Call for a free consultation
(877) 762-0702
Yes, a parent may generally serve as the IHSS provider for more than one child who receives services. Each child must have an individual IHSS case, be authorized for services, and designate the parent as a provider.
The parent must also complete the IHSS provider-enrollment process and comply with the workweek, overtime, timesheet, and service-hour rules that apply when one provider works for multiple recipients.
Having one child who receives IHSS does not automatically make another child eligible. The county must separately assess each child’s disabilities, functional limitations, authorized services, and monthly hours.
The assessment may consider information from the parent, child, physicians, therapists, family members, and other professionals. After completing the assessment, the county issues a Notice of Action identifying the services and hours authorized for that particular child.
A parent providing services for two children will therefore have:
Hours authorized for one child cannot simply be transferred to the other child.
Current California rules allow minor recipients enrolled in the Community First Choice Option, IHSS Plus Option, or IHSS Residual program to select a parent as their provider, provided that the parent successfully completes provider enrollment.
The previous rules requiring a parent to leave or be prevented from obtaining full-time employment were eliminated. Minor recipients generally now have access to the provider of their choice in the same manner as adult recipients.
An important exception applies to minor recipients enrolled in the Personal Care Services Program, commonly called PCSP. Federal restrictions continue to prevent a parent from being the paid provider for a minor child enrolled in that program. Counties should consider the family’s preference for a parent provider when determining the appropriate IHSS subprogram.
Parents should tell the county that they want to serve as the provider for each child so the correct provider assignment and program funding can be established.
Being the child’s parent does not eliminate the regular provider-enrollment requirements.
A parent who wants to receive payment must generally:
Once enrolled, the parent must be assigned as a provider to each child’s case. The provider-enrollment rules remain separate from the rules determining whether the parent may be selected as the child’s provider.
When one provider works for two or more IHSS recipients, California generally limits that provider to a combined total of 66 hours per workweek.
This is a provider-level limit. It applies to the total hours the parent claims for all children and any other IHSS or Waiver Personal Care Services recipients for whom the parent works.
For example, suppose a parent is assigned:
The combined assignment is 75 hours. Unless an exemption applies, the parent generally cannot personally work and claim all 75 hours during the same workweek. The family may need another enrolled provider to perform the remaining authorized services.
An IHSS workweek begins at 12:00 a.m. on Sunday and ends at 11:59 p.m. on Saturday. Providers working for multiple recipients are responsible for keeping their combined hours within the applicable weekly limit.
An IHSS provider is generally paid overtime when the provider works more than 40 hours during a workweek.
A parent working for two children might therefore receive regular pay for the first 40 combined hours and overtime pay for additional authorized hours, subject to the 66-hour weekly limit.
Overtime eligibility does not authorize a provider to exceed:
Working unauthorized overtime or exceeding the workweek limits can result in program violations. Repeated violations may eventually affect the provider’s ability to continue working through IHSS.
The children do not lose their remaining authorized hours merely because one parent reaches the provider limit. However, another enrolled provider may need to work the hours that the parent cannot claim.
Another provider might be:
The additional person must complete provider enrollment and be formally assigned to the appropriate child’s case before receiving payment.
Families should not submit all of the hours under one parent’s name when the parent is not legally permitted to work that number of hours. The children’s authorized hours and the parent’s provider workweek limit are separate issues.
Some providers who work for multiple recipients may qualify to exceed the usual 66-hour limit.
The Live-In Family Care Provider Exemption can permit qualifying providers to work up to 90 hours per week and 360 hours per month.
However, this exemption is largely grandfathered. The provider generally must have been serving two or more qualifying live-in family-member recipients on or before January 31, 2016. Providers assigned after that date generally cannot qualify for this exemption.
The Extraordinary Circumstances Exemption may permit a provider to work up to 90 hours per week and 360 hours per month for multiple recipients.
Each recipient served by the provider must generally satisfy at least one of the following conditions:
The recipients must also generally make reasonable attempts to locate and hire additional providers. Prior attempts that negatively affected a recipient’s health or safety may be considered. The provider or recipients may submit the SOC 2305 exemption request to the county IHSS office.
A parent caring for multiple children with complex medical or behavioral needs may want to ask the county whether the Extraordinary Circumstances Exemption could apply.
Families with more than one child receiving Protective Supervision should understand the rules for shared supervision.
When two or more IHSS recipients live together and both require Protective Supervision, California generally treats the supervision as a common need and prorates it between the recipients. The county should still assess each child’s individual need, but it does not necessarily authorize a full, separate block of Protective Supervision for each child during the same period.
For example, a parent cannot ordinarily claim that they simultaneously provided one full hour of Protective Supervision to each child and receive payment for two hours during the same one-hour period.
However, personal care, paramedical services, transportation, and other individualized services should be assessed according to each child’s individual needs. One child may require substantially more hands-on care or intervention than the other.
Parents should carefully review how the county divided any shared Protective Supervision hours and whether each child’s individual needs were accurately documented.
A parent provider should maintain a clear record of which services were performed for each child.
Helpful records include:
Do not claim time for a service that was not authorized for that child. Do not claim the same period twice merely because both children were present.
Providers may only be paid for the authorized services actually provided to the recipient who assigned them. Timesheets should reflect the hours worked for that specific recipient.
The Provider Workweek and Travel Agreement, or SOC 2255, helps providers who work for multiple recipients organize their weekly schedule and remain within the workweek limit.
The agreement identifies the recipients served and the hours the provider expects to work for each one. If the provider travels directly from one recipient’s location to another recipient’s location on the same day, the form may also address compensable travel time.
Travel time is generally limited to seven hours per workweek. This issue may not arise when siblings live together, but it can matter when the children live in different households or the provider works for additional recipients elsewhere.
The schedule may need to be updated when there is a permanent change in the recipients served or the provider’s regular work schedule.
A parent planning to provide IHSS for more than one child should:
A parent can generally serve as the IHSS provider for more than one child, but the arrangement may become complicated when the children have substantial authorized hours, shared Protective Supervision, paramedical needs, or different IHSS funding programs.
An IHSS attorney or qualified advocate can review the children’s Notices of Action, confirm whether hours were properly prorated, evaluate the provider’s combined workweek limit, and determine whether an overtime exemption may be available.
Need help? In California, the In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program provides crucial financial help for families raising children with special needs. American Advocacy Group is on the front lines every day, making positive change happen for people diagnosed with autism, Down syndrome, and a range of diagnoses across the continuum. As a leading advocate for all people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families, and the premier provider of the support and services people want and need, we understand the system and know how to take action regarding your best interests.
CONTACT US FOR HELP. Dial (877) 762-0702 or email us at [email protected].
