If you are helping a parent
Updated September 16, 2026. Reviewed September 16, 2026 against public CDSS, DHCS, Medicare.gov, VA, and CareScout 2025 California tables. County wages, hours, and wait times still change. Official .gov pages decide.
If you are an adult child navigating In-Home Supportive Services for a parent, this is the practical path. IHSS is Medi-Cal home care. It can pay for personal care and household help so an eligible parent can stay safely in their own home. You often become the paid provider after the county authorizes hours and you finish enrollment. Your county decides eligibility, hours, and who can be paid.
You can check Medi-Cal, submit SOC 295, get SOC 873 back from a licensed health professional, sit in on the assessment, and enroll as the provider. Medi-Cal staff and the county IHSS social worker decide eligibility, tasks, hours, and the IHSS sub-program.
If the case is approved, CDSS says the recipient hires the individual provider and is that person’s employer (hire, train, supervise, and fire). For many families that person is an adult child. It can also be another relative, a friend, or someone the county Public Authority list can help you find. Some counties also offer contracted providers or county homemakers.
A county social worker interviews your parent at home, looks at which daily tasks they can safely do alone, and authorizes service types and hours using Functional Index Rankings and Hourly Task Guidelines. You can share what a typical day looks like if your parent wants you there. A Health Care Certification form (SOC 873), or acceptable alternative documentation, must reach the county before services are authorized.
IHSS is for people living at home or in an abode of their own choosing. Acute-care hospitals, long-term care facilities, and licensed community care facilities are other settings. CDSS counts “own home” as the place your parent lives by choice, not a facility stay.
Work through these in order when you can. Skip a box only if it is already done. Timing varies by county. Your county office can tell you what is typical locally.
This is the usual path when an adult child is navigating IHSS and Medi-Cal so a parent can stay home. You can gather forms, sit in on the visit, and enroll as the provider. Your county IHSS office and Medi-Cal decide eligibility, hours, and who can be paid. Timing varies by county. Waiting for a social worker is often the slow stretch. Your county office can tell you what is typical locally.
After you send the packet, the work is mostly waiting, answering a request for a missing page, and showing up for the visit. This is the usual sequence.
After SOC 295 is in, the IHSS office processes it. They may ask for missing signatures or a clearer SOC 873 before anyone is scheduled.
Someone calls or writes to set the in-home visit. This wait is common, and it is the step adult children worry about most. Calling once to confirm the file is complete is reasonable. Daily calls rarely speed it up.
The social worker looks at what your parent can safely do alone and authorizes tasks and hours. You can be there if your parent wants you there.
The county sends the authorized plan. Read it before you plan a work schedule. It is the only list that counts.
A check follows after enrollment is finished and timesheets are accepted. Start that packet when you know who will give the care.
Record authorized time the way the county asks. The State issues the provider payment. If a share of cost applies and it was not paid, CDSS says that amount can be deducted from the warrant, and your parent then pays you that part.
Most delays are routine and fixable. A missing page or a wait for a worker is common.
Files sit until a worker is assigned. Confirm the application and SOC 873 are complete. Then wait for the scheduled visit unless the county asks for something else.
Missing signatures, a blank SOC 873, or a name that does not match the Medi-Cal case can send the file back. Fill what is asked. Extra medical records do not usually help.
IHSS needs a Medi-Cal determination. If Medi-Cal is still pending, IHSS cannot finish. Check BenefitsCal or the Medi-Cal worker, not only the IHSS worker.
Orientation seats, background checks, and returned provider forms are a separate queue from the assessment. Start enrollment early so the notice and the provider packet can finish together.
Some Medi-Cal cases have a monthly share of cost. Ask early, so you know what the State check may include.
Many providers must record time with an EVV method. Live-in rules differ. Ask the county or Public Authority which method you should use before the first timesheet.
An adult child is commonly allowed after enrollment. A spouse, or a parent of a child under 18, is more restricted and depends on the IHSS sub-program (PCSP versus CFCO, IPO, or IHSS-Residual). Ask the county which program applies.
Complete what the county asks for. Extra paper often slows the file down. Keep medical records for the county packet, and use this website for contact details only.
Reviewed against CDSS, DHCS, Medicare.gov, and CareScout public pages. We do not quote IHSS wages. County IHSS offices and Medi-Cal decide eligibility, hours, and pay. For current county wage rates, use the official CDSS wage page. CDSS county IHSS wage rates.
Official program pages: CDSS: In-Home Supportive Services, CDSS: IHSS for children, County IHSS offices, CDSS: IHSS providers, CDSS: county IHSS wage rates, CDSS: provider orientation, CDSS: Electronic Visit Verification, CDSS: Electronic Services Portal, DHCS: Medi-Cal, Apply for Medi-Cal, BenefitsCal, CDSS: hearing requests, CDSS: forms catalog, CDSS: IHSS overtime and workweek, DDS: regional centers.
Common situations
A factual family checklist for the IHSS home visit: typical-day notes, SOC 873, ID, who will be present, and the walker or shower setup as used. Do not inflate. Do not shrink.
Read the guideAfter a hospital stay
A practical checklist for adult children: caregiver time, housing stability, transportation, durable medical equipment, and out-of-pocket costs before a parent comes home.
Read the guideCommon situations
When a sibling takes over or a weekend helper joins, the recipient still hires. The new person enrolls, and the county needs both names.
Read the guideHelping a parent
How discharge can prompt an IHSS application or a new assessment once a parent is home again, without treating the hospital as “own home.”
Read the guideEligibility
How IHSS is framed for aged, blind, or disabled people, including some children, without inventing medical definitions the county applies.
Read the guideChecklists and next steps
A step-by-step checklist for Medi-Cal, SOC 295, SOC 873, the assessment, provider enrollment, and EVV, without promising timing.
Read the guideFAQ
California Home Help is a private service operated by Sevah Robotics, Inc. Sevah’s home care team helps families stay home and navigate IHSS paperwork. Your county IHSS office and Medi-Cal decide approvals, hours, and payments.
Your county IHSS office and Medi-Cal decide eligibility, authorized hours, and provider enrollment. A Sevah coordinator can help you get the paperwork ready so they can review a complete file.
Check whether they already have Medi-Cal. If they are still applying, start that application on BenefitsCal or with the county. Then submit the IHSS application (SOC 295) to the county IHSS office and get SOC 873 to a licensed health professional. SOC 873 is the medical piece to return, unless the county asks for a specific extra page. Your county decides eligibility and hours.
Often yes, once you finish provider enrollment. Adult children, other relatives, friends, and neighbors are commonly allowed. A spouse, or a parent of a child under 18, can be paid under some IHSS sub-programs. PCSP generally leaves those roles unpaid. Check with the county which program applies.
Timing varies by county. Medi-Cal (if it is still pending), the wait for a social worker, and provider enrollment are the usual slow stretches. Confirm the packet is complete, then wait for the scheduled visit unless the county asks for something else. Your county office can tell you what is typical locally.
The State issues the provider check for authorized hours. If the recipient has a Medi-Cal share of cost, CDSS says unpaid share of cost can be deducted from that check and the recipient then pays the provider. Ask the county whether a share of cost applies. Your county Medi-Cal office can confirm the amount.
IHSS is in-home personal and household help for people who can live at home. Skilled nursing and therapy are different Medi-Cal or Medicare benefits.
Send the pages the county asked for. The medical piece IHSS asks for is SOC 873, or acceptable alternative documentation. Keep hospital records, lab results, and a diagnosis dump for later unless the county asked for a specific page. On the California Home Help form, a name and a way to reach you is enough. Keep medical records and Social Security numbers for the county packet.
A name, a way to reach you, your county if you know it, and whether you are an adult child helping a parent, the caregiver, or the person who needs care. Keep medical records and diagnoses for the county forms. A Sevah coordinator will follow up about the paperwork and, if you want, care at home.
Working with Sevah
California Home Help is how Sevah’s home care team helps families stay home and navigate IHSS. When you want a quieter kind of support, a coordinator can sit with you on the paperwork and talk through what care at home might look like. Some families work with Sevah while a family member stays the day-to-day helper. Your county still decides eligibility and hours.
Talk with SevahCalifornia Home Help is a private service operated by Sevah Robotics, Inc. Sevah’s home care team helps families stay home and navigate IHSS paperwork. Your county IHSS office and Medi-Cal decide approvals, hours, and payments.
Your county IHSS office and Medi-Cal decide eligibility, authorized hours, and provider enrollment. A Sevah coordinator can help you get the paperwork ready so they can review a complete file.
Check whether they already have Medi-Cal. If they are still applying, start that application on BenefitsCal or with the county. Then submit the IHSS application (SOC 295) to the county IHSS office and get SOC 873 to a licensed health professional. SOC 873 is the medical piece to return, unless the county asks for a specific extra page. Your county decides eligibility and hours.
Often yes, once you finish provider enrollment. Adult children, other relatives, friends, and neighbors are commonly allowed. A spouse, or a parent of a child under 18, can be paid under some IHSS sub-programs. PCSP generally leaves those roles unpaid. Check with the county which program applies.
Timing varies by county. Medi-Cal (if it is still pending), the wait for a social worker, and provider enrollment are the usual slow stretches. Confirm the packet is complete, then wait for the scheduled visit unless the county asks for something else. Your county office can tell you what is typical locally.
The State issues the provider check for authorized hours. If the recipient has a Medi-Cal share of cost, CDSS says unpaid share of cost can be deducted from that check and the recipient then pays the provider. Ask the county whether a share of cost applies. Your county Medi-Cal office can confirm the amount.
IHSS is in-home personal and household help for people who can live at home. Skilled nursing and therapy are different Medi-Cal or Medicare benefits.
Send the pages the county asked for. The medical piece IHSS asks for is SOC 873, or acceptable alternative documentation. Keep hospital records, lab results, and a diagnosis dump for later unless the county asked for a specific page. On the California Home Help form, a name and a way to reach you is enough. Keep medical records and Social Security numbers for the county packet.
A name, a way to reach you, your county if you know it, and whether you are an adult child helping a parent, the caregiver, or the person who needs care. Keep medical records and diagnoses for the county forms. A Sevah coordinator will follow up about the paperwork and, if you want, care at home.