The Bishop Writes

(The Washington State Catholic Conference (WSCC) represents the Catholic Bishops of Washington State: Archbishop Alex J. Brunett of the Archdiocese of Seattle, Bishop George L. Thomas, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Seattle, Bishop William S. Skylstad of the Diocese of Spokane, and Bishop Carlos A. Sevilla SJ, of the Diocese of Yakima. This WSCC statement addresses processes involved in conscience formation in light of the Scriptures and Catholic Social Teaching in preparation for voting in November.)

Catholic Social Teaching:
“…it devolves then on other persons…and…society to provide for…the young, the old, the sick, the handicapped, and the poor … Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction….” [Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition.]
“…economic justice insists that economic decisions and institutions be judged on whether they protect or undermine the dignity of the human person. We support policies that create jobs with adequate pay and decent working conditions, increase the minimum wage so it becomes a living wage....” [Faithful Citizenship, 1999.]
Ballot Title: Initiative 775 concerns long-term in-home care services. This measure would create a “home care quality authority” to establish qualifications, standards, accountability, training, referral and employment relations for publicly funded individual providers of in-home care services to elderly and disabled adults. Background: Over 22,000 persons 18+ years of age receive state funded long-term care (LTC) services monthly in their homes. Thirteen thousand of these clients receive services through the Individual Provider Program (IP). The state considers IP clients as employers, and the IP workers are independent contractors. The state performs criminal background checks on workers, determines care plans and hours to be worked, tracks IP worker minimum training requirements, and prints their paychecks. Over 50 percent of IP workers are family members of their clients. IP workers are low paid and there is high worker turnover. Currently, there is no centralized registry of potential IP workers that consumers can use.
Supporters of I-775 Say: I-775 would help people with disabilities and frail seniors eligible for state services get the assistance they need to stay in their own homes. The “home care quality authority” (“authority”) would regulate and improve the quality of the state’s IP services by recruiting, training, and stabilizing the individual provider work force. The “authority” would create a centralized registry of potential IP workers, and give IP workers the right to join a union.
Opponents of I-775 Say: I-775 sets up a new state bureaucracy, which duplicates services already provided. There is no funding provision in the initiative to finance the “authority.” The initiative is not clearly written, and there are overlapping powers and duties. We need to help people stay in their homes, but there is no need to create another state agency.
Reflection: Each initiative is a value statement that says something about the character of Washington State. The Washington State Catholic Conference has not taken a position on I-775, but we, the Catholic Bishops of Washington State, ask you to read and study this initiative and discuss it with others in light of Catholic social teaching. To assist this process, the following questions are posed:

• How are those who are poor and vulnerable affected by passage of this initiative?
• Is I-775 good public policy?
• Who benefits from it?
• Can the state fund the initiative and still provide essential services, especially for the poor?
• Is there a sense of urgency or importance from a moral perspective to pass this initiative?
• Does it foster the common good? We are blessed as Catholics to come from a faith tradition that supports us in professing our values as voters. We have a stake in what happens in the state. As Catholics, we have the responsibility to view the future through the lens of Jesus Christ and the gospels. Please, inform your conscience, reflect, pray and vote.
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