IHSS Sacramento County: phone numbers, the $19.15 wage and the Public Authority

What IHSS Sacramento pays for and who is eligible

DCFAS describes IHSS as a Medi-Cal based program, paid for with county, state and federal money, that pays for a care provider so that low-income aged, blind and disabled residents, including children, are not pushed into a nursing home or a board and care. The tasks it can authorize are housecleaning, meals, laundry, grocery shopping, personal care such as bathing, grooming and bowel and bladder care, paramedical services, an escort to medical visits, and protective supervision where a mental impairment makes it necessary.

The county's checklist for applicants and recipients:

• you live in Sacramento County;
• you are a U.S. citizen or a legal permanent resident of California;
• you are 65 or over, or blind or disabled at any age;
• Medi-Cal has made an eligibility decision for you;
• your residence is one you chose yourself (the county says an acute hospital, a nursing or other long-term facility, or a licensed care home is not your own home);
• you cannot stay at home safely without help;
• your doctor has filled in the SOC 873 health care certification.

Residence is the first test, so families just over the line apply to their own county instead: Roseville and Rocklin are in Placer County, and West Sacramento is in Yolo County.

Sacramento County IHSS phone number and how to apply

The application line is (916) 874-9471, Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Anyone who sees that a person needs help at home can make the referral; you do not have to be the applicant. If you would rather apply on paper, fill in the state application, SOC 295 (the county links 14-point and 18-point versions), and send it one of three ways:

Before you call, have ready the applicant's contact details, date of birth, Social Security number and preferred language, the names of everyone in the household, the services wanted, other agencies already involved (the county names Alta and STEP), any authorized representative, and the name of the caregiver you hope to use.

After the application. Once the SOC 873 and the Medi-Cal decision are in place, a social worker is assigned to assess need, looking at the medical condition, the living arrangement, who else lives in the home and what help is already there. When hours are authorized, the recipient picks a caregiver, either a relative or friend or someone referred through the registry, and from then on acts as the employer, supervising the work and signing timesheets.

Papers for your social worker can go to the PO Box above or to the document drop-off at 9750 Business Park Drive, Suite 104, Sacramento, CA 95827. Timesheets left there are sent back.

IHSS Sacramento pay rate in 2026

A Sacramento County IHSS provider earns $19.15 an hour from January 1, 2026. The county's provider page shows it, and so does the Sacramento line on the "IP Effective 10-1-2026" tab of the state wage spreadsheet. It is one rate countywide, whether the work is in Elk Grove, Folsom or Citrus Heights. The county also publishes the recent history:

That is $2.15 more an hour than at the start of 2024, and $2.25 above California's $16.90 minimum wage for 2026 (both differences are our arithmetic from the published rates).

Overtime. Under SOC 846, the state's provider enrollment agreement, any hour past the 40th in a Sunday-to-Saturday workweek is paid at 150 percent of the base rate. At $19.15 that works out to about $28.73 an hour (illustrative: $19.15 × 1.5). Serving several recipients, a provider is limited to 66 claimed hours per workweek across all of them, plus no more than seven hours of travel between their homes. None of this lets a provider go past the monthly total on the recipient's notice.

Sick leave. From July 1, 2026, the 2026/27 allowance set by CDSS is 40 hours of paid sick leave. A new provider accrues it after 100 hours of IHSS work, then must work another 200 hours, or 60 calendar days, before taking it, whichever happens sooner. The IHSS pay by county guide compares Sacramento with other counties.

How to become an IHSS provider in Sacramento County

The IHSS Public Authority handles enrollment for new providers and for anyone who has not been paid by IHSS in more than a year. Its current process:

1. Register in BOUNDS online, using your own email address; an address already used for a recipient cannot be reused.
2. Watch for the login email from noreply@jumpfaster.com with your username and temporary password, and check spam if it does not arrive.
3. Watch the IHSS videos inside the BOUNDS portal.
4. Complete the Provider Application with Signature in BOUNDS, save it and send it; logging in again counts as your digital signature, so nothing needs printing.
5. Book an appointment under APPOINTMENTS in BOUNDS. New slots are loaded every Tuesday after 10 a.m. Bring a government-issued photo ID that has not expired plus your Social Security card, both in the same name; photos and copies are refused.
6. Get fingerprinted through Live Scan on the Public Authority's own form (details below).

If you have no computer or get stuck, staff help with registration in person on Mondays and Fridays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Once you finish, IHSS Payroll mails your nine-digit provider number. The person you care for then designates you as their provider with form SOC 426A, which also restates the 66-hour weekly limit.

The Live Scan form. Use the BCIA 8016 Request for Live Scan Service and fill in ORI A7414, applicant type ELDER CARE, working title IHSS PROVIDER, and agency SACRAMENTO COUNTY IHSS PUBLIC AUTHORITY with mail code 00738. Checks done for another employer or a school do not count, and you pay the fingerprinting fee, which varies by Live Scan site. Results usually reach the Public Authority in two to six weeks; you can follow progress on the DOJ applicant status site with your date of birth and the ATI number from the form. Convictions within the last 10 years can bar payment: Tier I offenses cannot be waived, and Tier II offenses can be waived by the recipient. Our IHSS provider guide covers the statewide rules.

IHSS Public Authority Sacramento: registry and classes

The Public Authority says it works closely with county IHSS but is a separate body. Its office is at 9300 Tech Center Drive, Suite 100, Sacramento, CA 95826, phone (916) 874-2888, email HHS-PA@saccounty.gov. The public counter is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and forms can be picked up or dropped off from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; there are after-hours drop boxes inside the lobby and outside the building. The drop box takes requested enrollment documents only, not timesheets or papers for social workers.

For families. The provider registry is a free referral service for IHSS recipients. Specialists compare the recipient's needs with caregivers' skills, availability and other job factors and send a list of names; the recipient interviews, hires and supervises. Request a list on (916) 874-2888 or at IHSS-PA-RECIPIENT-REGISTRY@saccounty.gov, giving your name, case number and the days and times you need help.

For caregivers. Being enrolled as a provider does not put you on the registry; it has its own application. You must already be an eligible IHSS provider. Call (916) 874-2888, option 2, or email ihss-provider-registry@saccounty.gov for the electronic application. You will need three professional references and a cleared DOJ check, then an interview, the Registry-Initial online courses in Care Academy and a registry orientation.

Training. The Public Authority runs free classes for providers and recipients, taught by its social worker or outside experts, with sign-up through Eventbrite, and its Care Academy library lists more than 400 online courses, including dementia, nutrition, mobility and first aid, with certificates on completion.

Health benefits, union and payroll for Sacramento providers

Health and dental. Providers get Kaiser medical and United Healthcare dental cover, administered by the Health Care Employees/Employer Dental and Medical Trust. To qualify you must be paid for at least 85 hours a month for three months in a row, and late timesheets can end coverage. The Public Authority says enrollment is at capacity, so eligible providers go on a waitlist. The premium is $51.65 a month, deducted only once you are enrolled. Questions go to the Trust on (800) 824-3316; county staff cannot answer them.

Union. The Public Authority links providers to SEIU Local 2015 for union membership.

Payroll. The county's IHSS Payroll Help Desk is on (916) 874-9805, Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. It also handles workers' compensation questions if you are hurt on the job and address or phone changes (or file form SOC 840 with the Public Authority). Payroll-only forms go to ihss-payroll@saccounty.gov as PDFs. Employment verification must be requested in writing; you can also pull your own wage details from the Electronic Services Portal. Statewide timesheet help is the IHSS Service Desk on (866) 376-7066.

Sacramento County IHSS phone numbers at a glance

To ask for more hours, the recipient or an authorized representative asks the social worker for a reassessment; if you do not know the worker's number, call the main IHSS line.

Private care alongside IHSS in Sacramento

Anything outside the tasks and hours on the IHSS notice is a private arrangement: overnight cover, weekend shifts, companionship, or time off for a son or daughter who already serves as the paid IHSS provider. On CaregiverConnect, posting such a job costs nothing. Caregivers in the Sacramento area send applications; the family reviews them, makes the hire itself and takes on the household employer role, setting the hourly pay together with the caregiver at no less than the minimum wage. We charge no commission. We also do not background-check anyone; a caregiver can choose to upload proof of a check they obtained. Some members choose optional premium plans.

Local pages: caregiver jobs in Sacramento County, Sacramento, Rancho Cordova, Folsom, Citrus Heights and Elk Grove. Families can browse caregivers across Sacramento County or in Sacramento. IHSS providers who have hours to spare can set up a caregiver profile for free; private rates are compared in what home care costs in California.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

1. Sacramento County DCFAS, In-Home Supportive Services (program description, services, main phone and PO Box)
2. Sacramento County DCFAS, Applying for IHSS (eligibility, information needed, phone hours, SOC 295 by mail, fax or email)
3. Sacramento County DCFAS, IHSS Care Provider Tools (rate-of-pay history, payroll help desk, verification of employment, workers' compensation)
4. Sacramento County IHSS Public Authority, home page (separate entity, address, phone, hours, drop boxes)
5. Sacramento County IHSS Public Authority, Provider Enrollment (BOUNDS steps, appointments, ID, assistance hours)
6. Sacramento County IHSS Public Authority, Provider Registry (recipient lists, joining requirements)
7. Sacramento County IHSS Public Authority, DOJ (BCIA 8016 fields, ORI A7414, Tier I and II)
8. Sacramento County IHSS Public Authority, FAQs (document drop-off, 365-day rule, provider number, payroll fax, DOJ timing, $19.15)
9. Sacramento County IHSS Public Authority, Education Opportunities (free classes, Care Academy)
10. Sacramento County IHSS Public Authority, Health and Dental Benefits for Caregivers (85 hours, waitlist, $51.65 premium, Trust phone)
11. CDSS, IHSS wages by county (workbook sheet "IP Effective 10-1-2026")
12. CDSS, In-Home Supportive Services (eligibility, SOC 873, recipient as employer)
13. CDSS, SOC 846 Provider Enrollment Agreement (overtime, 66-hour limit, seven-hour travel cap)
14. CDSS, IHSS Provider Paid Sick Leave (FY 2026/27)
15. CDSS, IHSS Provider Resources (IHSS Service Desk)
16. California DIR, minimum wage FAQ ($16.90 from January 1, 2026)