In-Home Caregivers in Forestville, CA
In Forestville, a Sonoma County community of about 3,700, one resident in four has passed 65. Posting a description of the help your relative needs costs nothing; caregiver profiles above start with those living nearest the ZIP code you type.
- Free to join, browse and post
- Hire directly, no agency mark-up
- You stay in control of screening
How to find an in-home caregiver in Forestville
Forestville, CA is unincorporated, a census-designated place with no local government of its own, and its choice of formal care is small. Within the 95436 ZIP, CDSS licenses exactly one elder care home, Mirabel Lodge, and neither CDSS nor CDPH lists a home care organization, home health agency or hospice there. A family that wants a parent to remain at home will usually hire an independent caregiver, use IHSS if the parent qualifies through Medi-Cal, or call agencies based elsewhere in Sonoma County to ask whether they cover Forestville.
When you write the request, be specific about place and time. Mention whether the caregiver must drive, or whether the house is within reach of the downtown Forestville stop on Route 20, which runs daily. Name your parent's preferred language too. In ACS 2020–2024, 16.0% of Forestville residents aged five and up used a non-English language at home, Spanish for 11.1%. New caregivers join over time, so revisit the list after you post.
Private in-home caregivers near Forestville, 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.
No caregivers within 50 miles of Forestville have joined yet
We do not pad this page with distant profiles. Posting is free, and caregivers who join in Sonoma County see it immediately.
Counts come from live caregiver profiles on CaregiverConnect. Sample and test profiles are never shown here.
Are you a caregiver in Forestville?
Open postings and a free profile.
Types of in-home care families in Forestville 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 · Personal care · Companion care · Dementia care · Respite care · Overnight and live-in · Post-surgery recovery · Part-time and flexible
Evaluating caregivers in Forestville
Before you hire, confirm what each candidate tells you. Agency aides must appear on the state Home Care Aide Registry, which CDSS lets anyone look up online; an independent caregiver may have no entry at all. Nurse assistants are certified by CDPH, and the course nearest Forestville is at Santa Rosa Junior College. If the candidate is a Sonoma County IHSS provider, ask for their provider number. Speak with at least two people who employed them, include your relative in the conversation, and pay for one trial shift first. No screening of any kind is done by CaregiverConnect; ordering a background check is up to you, with the candidate's signed consent.
Questions families here ask at interview
- Have you ever worked at Mirabel Lodge or another residential care home, and what did you do there?
- If my mother needs to see a doctor in Sebastopol or Santa Rosa, will you drive her, or ride Route 20 with her?
- She speaks Spanish with family. Are you comfortable doing the whole visit in Spanish?
- Do you know about the West County Community Services senior meals, and would you take her to one?
- What is your registry or IHSS provider number, so I can check it?
- How would you handle it if Dad refused a shower two days running?
What in-home care costs in Forestville: hourly rates and schedules
Where a parent still lives with a spouse, the request is often for set hours that give the healthier partner a break: two or three mornings a week, or one long day. A parent living alone may need a daily check-in plus a weekly shopping and appointment day. Post overnight or weekend cover as a separate request with its own rate.
| Reference point | Hourly | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Employed aides, Santa Rosa–Petaluma metro | $17.72 median | BLS OEWS, May 2025 |
| IHSS provider wage, Sonoma County | $20.25 | 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.
There is no Forestville or unincorporated Sonoma County wage ordinance in UC Berkeley's July 2026 table, so a caregiver on your own payroll must get no less than California's $16.90. Set that beside three other numbers: $17.72, the May 2025 BLS midpoint for aides around Santa Rosa and Petaluma; $20.25, what Sonoma County IHSS pays; and $40 an hour, which is what a California agency typically charged in CareScout’s 2025 survey. If you are weighing home care against a move into a residential care home such as Mirabel Lodge, CareScout's California median for that setting, called assisted living elsewhere, was $7,000 a month. Under the Domestic Worker Bill of Rights, a personal attendant you employ earns 1.5 times the usual rate past nine hours on any day or 45 in any week. To ask about IHSS for a parent with Medi-Cal, call 707-565-INFO.
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.
Caregiver resources for families in Forestville
- Mirabel LodgeCDSS licenses this residential care facility for the elderly, 6950 Mirabel Road, for 34 residents; (707) 887-1754. Worth a visit if you are comparing in-home help with a move; ask about openings.
- West County Community Services senior programsThe nonprofit offers senior meals in Forestville and Guerneville, food pantries, a senior case manager and free short-term senior peer counseling. Call (707) 823-1640 to find the Forestville meal times; the peer counseling intake line is (707) 387-4094.
- Sebastopol Area Senior Center Free RidesVolunteers drive West Sonoma County residents aged 60 and up to medical, social service and shopping appointments without charge, depending on driver availability. Return the rider packet and call seven days ahead: (707) 829-2440.
- Route 20 busDaily service from downtown Forestville toward Sebastopol and Santa Rosa, and the other way to Guerneville. Riders 65 and over, and Medicare card holders, pay half fare; a one-zone senior fare is $0.75.
- West County Health Centers Wellness CenterState and federal lists still show a Forestville Wellness Center downtown, but the health center's own page now gives Sebastopol addresses for it (652 Petaluma Ave. and 6800 Palm Ave.) and asks patients to check their appointment location. Call (707) 887-0290 before you go.
Hiring safely in Forestville
Both of you should sign a short written agreement on duties, hours, pay, extra hours, driving costs and notice to quit, and initial a weekly log of time worked. Put away jewelry, cash and controlled drugs, and switch on bank alerts. If you suspect mistreatment, Sonoma County APS takes calls at all hours on (707) 565-5940, and California's statewide APS line is 1-833-401-0832. Problems at a residential care home such as Mirabel Lodge belong with the Long-Term Care Ombudsman, (707) 526-4108. For contracts, payroll and taxes, see our private caregiver hiring guide.
How to hire a private caregiver in Forestville (no agency)
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
- Your posting goes live
- Review caregivers and applicants
- Message and hire
- Agree terms and pay directly
What is free and what costs money
Browsing, posting and receiving applications are free. Messaging and confirming a hire are part of Family Premium ($24.99/month, cancel any time). No commission on what you pay the caregiver; see the pricing page.
Find caregivers near Forestville
Caregivers set a travel radius, so a caregiver based in a neighbouring town may well cover your home. These pages show who is nearby.
Forestville is part of Sonoma County; the hub pages list every town and area they cover.
- Find caregivers in Guerneville, CA5 mi
- Find caregivers in Windsor, CA6 mi
- Find caregivers in Sebastopol, CA8 mi
- Find caregivers in Santa Rosa, CA11 mi
- Find caregivers in Rohnert Park, CA15 mi
- Find caregivers in Cotati, CA16 mi
- Find caregivers in Cloverdale, CA22 mi
- Find caregivers in Petaluma, CA22 mi
Paying a relative through IHSS: IHSS Sonoma County · IHSS Santa Rosa
Useful reading
How to become a caregiver in California: requirements, HCA registry, IHSS and CNA explained · How much do caregivers make in California and Arizona? BLS, IHSS and minimum wage (2026) · How to hire a private caregiver: cost, screening, taxes and a written agreement · Imperial County caregiver resources: training, job centres, IHSS, senior services and transport
- U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2020–2024 5-year profiles DP02 and DP05, Forestville CDP
- CDSS Community Care Licensing facility files (RCFE and home care organization files, May 2025)
- CDPH, Licensed and Certified Healthcare Facility Listing (data date October 16, 2026)
- HRSA, health center service delivery sites
- West County Health Centers, Wellness Center location page
- West County Community Services, senior services and peer counseling
- West County Community Services, about WCCS (service area)
- Sebastopol Area Senior Center, Free Rides
- Sonoma County Transit, Route 20 and discount fare categories
- Sonoma County Human Services, I need a caregiver (IHSS)
- Sonoma County Human Services, Adult Protective Services
- CDSS, Adult Protective Services (statewide line)
- CDSS, IHSS wages by county
- BLS OEWS May 2025, Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA
- UC Berkeley Labor Center, local minimum wage inventory (July 23, 2026)
- California DIR, Domestic Worker Bill of Rights FAQ
- CareScout Cost of Care Survey 2025, median cost data tables
Hiring a caregiver in Forestville: frequently asked questions
Is there assisted living in Forestville?
One licensed home: Mirabel Lodge on Mirabel Road, which the CDSS file lists with 34 places. California calls this level of care residential care rather than assisted living.
Can a home care agency send someone to Forestville?
95436 has no licensed home care organization of its own, so you would need an agency located elsewhere in the county that agrees to travel. Hiring a caregiver directly is the other route, and it usually costs less per hour than the agency median below.
Is there a senior lunch my father could go to?
West County Community Services runs senior meals in Forestville and at the Russian River Senior Center in Guerneville. Phone (707) 823-1640 for the Forestville days and place.
Mom gave up her car keys. How will she get around?
Route 20 stops downtown every day, at half fare for riders 65 and older. Residents 60 and over can also book free volunteer rides from the Sebastopol Area Senior Center a week in advance.
Does CaregiverConnect check caregivers?
No. We run no background, identity or license checks. Posting and reviewing applicants is free. Messaging and hire confirmation are part of Family Premium ($24.99 per month), and caregivers are never charged.
Post your care need in Forestville
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