Caregiver in San Diego, CA
about 2 mi from El Cajon · 10+ yrs experience
$30/hrSee full profile
El Cajon, California · San Diego County
Find Caregivers in El Cajon, CA
El Cajon families can see caregivers who live in East County, compare languages, experience and rates, and hire directly without an agency mark-up. Posting is free.
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- Hire directly, no agency mark-up
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How to find a caregiver in El Cajon
Post what you need with your ZIP code (92019, 92020 or 92021), the days and the time blocks, and caregivers whose travel radius covers El Cajon see it at once. The cards above are nearest-first, so you will see people from El Cajon itself, La Mesa, Santee, Spring Valley and Lakeside before anyone from the city of San Diego; several caregivers on the platform give one of the East County cities as home. Ask about language early: 44.7% of El Cajon residents speak a language other than English at home, about 11% speak Arabic and 19.6% Spanish (ACS 2020–2024), and the caregiver filter lets you search by language. If your parent relies on the trolley or on MTS Access rather than a car, say so in the posting; El Cajon Transit Center is the end of the Orange and Green lines, and caregivers without a car can still reach most of the city.
Available now
Caregivers near El Cajon, CA
Independent caregivers with profiles on CaregiverConnect whose home base is within 50 miles. You agree on duties, schedule and pay directly with the person you hire.
Caregiver in El Cajon, CA
about 2 mi from El Cajon · 3+ yrs experience
$26/hrSee full profile
Caregiver in Elcajon, CA
about 2 mi from El Cajon · 3+ yrs experience
$25/hrSee full profile
Caregiver in El Cajon, CA
about 2 mi from El Cajon · 3+ yrs experience
$20/hrSee full profile
Caregiver in El Cajon, CA
about 2 mi from El Cajon · 1+ yrs experience
$23/hrSee full profile
Caregiver in La Mesa, CA
about 5 mi from El Cajon · 14+ yrs experience
$35/hrSee full profile
6 of 48 available caregivers within 50 miles of El Cajon, nearest first. Names, photos, bios, references and the Verified badge details are shown once you create a free family account; this public page keeps caregivers anonymous.
Are you a caregiver in El Cajon?
Open postings and a free profile.
What you can post
Types of in-home care families in El Cajon arrange
All non-medical. For nursing tasks (injections, wound care, catheters) you need a licensed home health agency, not a private caregiver.
- Senior care at home: meals, reminders, housekeeping, errands, company.
- Personal care: bathing, dressing, grooming, toileting, transfers.
- Companion care: conversation, walks, appointments, errands.
- Dementia care: routine-based support; ask for experience.
- Respite care: shifts so a family caregiver can rest or work.
- Overnight and live-in: night supervision or room-and-board arrangements.
- Post-surgery recovery: non-medical help after a hospital stay.
- Part-time and flexible: a few hours on set days is the usual start.
Choosing well
Evaluating caregivers in El Cajon
Three credentials can be checked in El Cajon. A Home Care Aide Registry listing (mandatory for aides at the nine licensed agencies in the city, voluntary for independents) can be searched on the CDSS site. IHSS enrolment through the San Diego County Public Authority means a Department of Justice fingerprint check and a completed orientation. A CNA or HHA certificate from the California Department of Public Health is common because the Health Occupations Center in Santee trains both. Many local caregivers also have shifts at one of El Cajon's 29 licensed residential care homes behind them; a reference from a facility supervisor is worth a phone call. Interview with your parent present, ask for two references and ring them, run a consumer-reporting background check with written consent, and start with paid trial shifts. CaregiverConnect does not run checks or vet caregivers; a Verified badge only means a caregiver uploaded proof of a check they arranged themselves.
Questions families here ask at interview
- Do you speak Arabic, Chaldean or Spanish with the people you care for?
- Have you worked in one of the residential care homes in El Cajon, and can a supervisor there give a reference?
- How would you get to us in the 92021 area at 7 a.m. without a car?
- Would you take my mother to appointments at Sharp Grossmont, and how do you charge for the time and mileage?
- Are you enrolled with IHSS, on the Home Care Aide Registry, or a CNA?
- What would you do if my father refuses his medication or becomes agitated in the evening?
- Which days and hours can you commit to, and could you cover an occasional overnight?
- What is your rate, and what changes it?
Schedules and cost
Typical schedules and what care costs in El Cajon
El Cajon postings are mostly weekday blocks of three to six hours for a parent living alone or with an adult child who works, respite on one or two days a week, and post-discharge care for a few weeks after a Sharp Grossmont stay. Dementia care and overnights appear regularly; live-in requests are less common because many households are multigenerational. Families often start with IHSS hours and add private hours on top.
| Reference point | Hourly | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Employed aides, San Diego metro (San Diego County) | $16.97 median | BLS OEWS, May 2025 |
| IHSS provider wage, San Diego County | $20.40 | CDSS; effective March 1, 2026 |
| California minimum wage | $16.90 | effective January 1, 2026 |
| Agency non-medical home care, California median (CareScout 2025) | $40.00 | CareScout Cost of Care Survey 2025 |
Who is the employer. When you hire a caregiver directly, you are a household employer under California's Domestic Worker Bill of Rights. The state minimum wage ($16.90 an hour from 1 January 2026; some cities set more, for example $17.75 in the City of San Diego) is the legal floor, and a personal attendant earns overtime at 1.5× after 9 hours in a day or 45 in a week. The main exceptions are IHSS recipients and an employer's own parent, spouse or child. Source: California DIR, Domestic Worker Bill of Rights FAQ.
In El Cajon the state minimum of $16.90 is the legal floor (the City of San Diego's higher rate does not apply here), the $20.40 IHSS wage is what most caregivers treat as the realistic starting point, and $40 is the statewide agency median you avoid by hiring directly. Expect to pay above the IHSS wage for a bilingual caregiver, dementia experience, personal care, driving or nights. If you pay above the federal household-employer threshold you owe payroll taxes, and California personal attendants earn overtime after nine hours in a day or 45 in a week.
No agency tracks private rates. A caregiver you hire directly will usually expect more than the employed-aide median and less than an agency rate; every caregiver on this site lists an hourly rate on their profile, and the hiring guide covers taxes and overtime.
Local help
Caregiver resources for families in El Cajon
- Aging & Independence Services (County of San Diego)(800) 339-4661 for IHSS applications, the Family Caregiver Support Program, Adult Protective Services reports and the Long-Term Care Ombudsman.
- San Diego County IHSS Public Authority registry401 Mile of Cars Way, Suite 200, National City, (866) 351-7722. Recipients can search its registry of enrolled providers.
- Southern Caregiver Resource Center891 Kuhn Drive, Suite 200, Chula Vista, (858) 268-4432. Free classes, support groups and care planning for anyone in San Diego County caring for an adult with a chronic condition; Spanish-language workshops.
- Sharp Grossmont Hospital5555 Grossmont Center Drive, La Mesa, (619) 740-6000. East County's largest hospital, 562 beds, with a stroke centre, senior services, skilled nursing, hospice and palliative care; the discharge planners are the usual first contact when care at home starts suddenly.
- 2-1-1 San DiegoFree, confidential 24-hour information and referral line for county services; dial 2-1-1 or use the online chat.
- MTS Access paratransitDoor-to-door service for riders certified as unable to use fixed routes; $6 per one-way trip from 1 October 2026; reservations (888) 517-9627.
- Residential care in El CajonThe CDSS May 2025 file lists 29 licensed residential care facilities for the elderly in El Cajon with 764 beds, 21 of them six-bed homes; the Ombudsman at AIS handles facility complaints.
Safety
Hiring safely in El Cajon
Put duties, hours, rate, overtime, mileage, notice and emergency contacts in a one-page agreement in the language the caregiver reads best, keep a weekly timesheet, lock away valuables and set up account alerts, and agree a daily note or message. Report suspected abuse or neglect of an older adult to Aging & Independence Services at (800) 339-4661. The hiring guide covers screening, taxes and overtime step by step.
How it works
How to find and hire a caregiver in El Cajon
CaregiverConnect is a marketplace, not an agency: you hire the caregiver directly, which is why there is no agency mark-up on their hourly rate. That also means screening is your responsibility, and we tell you how.
Describe the care you need
Who, which tasks, which days and time blocks, budget, start date. About ten minutes, free.
Your posting goes live
Caregivers in range see it immediately. Edit or close it any time from your dashboard.
Review caregivers and applicants
Experience, care types, languages, rates, availability. Applicants appear under your posting.
Message and hire
Messaging and confirming a hire are part of Family Premium ($24.99/month, cancel anytime). Browsing, posting and applications are free.
Agree terms and pay directly
Rate, schedule and payment are between you and the caregiver. No percentage is taken.
Pricing, plainly
What is free and what costs money
Free family account
$0
- Browse profiles, post and edit care needs, receive applications
Family Premium
$24.99/month
- Messaging, direct job requests, confirming a hire; cancel any time
No commission on what you pay the caregiver; payments are between you. Details on the pricing page.
Widen your search
Find caregivers near El Cajon
Caregivers set a travel radius, so a caregiver based in a neighbouring town may well cover your home. These pages show who is nearby.
El Cajon is part of East County San Diego, which sits within San Diego County; the hub pages list every town and area they cover.
Guides
Useful reading before you apply
California caregiver requirements: HCA registry, IHSS and CNA explained
Which rules apply to a caregiver in California depends on who pays them. A plain-language map of the Home Care Aide Registry, IHSS provider enrolment and CNA/HHA certification, with the official sources.
What caregivers earn in California and Arizona: BLS, IHSS and minimum wage (2026)
Median hourly pay for home health and personal care aides by metro area from the May 2025 BLS survey, county IHSS wages, state minimum wages, and how private rates relate to them.
How to hire a private caregiver: cost, screening, taxes and a written agreement
What a private in-home caregiver costs compared with an agency, how to screen and check references, the household-employer tax and overtime rules in California and Arizona, and what to put in writing.
Imperial County caregiver resources: training, job centres, IHSS, senior services and transport
A verified directory of the agencies and programmes caregivers and families in El Centro, Calexico, Brawley, Imperial, Holtville, Westmorland and Calipatria actually use, with addresses and phone numbers checked on 12 October 2026.
Sources (checked 2026-10-13):
- U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2020–2024, El Cajon city (S1601, C16001, DP02)
- BLS OEWS May 2025, San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA
- CDSS, IHSS wages by county
- California DIR, minimum wage FAQ
- California DIR, Domestic Worker Bill of Rights
- CareScout (Genworth) Cost of Care Survey 2025, California
- CDSS Community Care Licensing open data (RCFE and HCO files, May 2025)
- CDSS, Home Care Aide Registry search
- County of San Diego, Aging & Independence Services
- San Diego County IHSS Public Authority
- Southern Caregiver Resource Center
- Sharp Grossmont Hospital
- 2-1-1 San Diego
- MTS Copper Line; MTS Access
- IRS Topic 756, household employees
Questions
Hiring a caregiver in El Cajon: frequently asked questions
How do I find an Arabic-speaking caregiver in El Cajon?
Filter the caregiver cards by language and say in your posting which language your parent prefers. El Cajon has the county's largest Arabic- and Chaldean-speaking community, so local applicants are likely.
What should I pay a private caregiver in El Cajon?
Most families land between the $20.40 IHSS wage and the $40 agency median, with the $16.97 county median for employed aides as the lower marker. Caregivers state their own rate on their card.
Can IHSS pay for my mother's care in El Cajon?
If she qualifies for Medi-Cal and an assessment by Aging & Independence Services, yes; she can then choose her own provider, including a relative or a caregiver she finds here. Call (800) 339-4661 to apply.
My father is being discharged from Sharp Grossmont this week. How fast can I hire?
Post today with the start date and the hours; caregivers nearby see it immediately. Ask the hospital discharge planner for the care plan so you can describe the tasks accurately.
Does CaregiverConnect screen the caregivers?
No. You are responsible for references, identity and a background check, which you can run with the caregiver's written consent. A Verified badge means a caregiver uploaded proof of a check they obtained.
What is free on CaregiverConnect?
Browsing caregivers, posting a need and receiving applications. Messaging, direct job requests and confirming a hire are part of Family Premium ($24.99 a month, cancel any time); the caregiver's pay is never reduced.
Post your care need in El Cajon
It is free, takes about ten minutes, and caregivers in San Diego County can see it as soon as it is live.
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