District Attorney
Welfare Fraud (IMPACT) and In-Home Support Services (IHSS) Unit

Welfare Fraud Program Overview

Welfare fraud refers to the act of intentionally providing false, misleading, or incomplete information or using dishonest means to obtain or continue receiving public assistance benefits, such as cash assistance, food stamps, or housing subsidies. This can include, but is not limited to:

• Failing to report income, assets, or changes in household circumstances that could affect eligibility for benefits.
• Providing false or fictitious information about one's identity, residence, or family composition.
• Using someone else's benefits or allowing unauthorized individuals to use one's own benefits.
• Selling or trading benefits for cash, goods, or services that are not permitted under the program rules.

The district attorney’s office may work with San Joaquin County Human Resources Agency, or other relevant public assistance agencies to gather evidence and determine whether there is sufficient evidence to pursue a case. We work to recover fraudulently obtained benefits and deter others from committing welfare fraud by raising public awareness about the issue, highlighting the potential consequences, and ensuring that cases are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Ultimately, our obligation is to protect public resources and ensure that welfare programs are not abused, so that benefits are available to those who genuinely need them.

IHSS Program Overview

There are aged, blind or disabled persons who are limited in their ability to care for themselves and cannot live safely at home without assistance. This group includes those individuals who, with assistance, would be able to return to their home from a state hospital, skilled nursing facility, or a board and care home. The appropriate assistance may be provided through a county administered program known as the In-Home Supportive Services Program ( IHSS).

The primary function of the IHSS program is to keep the elderly, blind, and permanently disabled, in their own home setting for as long as possible as opposed to In-Patient Long Term Care . This program is MediCal driven and funded by the federal, state, and county governments, but administered by the local county. In San Joaquin County, this function is performed through the Human Services Agency (HSA).

IHSS fraud involves individuals who submit fraudulent time sheets for work they did not perform or were not authorized to perform. In San Joaquin County, allegations of fraud are investigated by the IHSS Fraud Task Force. This collaborative venture is comprised of California Medi-Cal Fraud investigators from California State Department of Health Care Services (DHCS), investigators from San Joaquin County District Attorney's Office Investigations Bureau (SJCDAI), the San Joaquin County District Human Services Agency (HSA), In-Home Supportive Services Unit (IHSS) Quality Assurance Fraud Unit staff, and their fraud investigators.