In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) in Santa Clara County

A directory listing, not an eligibility decision.

UniHealth can identify a possible match, but the responsible program makes the final decision.

What to know

Why it may fit: Your circumstances can be checked against the program’s published guidelines.
What to do next: Help at home with bathing, dressing, meals, and housework, so you can stay safely at home. It is for people 65 or older, blind, or disabled, who have Medi-Cal. A county social worker visits to decide your hours. Then you hire a caregiver, such as a family member or friend. The state pays them.
Who runs it: County of Santa Clara

What the program may consider

You live in Santa Clara County
You have Medi-Cal or may qualify for it
You need help to stay safely at home
Health-care certification and County home assessment

How to get it

Help at home with bathing, dressing, meals, and housework, so you can stay safely at home. It is for people 65 or older, blind, or disabled, who have Medi-Cal. A county social worker visits to decide your hours. Then you hire a caregiver, such as a family member or friend. The state pays them.

Before you start

Apply for both at the same time Aged, Blind and Disabled Federal Poverty Level Medi-Cal. IHSS needs full Medi-Cal. If you do not have it, apply for Medi-Cal the same day you apply for IHSS.
Having this helps Aged, Blind and Disabled Medically Needy Medi-Cal. Medi-Cal with a share of cost also works for IHSS. A share of cost is an amount you pay each month before Medi-Cal pays. You pay it to your caregiver.

How to apply

IHSS application (SOC 295) and health form (SOC 873)

Apply with your county IHSS office by phone, fax, mail, or in person. Some counties take e-mail. There is no statewide online application. The health form can come later, within 45 days of the county's request.

In personYour county IHSS officeFind your county's IHSS office here. You can apply by phone, fax, mail, or in person.
OnlineIHSS Electronic Services PortalAfter you are approved: add your caregiver to your case and approve timesheets. It is not for applying.
PhoneState hearings lineCall to ask for a state hearing if you disagree with a county decision. You have 90 days.
PhoneSanta Clara County IHSS: (408) 792-1600Call to apply for IHSS by phone or to ask questions.
EmailSanta Clara County IHSS applications e-mail: IHSSapply@ssa.sccgov.orgSend your signed application, form SOC 295, and the health form if you have it.
FaxSanta Clara County IHSS fax: (408) 792-1601
MailSanta Clara County IHSS mail: IHSS, P.O. Box 11018, San Jose, CA 95103-1018
In personSanta Clara County IHSS office: 353 W. Julian St., San Jose, CA 95110
EmailSanta Clara County IHSS e-mail for questions: IHSS.SCC@ssa.sccgov.orgFor questions about your case, your hours, or your caregiver's pay. Send new applications to the applications e-mail.
PhonePublic Authority Services by SourcewiseHelp to find, hire, or manage your IHSS caregiver.
PhoneIHSS caregiver registry (Public Authority Services)After you are approved, call for a list of screened caregivers. Have your IHSS case number ready. Calls are returned by the next business day.
PhoneIHSS caregiver enrollment line (Public Authority Services)For caregivers. The web page starts enrollment. Call with questions, or if no timesheets come 4 weeks after enrolling.
PhoneIHSS backup caregivers (On-Call Registry)If your caregiver suddenly cannot work and no one else can help, you may get a short-term backup. 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday.

Getting help

Someone can apply for you

Anyone can help you fill out and send the application. You must still sign it yourself. If you apply by phone, you sign at the home visit. After you get a case number, you can name an adult to act for you. Use form SOC 839. It must be a person, not an organization. You both sign. They cannot have certain crime convictions in the last 10 years. They can talk to the county and hire caregivers, but cannot make choices for you. The county still meets you in person. This form does not cover state hearings.

You can name one person (not an organization) to act for you: ask for IHSS Designation of Authorized Representative (SOC 839).

What happens after you apply

Apply by phone at (408) 792-1600, or send the signed application. The county records the date it gets your request. An e-mail counts the day it arrives. If you are approved, your hours can count back to that date. You get a 7-digit IHSS case number. Keep it. If someone else calls for you, the county must still reach you.
The county
IHSS needs full Medi-Cal. If you do not have it, apply for Medi-Cal the same day, online or at (408) 758-3800. IHSS may ask Medi-Cal to check, but file your own application too. If you do not help with Medi-Cal, IHSS is denied.
Only if you do not have Medi-Cal yet
The countyA helper can help with thisMedi-Cal must decide within 45 days. It can take longer if a disability decision is needed.
You can send the health form, SOC 873, with your application. Or the county sends it with a due date. You sign the release part. A health professional licensed in California fills in the rest. Doctors and nurse practitioners can do it, but registered nurses cannot. They may not charge you. The county can mail it to your doctor for you. Other signed health papers may count, if under 60 days old.
Your doctor or clinicianA helper can help with this Due 45 days after the county asks for it. If it is late, your application is denied.
A county social worker visits you at home. You must be there in person. A family member or your named helper can be there too. The worker looks at what you can do safely, your home, and other help you have. If you applied by phone, you sign the application at this visit.
The countyA helper can help with this
Do you need someone to watch you for safety, or help with health tasks like shots? Then a licensed health professional must fill out a separate form for those hours. Without it, the county cannot approve them.
Only if you need watching for safety, or help with health tasks
Your doctor or clinicianA helper can help with this
You get a letter called a Notice of Action. It says if you are approved. If yes, it lists your services, the time for each, and your total hours each month. Leaving a hospital or nursing home, or at risk of moving into one? Help can start sooner. If you disagree, you can ask for a state hearing within 90 days. You can also ask for one if no decision comes.
The countyDue within 30 days after your application is complete. Waiting for Medi-Cal or the health form can take longer.
Choose a family member or friend. They can start enrolling before you are approved. Or, once approved, call the registry at (408) 350-3251 for a list of screened caregivers. You are the employer: you hire, train, supervise, and can fire them. A spouse can be paid for personal care and some health tasks, but not housework or cooking.
YouA helper can help with this
Your caregiver enrolls online with Public Authority Services and goes to a group orientation. In person, they show their original Social Security card and a photo ID. Fingerprints cost them $12 to $30. A letter with their provider number comes by mail. If they work before this and are found not eligible, you must pay them. If a past crime bars them, ask about form SOC 862.
The program or providerAbout 6 to 10 weeks. In-person visits are often booked 4 to 6 weeks out. The letter comes 2 to 4 weeks after the last step.
Once you are approved, add your enrolled caregiver to your IHSS case. Do it online in the IHSS Electronic Services Portal. Or sign form SOC 426A and send it to IHSS by e-mail, fax, or mail. Your named helper can do this for you. The county then sends your caregiver a notice of your hours.
YouA helper can do this for you
Your caregiver records hours on timesheets, online or by phone. You approve each timesheet. A caregiver who does not live with you must also check in and out of each shift. Each week, stay within your monthly hours divided by 4. The state then pays your caregiver. No timesheets 4 weeks after enrolling? Your caregiver can call (408) 350-3252.
The stateA helper can help with this

What only you can do

Sign the IHSS application, form SOC 295. A helper can send it, but the signature must be yours. A helper's signature only saves your date. If you apply by phone, you sign at the home visit.
Only you, or your court-appointed conservator, can name a helper on form SOC 839. You and your helper both sign it.
Sign the health release on form SOC 873. Only you, or your legal guardian or conservator, can sign it.
Have a health professional licensed in California fill out the rest of the SOC 873. Make sure the county gets it within 45 days.
Be home, in person, for the social worker's visit and for each yearly visit.
Apply for Medi-Cal if you do not have it. Answer Medi-Cal's letters asking for papers.
You are your caregiver's employer, even if a helper hires for you. Tell them what help you need. Keep their hours within what the county approved.
Approve your caregiver's timesheets each pay period, online or by phone. You can name one person to do this for you on form SOC 839A.
If your Medi-Cal has a share of cost, pay that amount to your caregiver. A share of cost is an amount you pay each month before Medi-Cal pays.
Tell the county about changes within 10 days. This includes a move, a hospital stay, time away, or a new or fired caregiver.
Finish your Medi-Cal renewal each year. If Medi-Cal ends because you did not renew, IHSS ends too.
Let the county make quality-check home visits, planned or not.

How long it takes: About 6 to 10 weeks if you already have Medi-Cal and a family caregiver enrolls right away. About 3 to 5 months if you need Medi-Cal, wait on the health form, or use the registry.
You are enrolled when: You are enrolled when four things are true. You have an approval letter with your monthly hours. You have active Medi-Cal. Your caregiver finished enrollment and is added to your case. Their first timesheet is paid. A caregiver who does not live with you must also check in and out. The approval letter alone does not pay for care.
To keep it: A social worker visits you at home at least once a year to review your hours. You do not need a new health form for it. Ask for a new review if your needs change. Report changes within 10 days. Approve timesheets every pay period. Finish your Medi-Cal renewal each year. If Medi-Cal ends because you did not renew, IHSS ends too.

Can’t be combined with

Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE). Joining PACE ends IHSS, because PACE then covers your care. Whether to join PACE is your own choice. HICAP gives free, unbiased help.
Long-Term Care Medi-Cal. IHSS is only for people who live in their own home. A nursing home, hospital, or licensed care home, like board and care, does not count. If you plan to move home, you can apply before you leave.

Coming changes

Starting January 1, 2027: For applications from January 1, 2027, Medi-Cal can pay bills from only 2 months back, not 3. Apply for Medi-Cal as soon as you apply for IHSS.
Starting July 1, 2027: Starting July 1, 2027, the Medi-Cal savings limit drops to $21,000 for one person and $31,000 for a couple. Today it is $130,000 and $195,000. You need Medi-Cal to keep IHSS.
Starting July 1, 2027: Starting July 1, 2027, many adult refugees, asylees and some other immigrants are set to move to limited Medi-Cal. It covers mostly emergencies. IHSS is set to follow the same change.