Resources for adults with developmental disabilities shared by D'Vine Path

FALLBROOK – Local nonprofit D'Vine Path has been offering vocational education to neurodivergent adults since 2019. The mission of D'Vine Path is to help their participants achieve their goals while offering a wide range of educational paths and continued opportunities for personal and professional growth.

D'Vine Path has become a safe haven for neurodivergent people, impacting more than 900 people in San Diego County with the services provided at the program. While the program is greatly beneficial for all participants during their time at D'Vine Path, many individuals are in need of more support at home.

In Home Support Services is a program through the state of California that focuses on providing in-home assistance for eligible individuals.

In order to qualify for In Home Support Services, individuals must be eligible aged, blind or disabled. This program aims to help recipients remain in their homes as opposed to being moved to an out-of-home care facility.

According to the California Department of Social Services, here are the requirements for eligibility:

• Applicants must be a California resident.

• Applicants must have a Medi-Cal eligibility determination.

• Applicants must live at home or an abode of their own choosing (acute care hospital, long-term care facilities, and licensed community care facilities are not considered "own home").

• Applicants must submit a completed Health Care Certification form.

After applying, the individual will need to complete an in-person interview to determine eligibility for a variety of services. The Health Care Certification form must be completed before services are authorized. IHSS will reach out with an approval or denial depending on the applicant.

Another resource offered by IHSS is the 24 Hour Protective Supervision service. The protective supervision service is only offered for individuals with a need for 24 hour observance every day to protect them from injuries, hazards or accidents.

"The IHSS Protective Supervision hours for clients is a much needed service that protects their safety at all times," said Lenila Lingad Batali, executive director of D'Vine Path. "One important thing to note is that if the state unjustly decides to take away this protective supervision service, is to call for an appeal immediately and ask for aid paid pending which will, in effect, freeze supervision hours until the appeal process is completed."

IHSS offers recipients a wide variety of services based on needs determined by the interview as well as family, friends, physician and licensed health care professional when appropriate. All the services offered aim to help recipients to remain in a comfortable space with all the assistance needed to do so. IHSS serves eligible recipients to the best of their abilities and helps to accommodate each individual need.

For the 24 Hour Protective Supervision service, eligibility is determined based on need and requires clear documentation to receive service. It has been expressed that the service may be hard to obtain, but appeals can be successful depending on the situation.

"I personally went through this process recently and won our appeal. It was quite the experience which will help me guide other families going through the same process," said Lingad Batali.

For more information about In Home Support Services, visit https://www.cdss.ca.gov/in-home-supportive-services. For more information about D'Vine Path, visit https://www.dvinepath.org/.

Submitted by D'Vine Path.