The editorial entitled “IHSS union needs a reality check” which appeared in the July 1 Record-Bee makes it very clear that the Lake County Publishing Editorial Board needs a reality check.
The editorial says that In-Home Supportive Services workers “too often get a bad rap because of the criminal element that tries to move among them”. I remind the editorial board that the criminal element tries to move among all of society, not just the IHSS workers. Why not then do background checks and drug testing on everyone?
Of the approximately 1,500 IHSS workers, only about 400 are on the IHSS registry. Many if not most of those not on the registry are simply unaware of the registry. They were picked by their clients from amongst their trusted relatives and friends, or word- of-mouth recommendation. The editorial says they are avoiding background checks for “no doubt nefarious reasons”. You have not presented one word of justification, cited fact nor statistic to support such abroad assumption. If the editorial board has “no doubt” based only on the hearsay they have presented, I sincerely hope none of them ever serve as jurors in a court of law.
The “bad rap” about IHSS workers in this county has come almost exclusively from Supervisor Rob Brown and has been picked up by the other supervisors and the Record-Bee seemingly on his word alone. It is my understanding that, according to public records, in a one-year period in the entire state there were 163 reported cases of fraud, theft and abuse by IHSS workers. While waving a file folder of supposed documentation in a scene eerily reminiscent of Senator “Tailgunner Joe” McCarthy, Mr. Brown has publicly claimed that there were some 60 cases of criminal activity by Lake County IHSS providers in only a three-month period. This would mean an average of 240 local cases per year.
If this is so, why has the Record-Bee not reported on this unprecedented crime wave nor covered the resulting trials? Why has the Record-Bee not at least checked the veracity of Supervisor Brown”s assertions? As journalists, it is your job to do so.
Michael R. Wilhelm
Kelseyville
