Kris Barletta is 26, but possesses the intellect of a two-year old. He's blind in his right eye, suffers from frequent, violent seizures and cannot speak. His mother must place a special double-lock on the gate of her Grass Valley home lest Kris wander into the street, as he has no fear and wouldn't think twice about stepping in front of a car.

For mom Quique (pronounced KEE-kee) Barletta, caring for Kris is a full-time job — one that may stop paying if Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has his way.

Barletta gets paid to care for her son under the In-Home Supportive Services program, a state program Schwarzenegger said he would cut completely in his proposed budget for the 2010-11 fiscal year.

The program pays caretakers to look after California residents in their own homes, avoiding the huge costs to both the state and families of nursing and long-term care facilities. In 2009-10, the program is projected to cost the state more than $1.5 billion, according to the state's Legislative Analysis Office.

About 640 Nevada County residents take advantage of the program, which employs about 690 county residents on both a full- and part-time basis.

“Kris can never be left alone,” Barletta said. “I've tried to keep a job and care for Kris. But employers have threatened to let me go because of the excessive leave I've had to take to care for him.”

The young man suffers from Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, a severe form of epilepsy; it started when Kris was born, when seizures deprived his brain of oxygen.

Twice, Barletta pulled Kris out of nursing homes because of suspected abuse. She does not want to return to that option.

Some of the county's caretakers are like Barletta, residents who care for family members at a salary a bit higher than minimum wage. Others include caretakers for elderly people who want to stay in their own home as age takes away their ability to care for themselves.

Both would be left behind in the governor's cost-cutting proposal.

“The economic impact would be horrendous,” said Nevada County IHSS Executive Director Ann Guerra. “I cannot fathom a scenario where the governor's recommendation would pass.”

As a safety net, IHSS is often the last chance for disabled people to live at home before they are admitted to nursing homes at the expense of their families and the state.

“There aren't options for these people,” Guerra said.

For the two nephews of Lynne McCuiston, the system works.

The Penn Valley resident takes full-time care of the boys, 13 and 15, who suffer from cystic fibrosis. They are often sick and require constant care, McCuiston said.

“The cost (of putting them in a care facility) would be tremendous,” McCuiston said. “We make it now, but if I lost this income, we'd lose our house.

“What I do all day, my life, revolves around keeping those boys healthy. If I had to get a job, it would be very difficult for me.”

At 97, Grass Valley's Dorothy Sladky doesn't worry as much about what may happen. She's thankful for her caregivers, who help her with everything from laundry to cooking, allowing her to stay home after she signed up for the program in 2006.

“All of them are so nice,” Sladky said. “They are so concerned about me. I couldn't have lived all these years alone without them.”

Given the high cost of home care and the potential loss of jobs in the IHSS program, Guerra said she doesn't understand why the governor would propose such a plan.

“If he's talking about jobs being his priority, I don't know why he would do this,” Guerra said. “Nevada County can't handle another 600-plus people out of work.”

She points to the cost of putting IHSS patients into nursing homes, which can cost about $60,000 annually, according to the California Department of Health Services, as one reason California should keep the program.

“The need won't go away,” Guerra said. “The people won't go away. They'll still need help from someone, and we'll end up paying for it.”

What will happen to Kris is something Barletta still doesn't know, she said.

“The state would probably have to pick it up,” Barletta said of the cost of her son's care, looking on as Kris stared out their living room window. “It took a lot of people out of institutions and put them at home. I would just be terribly afraid if I needed to put Kris back there.”

To contact Staff Writer Kyle Magin, e-mail kmagin@theunion.com or call (530) 477-4239.