California’s budget for the 2026-27 fiscal year must be enacted by June 15 — and it is being negotiated against a backdrop of a multi-billion-dollar structural deficit. IHSS is once again in budget discussions, and advocates who remember the devastating cuts of 2009 through 2011 are watching closely and mobilizing early.
The Scale of the Budget Gap
California’s Department of Finance projects a budget shortfall in the range of $10 billion to $20 billion for 2026-27, driven by slower-than-expected income tax revenues, rising pension obligations, and increased commitments from prior years. Compounding the structural problem is the ongoing uncertainty around federal Medicaid funding: if Congressional per-capita cap proposals advance, California could lose additional billions in federal matching revenue.
IHSS is among California’s largest social services expenditures, with total program costs — including federal and county shares — exceeding $16 billion annually. The state’s General Fund share alone approaches $7–8 billion per year. That makes IHSS a significant target in any budget discussion, even as cutting it is politically and legally complex.
What Cuts Could Look Like
California has a well-worn playbook for IHSS reductions, drawn from recession-era cuts between 2009 and 2011:
Domestic services elimination: Cooking, cleaning, laundry, and shopping services are classified separately from protective supervision and personal care. Targeting these “domestic” hours reduces program costs without directly touching medical necessity determinations. Tens of thousands of recipients rely on domestic services to remain safely housed.
Functional index score adjustments: IHSS hours are determined in part by a recipient’s functional index (FI) score, which social workers assign during annual assessments. Tightening the minimum FI score required to qualify for specific service categories can reduce authorized hours without formally changing eligibility on its face.
Shifting costs to counties: California currently covers a significant portion of county IHSS administration costs. Shifting more of that burden to counties — which are themselves strained — can reduce state General Fund exposure but often results in counties reducing services they can no longer fully fund.
What Happened Last Time
Between 2009 and 2011, California enacted approximately $1.5 billion in IHSS reductions, including a proposed 20% across-the-board cut to authorized hours. Legal challenges under the Americans with Disabilities Act and federal Medi-Cal requirements led courts to block or reverse several of the most severe cuts. Disability Rights California and the Western Center on Law and Poverty argued successfully in multiple cases that the cuts violated federal Medicaid law and the ADA’s community integration mandate.
Disability rights advocates are preparing similar legal challenges if comparable proposals advance in 2026.
What the Legislative Calendar Means for You
Budget Conference Committees are meeting now to reconcile the Assembly budget, the Senate budget, and the Governor’s May Revision. The June 15 constitutional deadline creates pressure that historically pushes negotiators toward cuts rather than revenue increases.
SEIU 2015 is coordinating a statewide call-in campaign through June targeting Budget Conference Committee members. The union’s website (seiu2015.org) lists contact information for key legislators by county.
What recipients and providers should do now:
- Document your current authorized hours and service categories on your most recent IHSS notice of action (NOA)
- If your county schedules a reassessment in the coming months, it may reflect new lower-scoring criteria — know your right to appeal any reduction within 90 days
- Contact your state Assembly member and state Senator to register your opposition to IHSS cuts
A budget signed with IHSS reductions will take effect July 1. The window to influence the final outcome is narrowing.