If my child is completely unaware of the danger of touching hot surfaces, would that qualify for IHSS protective supervision?

A lot of kids have behaviors where they could potentially be injured. The question for protective supervision is: does the child require 24/7 supervision because of their impairments? If the main issue is they touch hot surfaces, then IHSS will likely say that's a predictable time because it's when you're in the kitchen cooking.

So when you're thinking about your behavior log, you may have to stop and look around and watch your child's behavior because there may just be things that you're intervening on just as a matter of muscle memory, or you're not even realizing that you're intervening to keep them from getting hurt. So really stop and think about your child's behaviors and everything that you do to keep them from getting hurt, and you might realize that there are more examples than you thought originally. But if it's just a couple of things, like they touch the oven when you’re cooking, then IHSS is going to say that they need extra supervision while you're cooking. And that's not the same as 24/7 supervision.

There's not one specific behavior where if your child does it, they qualify for protective supervision. It's a consideration of all the different things that they do throughout the day and night that equal that need for 24/7 supervision.

For more information, see our article on IHSS protective supervision.