Get paid to care for a parent (IHSS)

In California, IHSS can pay someone to help a parent stay at home: bathing and grooming, dressing, cleaning, shopping, laundry and meals. The parent picks the caregiver, and the State's handbook says that can be a family member or a friend. For a lot of families, the son or daughter already doing the work may be able to be paid for it.

Apply: 800-339-4661 San Diego County IHSS

• 65 or older, blind, or disabled.
• On full-scope Medi-Cal.
• Can't live at home safely without help.
• People on SSI/SSP qualify financially; others may qualify but pay part of the cost.

Not on Medi-Cal yet? For people 65 and older, Medi-Cal now allows up to $130,000 in savings: the Medi-Cal route.

1. The parent, or someone for them, calls the County at 800-339-4661, emails the application to AIS.295only.HHSA@sdcounty.ca.gov, faxes it to 619-344-8077, or drops it at an IHSS office:
   • Oceanside: 3708 Ocean Ranch Blvd, Suite 320
   • Escondido: 649 W. Mission Ave, Suite 5
   • San Diego (Overland): 5560 Overland Ave, Suite 310
2. An IHSS worker visits the home to talk through what help is needed and how often.
3. A doctor or other healthcare professional completes a certification of the medical need. The County needs it before it can approve hours.
4. A Notice of Action says whether it's approved and how many hours a month.

• The parent is the employer: they hire, supervise and, if needed, replace the caregiver.
• The caregiver goes to an enrollment session, shows they can legally work, and passes a Department of Justice background check.
• Hours go in through the State's electronic timesheets, required in San Diego County.
• Pay: the County's IHSS Public Authority sets the hourly wage; ask them or the social worker for the current rate.
• Married? A spouse can be paid only in certain situations; the County decides case by case.

The application call, the doctor's form, the caregiver enrollment and setting up the timesheet app: that's the paperwork families get stuck on. PJ does it with you. He isn't the caregiver and doesn't give legal or benefits advice; the County does that. Plans start as low as $25. Text PJ · make a fix plan · senior benefits checkup

IHSS is one rung. Every other option between part-time help and a nursing home: the care ladder.

Sources: County of San Diego, Aging & Independence Services, IHSS and IHSS Providers · California Department of Social Services, IHSS and IHSS Consumer Handbook. Checked October 6, 2026.

Need a human?

This page is built every morning from public data by SideGuy, run by PJ, a local in Solana Beach. If something looks off, or you want a hand with your plans, text PJ at 858-461-8054. A real person answers.

Local help, free to read: make your fix plan · senior benefits checkup · lower your SDG&E bill · Medicare Extra Help · the next 90 days. Plans start as low as $25.