Assessment
What to bring to the IHSS assessment
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.
The in-home visit is when a county social worker sees how the person who needs care gets through a typical day. Bring facts you can show. Leave invented hour totals, wage questions, and a rehearsed label at home.
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Bring or have ready
Have these ready for the social worker. Copies are enough. Keep originals you still need.
- Photo ID and the California address of the person who needs care
- Medi-Cal card or case number, if they already have one
- A copy of SOC 295 and the date you submitted it, or the date the county treated as the application date
- SOC 873 or a note about which clinician is completing it
- A typical-day page: morning, afternoon, and night help that already happens
- Names of people who already help, and which tasks they do
- The county release or authorization page if you want the worker to speak with an adult child
- Glasses, hearing aids, walker, or other equipment the person uses at home
- A quiet place to sit where the worker can see the bathroom, kitchen, and sleeping space if they ask
Leave for the county packet, not the kitchen table
Extra paper can slow the file. These belong in the county packet only if the office asked.
- The full hospital chart, lab dumps, and extra imaging unless the county named a specific page
- A hoped-for weekly hour total copied from a forum or a relative in another county
- A script that names protective supervision as a package
- Social Security numbers on a marketing form or in an email to this site
- Questions about the local provider rate. Ask the county or Public Authority after enrollment.
What families can usefully describe
- What the person can still do safely alone
- What happens if the usual helper is not there
- Specific incidents if a mental impairment creates a safety risk when they are alone
- How long a listed task actually takes in this house, in plain language
Related guides
- What to expect at the in-home assessment
- Preparing for the home visit
- What to say at the assessment
- Family checklist for the visit
- Hours and assessment expectations
Official California sources
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.