On July 29, 2025, UPE and fellow 008 advocates met with IHSS for a follow-up on their upcoming implementation of the Telehealth Reassessment Option (TRO). Social Workers are not required to conduct telehealth appointments – they can only happen if the recipient agrees and if the social worker agrees to provide it. IHSS reviewed their draft training materials with us, and we requested that they include an ESP refresher in the training. The TRO seems like a good thing, as it can alleviate the workload for Social Workers. We are awaiting the release of the second All-County Letter, which will provide more instructions. We will meet to assess if there is any further impact as a result of this letter. Staff training will begin sometime in late August or September, with TRO to be implemented at the end of September.
