A federal judge stopped the state from sending notices to 130,000 elderly and disabled Californians to inform them that their home care supportive services would be reduced — or eliminated entirely — on November 1.

A temporary restraining order — granted the day before the letters were to be dropped in the mail — prohibits the state from sending the notices until a court decides on October 19 whether it should issue a longer preliminary injunction.

The ruling is a win for advocates and unions that filed a federal class-action lawsuit on behalf of California’s home care supportive clients.

“You can’t balance the budget by hurting the state’s most vulnerable citizens,” said Dave Regan, trustee of SEIU-United Healthcare Workers, a plaintiff in the case. “We are pleased that these notices have been stopped and we’re confident that the court will see the wisdom and validity of our arguments when the matter is heard.”

The suit seeks to block $82 million in budget cuts for In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) that were approved by the Legislature and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) to shore up state budget shortfalls for the fiscal year that began on July 1. IHSS’s direct-care workers help older people and those with disabilities remain in their homes by aiding them in a host of essential tasks, including preparing meals, food shopping, cleaning, and/or providing transportation to medical appointments.

“Many do not understand that assistance with what seem to be simple tasks can keep people from becoming homeless, placed in nursing homes or other severe deterioration in their quality of life,” said Donna Calame, Executive Director of the San Francisco IHSS Public Authority, a public agency created to improve IHSS.

The plaintiffs argue that giving home care clients less than two weeks’ notice about the impending cuts violates their right to due process of law. They also contend that the planned cuts violate the Americans with Disabilities Act, which requires states to provide services to people with disabilities in the most integrated setting possible.

The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) has already successfully appealed to a federal court to halt California’s proposal to slash direct-care workers’ hourly wages from $11.50 to $9.50. In 2007, the national median hourly wage for all direct-care workers was $10.22; the median wage for all US workers was $15.10.