IHSS Parent Provider Eligibility Update

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Mar 1, 2024
#8106.01

IHSS Parent Provider Eligibility Update

On December 21, 2023, the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) released guidance implementing changes in state law that remove restrictions on when parents can be paid IHSS providers for their minor children with disabilities, effective February 19, 2024.

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Disclaimer: This publication is legal information only and is not legal advice about your individual situation. It is current as of the date posted. We try to update our materials regularly. However, laws are regularly changing. If you want to make sure the law has not changed, contact DRC or another legal office.

On December 21, 2023, the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) released guidance implementing changes in state law that remove restrictions on when parents can be paid IHSS providers for their minor children with disabilities, effective February 19, 2024.1

Minor Recipient Provider Eligibility Rules

The In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program is a Medi-Cal program in California that pays for in-home care for people with disabilities, including children.2 Under this new guidance, anyone who is an enrolled IHSS provider can be paid to provide care to a minor recipient, including parents, family members, or other providers.

A person who wants to become an IHSS provider for a minor child must complete all provider enrollment requirements, including passing a criminal background check. Information on how to complete the IHSS provider enrollment process is available on the CDSS website.

A provider for a minor child may only be paid for services related to domestic services, personal care services, accompaniment to health-related appointments or other places they receive supportive services, protective supervision, and paramedical services.3 Domestic services, heavy cleaning, yard hazard abatement, and teaching and demonstration are not covered services for children.

What if the minor child’s provider of choice is a parent not authorized to work in the United States?

Under the current law, all providers must complete the IHSS enrollment process and be authorized to work in the United States to be a paid provider, including parent providers. This means that parents not authorized to work in the United States, including undocumented individuals, cannot be their minor child’s IHSS provider.4

However, a non-parent provider may now cover the minor child’s authorized IHSS hours. Minor recipients, including those with parents who are not authorized to work in the United States (including undocumented individuals), may hire a provider to provide authorized IHSS care. Additionally, undocumented parents have the authority to hire non-parent provider(s) for their children.

Can I be paid retroactively if I have been providing services for a minor child but did not qualify as a provider under the old rules?

For parent and non-parent providers newly because of the change in rules, the availability of retroactive payment based on the policy change will vary based on your individual situation and county of residence but will not go back further than the date of the policy change.

What were the rules governing minor recipient provider eligibility before this change?

Previously, county social workers were required to assess if parents were able and available to provide IHSS care to their minor child.

Parents could only become a paid provider for their minor child if:

  • The parent left full-time work or could not work full time because of their child’s care needs, and
  • There was no other suitable provider that was available who could care for the child, and
  • The child was at risk of out-of-home placement or inadequate care.

A recipient could only hire a non-parent provider if the parents were not able or available to care for the minor child.

Able parents were only considered unavailable to care for their child if they worked full-time (an average of 40 hours a week or more), attended school/vocational training, or received ongoing health care treatment when the child required an IHSS service.

Minors with able and available parents could only get up to 8 hours per week of IHSS during the unavailability of the parents (e.g. when conducting shopping and errands for the family, searching for employment, or attending to the care of other minor children in the home).

What if my minor child is enrolled in the Personal Care Services Program?

IHSS is funded through 4 subprograms:

  • Personal Care Services Program (PCSP)
  • Community First Choice Option (CFCO)
  • IHSS Plus Option (IPO) and
  • IHSS Residual (IHSS-R) programs

You can check with your IHSS social worker to confirm the program your child has been enrolled in. Minor recipients in the Personal Care Services Program (PCSP) may hire a non-parent provider. However, they continue to be prevented from hiring a parent provider because PCSP is required to follow federal rules.5

Because of this, counties should transfer qualifying minor recipients from PCSP to CFCO at their next scheduled reassessment. If your child is in PCSP and you want them to have a parent provider, you can also request a program transfer before your child’s next scheduled reassessment.

Minors transferred into the CFCO program should not have a change in hours because of the program change. For example, if a non-severely impaired protective supervision eligible minor is getting 283 hours per month under PCSP, their IHSS hours should not be reduced because of a transfer to the CFCO program.6 However, you should speak with the county about program changes to ensure that your hours won’t be impacted if you change programs.

What does the enrollment process look like now?

Eliminating the minor recipient provider eligibility requirements does not change the provider enrollment process. A person who wants to become an IHSS provider must complete all provider enrollment requirements, including passing a criminal background check conducted by the Department of Justice.7 Information on how to complete the IHSS provider enrollment process is available on the CDSS website.

What hasn’t changed?

Program Eligibility

IHSS program eligibility remains unchanged by the elimination of provider eligibility requirements for minors. Minor recipients in the IHSS program will continue to have their program eligibility determined in accordance with established IHSS program requirements.

Overtime and Exemption Requirements

IHSS overtime and exemption requirements remain unchanged by the elimination of the provider eligibility requirements for minor recipients.

Impacted families should contact their county IHSS office to discuss how these changes will affect them. In certain situations, the county may need to switch the recipient to a different IHSS program in order to pay a parent provider. Before agreeing to any changes, families should confirm with the county that moving to a different program will not result in any changes to the child’s IHSS hours.

If you or someone you know has any questions about these changes to the IHSS provider eligibility rules for minor recipients, please contact DRC at 1-800-776-5746 or TTY 1-800-719-5798.