What IHSS can cover
Personal care, meals, household help tied to staying home, and other categories a county social worker may authorize after an in-home visit.
What help looks likeCalifornia Home Help
California’s IHSS program may pay a family member to provide authorized care for an eligible parent or relative.
California Home Help is how Sevah’s home care team helps families stay home and navigate IHSS and Medi-Cal paperwork. Your county IHSS office and Medi-Cal decide eligibility, hours, and who can be paid.
Short answers first. Official program pages and the county file still decide the case. Open a guide when you want the longer version.
Personal care, meals, household help tied to staying home, and other categories a county social worker may authorize after an in-home visit.
What help looks likeAdult children and many other relatives can often enroll as the provider. A spouse or a parent of a minor depends on the IHSS sub-program.
Caregiver rulesCalifornia resident, a Medi-Cal determination, living at home, Health Care Certification, and a county assessment.
Eligibility basicsYou gather Medi-Cal status, SOC forms, and the assessment visit. The county authorizes hours and who can be paid.
Read the parent checklistLicensed agencies
California Home Help also publishes a registry of Home Care Organizations from Community Care Licensing open data. Use that list for license numbers and cities. IHSS stays on this site.
Open the California Home Care RegistryIHSS basics
A plain explanation of California In-Home Supportive Services: who it is for, what it can pay for at home, and how a county case usually starts.
Read the guideWho can be paid
How In-Home Supportive Services can pay an adult child for authorized care so a parent can stay home, after the county and enrollment steps finish.
Read the guideHelping a parent
A practical adult-child path: Medi-Cal status, SOC 295, SOC 873, the home visit, and starting provider enrollment when you will give the care.
Read the guideEligibility
The statewide IHSS criteria CDSS publishes, and why a county social worker and Medi-Cal staff still complete the determination for each person.
Read the guideForms
How to use the statewide IHSS application, where to send it, and what to send with it so the county can file a complete packet.
Read the guideProvider enrollment and EVV
How California IHSS providers record authorized time with EVV, which methods CDSS lists, and why live-in rules differ.
Read the guideOfficial program pages: CDSS: In-Home Supportive Services, CDSS: IHSS for children, County IHSS offices, CDSS: IHSS providers, 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.
FAQ
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 Sevah