Many people are subject to drug tests and background checks for jobs, Brown said.

Supervisor Denise Rushing took a different approach.

“I'll just say this, no one wants to give criminals a raise,” said Rushing.

Gesturing to Brown's mug shot collection, she added, “These are the Willie Horton pictures here,” referring to a man released on a prison furlough program who later committed robbery and rape, and whose story was used against former Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis in the 1988 presidential election.

Rushing said she felt the contract was a path to improving the program.

“I want to see the workers get a raise and I think it will have an immediate affect on their lives in Lake County,” she said.

Brown responded that he didn't have as much faith in the IHSS program as he used to. He suggested that it was “so corrupt and sabotaged” that it may need to be scrapped and replaced.

Any of the convicts he presented pictures of, said Brown, could get out of prison and return to work as an IHSS provider. “That is so fundamentally wrong that that can be allowed to happen.”

Smith said not approving the agreement would hold back many good people who deserved a raise. The agreement, he suggested, gets the county to a point where it can start working on improving the program and putting pressure on legislators.

“It might not be exactly the way we wanted but at least it's a start,” he suggested.

The board ultimately approved the contract 4-1, with Brown voting no.

Robey said afterward that there's “a lot of pent-up frustration involved” for the board relating to the IHSS negotiations.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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