California Home Help

Get paid to care for a parent at home in California

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.

Ask for help navigating IHSS

Share a few details if you want a Sevah coordinator to follow up about IHSS paperwork. Your county IHSS office and Medi-Cal decide eligibility and hours.

For example: starting an IHSS application, provider enrollment, or county forms. Keep medical records and diagnoses for the county packet.

Learn the IHSS path

Short answers first. Official program pages and the county file still decide the case. Open a guide when you want the longer version.

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 like

Who may be paid

Adult 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 rules

Basic requirements

California resident, a Medi-Cal determination, living at home, Health Care Certification, and a county assessment.

Eligibility basics

If you are helping a parent

You gather Medi-Cal status, SOC forms, and the assessment visit. The county authorizes hours and who can be paid.

Read the parent checklist

Licensed agencies

Looking for a private home care agency

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 Registry

IHSS guides families read first

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Is California Home Help a county or Medi-Cal office?

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.

Who decides if I am approved or paid?

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.

I am helping a parent. What should I do first?

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.

Can an adult child be paid to care for a parent?

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.

How long does this take?

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.

Does the family ever pay the caregiver?

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.

Is this the same as home health or a nursing facility?

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.

What belongs on the county forms?

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.

What do you need from me to start?

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

Help with care at home, and with IHSS

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