Find Caregivers in Shafter, CA
A young town where grandparents often live with the family: one in five Shafter households includes someone 65 or older. Post the hours you need covered for free and hire a caregiver directly.
- Free to join, browse and post
- Hire directly, no agency mark-up
- You stay in control of screening
How to find a caregiver in Shafter
Most care in Shafter is given by family, and a private caregiver is usually hired to cover the hours when everyone is at work. Shafter households are young (median age 28.1) and busy: 18.0% of workers are in agriculture, the Wonderful Industrial Park has brought warehouse shifts, and the average commute is 23 minutes, so the typical request is weekday daytime help for a parent or grandparent, with a weekend or overnight added later. The caregivers who will answer live in Shafter, Wasco and the north-west of Bakersfield; because the city has no hospital, ask whether they drive and whether they would take your parent to Memorial or Adventist Health Bakersfield. Spanish is the household language for 56.8% of residents and most local caregivers speak it. No caregivers have joined from Shafter yet, so the cards above start with the nearest Bakersfield profiles as they are created, and your posting is what will bring a Shafter caregiver onto the site.
Caregivers near Shafter, 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 Shafter have joined yet
We do not pad this page with distant profiles. Posting is free, and caregivers who join in Kern 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 Shafter?
Open postings and a free profile.
Types of in-home care families in Shafter 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.
Evaluating caregivers in Shafter
Three things can be verified. A Home Care Aide Registry listing (voluntary for independents; it means CDSS cleared a background check), IHSS enrolment through the Kern County Public Authority (Department of Justice fingerprints plus orientation), and a CDPH nurse assistant certificate, which Bakersfield College trains for. Add the usual: an interview at your home with your parent present, two references rung rather than read, a consumer-reporting background check with the caregiver's written consent, and a paid trial shift or two before a schedule is fixed. CaregiverConnect does not run checks; a Verified badge shows only that a caregiver uploaded proof of one.
Questions families here ask at interview
- Do you live in Shafter, or how long is your drive from Wasco or Bakersfield at 7 a.m.?
- Would you take my father to appointments in Bakersfield, and what do you charge for mileage?
- Do you speak Spanish with the person you care for?
- Have you looked after someone with diabetes or who needs help getting up from a chair?
- Can you cover 6 a.m. starts when my shift at the industrial park begins?
- Are you enrolled with IHSS, on the Home Care Aide Registry, or a CNA?
- What is your rate, and what is extra for weekends?
Typical schedules and what care costs in Shafter
Shafter postings are mostly weekday daytime blocks tied to the family's work hours, companionship and meals for a grandparent at home, help after a Bakersfield hospital stay, and weekend respite. Overnights are asked for when dementia advances; live-in is rare in a town where most homes are full.
| Reference point | Hourly | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Employed aides, Bakersfield–Delano metro (Kern County) | $16.50 median | BLS OEWS, May 2025 |
| IHSS provider wage, Kern County | $17.90 | CDSS; effective July 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.
Expect a Shafter caregiver to quote a rate near the $17.90 IHSS wage for daytime companionship and personal care, higher for nights and for trips into Bakersfield, and far below the $40 statewide agency median. Hiring directly makes you the employer: household taxes above the federal threshold and overtime after nine hours a day or 45 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.
Caregiver resources for families in Shafter
- Kern County Aging and Adult Services5357 Truxtun Avenue, Bakersfield, (661) 868-1000. IHSS applications for Shafter residents, Family Caregiver Services, senior meals and Adult Protective Services (24-hour line (800) 277-7866).
- IHSS Public Authority registry5357 Truxtun Avenue, Bakersfield, (661) 868-0987. Screened IHSS providers if no relative can take the hours.
- Shafter Transit Dial-A-Ride(661) 746-2955. Curb-to-curb rides inside the city limits, $1.25 for riders 62 and over or with a disability, weekdays 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturdays 9 to 3; outer-city stops such as Gossamer Grove and the industrial park $4.25.
- Kern Transit routes 110 and 115Regional routes listed by the City of Shafter for travel to and from Bakersfield; use them for a caregiver without a car or for a relative who can still ride a bus.
- Bakersfield hospitalsMemorial Hospital, 420 34th Street, (661) 327-4647, 385 beds; Adventist Health Bakersfield, 2615 Chester Avenue, (661) 395-3000, 253 beds with stroke and heart care; Mercy Hospital Downtown, 2215 Truxtun Avenue, (661) 632-5000. Ask the discharge planner for written instructions your caregiver can follow.
- City of Shafter Community Services336 Pacific Avenue, (661) 746-5000. The Shafter Learning Center, library and Veterans Hall; the City does not list a senior centre, so county senior services run from Bakersfield.
Hiring safely in Shafter
Agree duties, hours, rate, overtime, mileage and notice in writing, keep a weekly timesheet, put cash and documents out of sight and set up bank alerts, and have a neighbour or relative drop in unannounced now and then. Report suspected abuse or neglect of an older adult to Kern County Adult Protective Services on (800) 277-7866. The hiring guide covers taxes, overtime and the written agreement.
How to find and hire a caregiver in Shafter
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.
What is free and what costs money
Free family account
- Browse profiles, post and edit care needs, receive applications
Family Premium
- 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.
Find caregivers near Shafter
Caregivers set a travel radius, so a caregiver based in a neighbouring town may well cover your home. These pages show who is nearby.
Shafter is part of Kern County; the hub pages list every town and area they cover.
- Wasco, CA14 mi
- Oildale, CA14 mi
- Find caregivers in Bakersfield, CA16 mi
- Find caregivers in Delano, CA19 mi
- Taft, CA26 mi
- Arvin, CA33 mi
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.
- U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2020–2024 (DP02, DP03, DP05), Shafter city
- CDSS, IHSS wages by county
- BLS OEWS May 2025, Bakersfield-Delano, CA
- CareScout (Genworth) Cost of Care Survey 2025
- California DIR, Domestic Worker Bill of Rights
- City of Shafter, Transit
- City of Shafter, Community Services
- Kern County Aging and Adult Services
- Kern County IHSS Public Authority
- Dignity Health Memorial Hospital; Adventist Health Bakersfield; Mercy Hospital Downtown
- CDSS, Home Care Aide Registry search
Hiring a caregiver in Shafter: frequently asked questions
How do I find a caregiver in Shafter?
Post the need free with ZIP code 93263 and the hours; caregivers in Shafter, Wasco and north-west Bakersfield whose radius covers you see it immediately. The cards above show who is available nearby.
Can a family member be paid for the hours they already give?
Through IHSS, if your parent has Medi-Cal and the county authorises hours; the relative enrols through the Public Authority in Bakersfield. Shafter residents apply through Aging and Adult Services on (661) 868-1000.
Our parent needs a lift to Bakersfield appointments. Can transit do it?
Shafter Dial-A-Ride stays inside the city; Kern Transit routes 110 and 115 reach Bakersfield but are not door-to-door. Most families here hire a caregiver who drives and pay mileage.
What will a Shafter caregiver cost?
Caregivers set their own rate; around the $17.90 IHSS figure is typical for daytime care, more for nights, dementia and driving. The $16.50 metro median is the floor and $40 is what an agency would charge.
What is free on CaregiverConnect?
Posting, browsing and receiving applications. Messaging and confirming a hire need Family Premium ($24.99 a month, cancel any time); the caregiver is paid in full by you.
Post your care need in Shafter
It is free, takes about ten minutes, and caregivers in Kern County can see it as soon as it is live.
Create your free family account