If the state Legislature authorizes budget cuts for in-home services currently provided through Medi-Cal, it will severely impact Placer County residents with disabilities and others statewide.

Assembly Bill 851 is still being discussed and a final decision might not be reached until late August, according to Tink Miller, executive director of Placer Independent Resource Services (PIRS) in Auburn.

PIRS hosted a discussion of the possible budget cuts on Monday night at its office on Atwood Road, and about 30 people showed up, including Placer County Supervisor Bruce Kranz, Dave Luke from the state department of rehabilitation in Auburn, and William Reed, chairman of United Domestic Workers of America, which has an office in Loomis.

“I spoke to them as support for home care,” Kranz said. “When you have people going into the home at $10 an hour vs. going into an institution for $60 an hour, that’s a no-brainer. I am in favor of people staying in their homes for their comfort and for expense.

“That organization (PIRS) does some great services, and far outweighs the cost,” he added.

The Assembly bill currently under discussion considers dropping in-home services for those with disabilities. In the past, the governor vetoed a similar bill. In 2007-2008, there were approximately 3,000 enrolled in the state-sponsored program.

“If these cuts go through, it would just devastate me,” said Tiffany Bagwell, 40, of Auburn. “I need a worker because I can’t cook very well. Doing laundry is nearly impossible.”

Bagwell has limited mobility due to spina bifida and relies on a personal attendant, who comes to her home twice a week. In-home services for those with limited mobility are currently funded through Medi-Cal. Bagwell said she has received in-home services since 1996.

When Bagwell’s aide does not visit, she must rely on heating up TV dinners in the microwave or eating food, which do not require cooking.

Support groups for those with disabilities and advocates for independent living are all part of the PIRS program, which gets about 35 percent of its funding from the state’s Department of Rehabilitation, and about 50 percent from the federal Department of Education, according to PIRS director Miller.

If PIRS, a non-profit organization, does not get state funding by September, Miller said she would be forced to consider layoffs.

Liz Pope, a PIRS systems advocate, said the state is also looking to cut in-home support services by cutting hourly salaries for attendants from $9.50 an hour to $8.50 an hour.

“It would cost more money to institutionalize these people rather than keep them at home,” Pope said. “We want to keep them in the home so they can live independently. It would cost around $60,000 a year to institutionalize one person, whereas it would be about $10,000 if they were living at home.”

Pope went to the state Capitol on June 11 for the hearing on possible Medi-Cal reforms, as legislative discussion on Assembly Bill 851 continues.

“We’re all compassionate people here and we’re not going to give up the fight,” Miller said.