Sharing Authorized IHSS Hours across More than One Provider

One notice, more than one pair of hands

A parent can want an adult child on weekdays and a sibling on weekends. That is a common family picture. IHSS still has one authorized plan for that recipient. The Notice of Action lists the tasks and hours the county authorized. Two enrolled providers can share that plan. They cannot each claim the full list. Combined time has to stay inside what the notice allows.

The recipient is the employer of each individual provider. Hiring a second person does not make the county the scheduler. It also does not raise the hour total. If the family already gives more help than the notice lists, that extra help stays family help unless a later assessment changes the plan. See if hours seem low.

Each provider enrolls as themselves

1. Each person completes county orientation the Public Authority names.
2. Each person files their own provider enrollment forms, including SOC 426 and the provider agreement.
3. Each person completes a Department of Justice background check where required.
4. Each person asks which EVV method they should use.
5. Tell the county both names before anyone treats a shared calendar as a timesheet.

Enrollment steps sit beside the recipient case, not inside it. A finished parent assessment does not enroll the weekend helper. A finished weekday provider file does not enroll the sibling. Start the second packet as soon as the recipient wants that person payable.

Ask the county how the split should look

Counties do not all write a two-provider arrangement the same way. Some want a note on the case. Some want you to stay inside the authorized total and keep a household schedule. Ask before the first shared week. Talking to the county office is easier if a listed contact makes one call with both provider names and the case number.

Write the household agreement in ordinary language: who handles morning personal care, who shops, who is in the home on which days. That note is for your records and for the recipient as employer. It is not a second notice. If live-in rules apply to one person and not the other, ask about SOC 2298 for the person who actually lives there. Do not copy a live-in method onto a provider who keeps another home.

Timesheets and EVV stay separate

Each provider records their own authorized time. Do not share a login. Do not merge two people’s visits on one sheet. How timesheets work and EVV still apply to each file. If a portal gets stuck, that is a help-desk question for that provider, not a reason for the other person to claim the same hours on paper.

Workweek and overtime questions also get asked locally when more than one recipient or more than one provider is in the picture. See overtime official guidance. Do not invent a split that quietly exceeds the notice. The State pays authorized time that the county accepts.

When a split is really a handoff

If one sibling is leaving the roster and another is taking over, that is closer to adding or switching a family provider than to a long-term share. Tell the county the last day for the outgoing person and the first day the incoming person may claim after enrollment. Overlap is a coordination problem, not extra hours.

If the family cannot cover the authorized plan at all, the Public Authority list is a finding tool. The recipient still hires. Registry time still counts against the same notice.

Keep the employer in the conversation

Adult children sometimes design an elegant split and forget to ask the parent. On the individual-provider model, the recipient hires and can end each arrangement. Walk through the plan in the home. If memory or hearing makes that hard, use the listing and employer questions in family roles.

Put copies of both provider numbers, the notice, and the household schedule in one folder. Tracking paperwork keeps a later county call from turning into a debate about who worked Tuesday. Official pages: CDSS providers and the county office list. If you want help lining up two enrollment packets next to one notice, ask for help. The county still decides the hours everyone must share.