IHSS San Benito County: phone numbers, Public Authority registry and $19.35 pay

Who qualifies for IHSS in San Benito County

San Benito County frames IHSS as paying for help in the home, so that a person can remain there safely instead of entering out-of-home care such as a nursing facility or board and care. Applicants must be over 65, blind or disabled, and disabled children may qualify too.

The Children and Adult Services division names what can be authorized: cleaning the house, cooking, washing clothes and buying groceries; bathing and grooming, bowel and bladder care, paramedical tasks; going along to medical visits; and protective supervision for someone with a mental impairment.

The county repeats the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) criteria. In short:

• you need to live in the United States and be a resident of California;
• Medi-Cal must have made an eligibility determination for you;
• your residence must be your own home or a place you picked; hospitals for acute care, long-term care and licensed community care settings are excluded;
• a filled-in Health Care Certification has to reach the county.

If Medi-Cal is not yet in place, start with the county Public Assistance office, which the agency lists on (831) 636-4180.

How to apply: the IHSS San Benito County phone number

Applications start with a phone call. The county's Children and Adult Services page says to call 831-630-5153 between 8 am and 5 pm, Monday through Friday. Have this ready before you dial:

• the applicant's name, gender, address, phone, date of birth, Social Security number, Medi-Cal number, ethnicity and language spoken;
• the spouse's name, Social Security number and date of birth, and the name, relationship and phone of any guardian or contact person;
• housing and income details if known, diagnoses with the doctor's name, address and phone, and how mobile the applicant is (for example, walks alone or is bedbound);
• any services already in use, such as a home health agency or Meals on Wheels.

The IHSS unit sits inside the Children and Adult Services Division, 1111 San Felipe Road, Suite 205, Hollister, CA 95023. The division's main line is (831) 636-4190, its fax is (831) 637-5510 and TDD/TTY is (831) 634-4969; its doors are open weekdays, 8 am until 5 pm.

After the call, the county sends a social worker to the applicant's home. That interview settles eligibility; the worker then decides, task by task, what the applicant can manage safely and how many hours each service gets, drawing on what the applicant, relatives, friends or a doctor say. No hours are approved until the county has the completed SOC 873 Health Care Certification in hand. You then get a written decision: the reason for a denial, or the approved services with their monthly hours.

Once approved, the recipient must find an individual provider and becomes that worker's employer. The recipient is responsible for hiring and training the provider, for day-to-day supervision, and for dismissal if it ever comes to that. For interview questions, use how to hire a private caregiver.

IHSS pay in San Benito County: $19.35 an hour

We downloaded the CDSS county wage file on October 16, 2026. Its "IP Effective 10-1-2026" tab shows San Benito County at $19.35 per hour from January 1, 2026. The Public Authority's 2026 recruitment flyer prints the same $19.35. Twenty counties pay more and 37 pay less, so San Benito sits in the upper half of the state.

CDSS explains the spread: unions bargain with the employer of record in each county, so wages differ. The San Benito County Public Authority says it is that employer of record for collective bargaining and negotiates wages and benefits with the union. SEIU Local 2015 represents every San Benito County provider automatically on pay, benefits and certain employment terms, the county IHSS page says; membership is optional, and the union's Member Action Center is on 855-810-2015.

The pay follows the client's county. A Hollister provider who works for someone whose case is held in Santa Clara or Monterey County earns that county's rate. Paychecks come from the state, which takes out disability insurance and Social Security for providers who qualify.

The UC Berkeley Labor Center's local minimum wage inventory (page updated September 30, 2026) lists no ordinance for Hollister or San Benito County, so private care jobs in the county must pay at least the state's $16.90. Compare all 58 counties in our IHSS pay by county table.

The San Benito County Public Authority and its registry

The Public Authority describes its role as helping to run IHSS: it manages provider enrollment, holds orientation, runs background screening for all IHSS providers and keeps a registry of screened caregivers. It also offers training and support to recipients and providers, and helps when a recipient and a provider struggle to communicate. Its office is Suite 108, 1111 San Felipe Road, Hollister, phone 831-634-0784, fax 831-634-0796, open weekdays (not holidays), 8 am to 5 pm.

Asking the registry for a caregiver

The registry costs nothing to use; it refers IHSS recipients and authorized representatives to pre-screened independent providers. It is meant for people who need a second provider, whose provider has quit or who cannot find a reliable one. You fill in a Consumer Registry Application and accept the User Registry Agreement. Staff then send a referral list of up to six possible providers with names and contact details.

From there the recipient does the calling and holds the interviews, by phone or in person. Providers are not paid for interview time. Once you choose someone, you complete the Recipient Designation of Provider (SOC 426A), or ask your social worker or the Public Authority for an Active Provider Packet. The county notes that hiring through the eHire option on the Electronic Services Portal can make timesheets available within 30 minutes.

Becoming an IHSS provider in San Benito County: registry and enrollment

There are two routes. If a recipient has already chosen you, go straight to enrollment. If you want IHSS work but have no client, the county asks you to apply to the registry first.

Registry route

1. Submit the Public Authority Registry Application with every section filled in; incomplete applications are denied.
2. Pass a reference check and a questionnaire. Staff contact you by phone or email; if you do not finish the process within 30 days, you must reapply.
3. Complete the online enrollment described below.
4. Sign the User Registry Agreement at your in-person appointment.
5. Clear the background check. You stay on the registry only while your background stays clear.

Enrollment steps

1. Online enrollment. You must be 18 or older, or have a guardian with you and a school-signed work permit. Set up a user profile in the county's online Provider Enrollment Application, sit through the required orientation videos there, and e-sign the paperwork, which CDSS identifies as the SOC 426 (enrollment) and SOC 846 (provider agreement).
2. In-person appointment at the Hollister campus. Bring a current government-issued photo ID along with your Social Security card. Names must match exactly across the two, or staff will reschedule you. The appointment includes a presentation by SEIU 2015.
3. Live Scan. Take the request form to an approved site within 90 days. The Public Authority says the local cost runs from $52 to $57, paid by the provider.
4. Timesheet registration, online (ESP) or by phone (TTS).
5. Get hired. Your recipient signs the SOC 426A. You then receive the SOC 2271 by mail, which lists the client's authorized hours and your maximum weekly hours.

The Attorney General's Live Scan list for San Benito County shows two sites, both in Hollister. Mariposa Tax and Business Center, 411 San Benito Street, (831) 636-5210, takes walk-ins Monday through Thursday from 9 am to 6 pm. The UPS Store #4512, 201-A McCray Street, (831) 636-5201, takes walk-ins and appointments seven days a week. Each lists a $25.00 rolling fee, and the DOJ warns that other fees may apply.

State law bars people convicted of certain Tier 1 and Tier 2 crimes within the past ten years from enrolling, with limited exceptions; the Public Authority page links both lists. Enrollment is needed only once, however many recipients you work for. For the statewide picture, see how to become an IHSS provider; relatives taking on the role can turn to paid family caregiving in California.

Timesheets, pay forms and benefits for San Benito County providers

• Two ways to file. Providers submit hours on the Electronic Services Portal (ESP) at etimesheets.ihss.ca.gov or on the Telephone Timesheet System (TTS). To register for TTS, call (833) 342-5388.
• Portal help. The Public Authority points providers to the training videos under the Resources tab inside the portal, and to the Help Desk on 1-866-376-7066.
• Forms to read. The Public Authority points new providers to the PUB 104 benefits notice, the SOC 829 direct deposit form, the SOC 2298 live-in tax exclusion form, the SOC 2302 sick leave request and the SOC 2327 notice on filing a sexual harassment complaint.
• Hours cap. If you serve several recipients, your combined hours may reach 66 per workweek, the Public Authority says; call it on (831) 634-0784 before adding a client.
• Sick leave. CDSS sets 40 paid sick hours for 2026/27, available from July 1, 2026, once a provider has logged 100 hours of authorized work. Unused hours do not carry past June 30.

The Public Authority's 2026 flyer lists what comes with the job: the $19.35 rate, overtime and travel time pay where they apply, paid sick leave, dental and vision coverage, direct deposit and electronic timesheets. It does not set out who qualifies for the dental and vision plans, so ask the Public Authority on 831-634-0784.

IHSS for Hollister and the rest of San Benito County

Every IHSS contact the county publishes, from intake to the Public Authority to APS, is at 1111 San Felipe Road in Hollister.

About 6.7% of Hollister's labor force was unemployed, on average, between August 2025 and August 2026, according to EDD estimates. San Benito County as a whole stood at 6.4%, while the statewide rate was 5.3%. An IHSS provider job pays the county rate of $19.35, well above the state minimum, and the registry is one way to find a first client.

• Caregivers: caregiver jobs in San Benito County and home health aide jobs in Hollister.
• Families: in home care in San Benito County and senior care in Hollister.

When the client lives across the county line, that county's office and wage apply. See IHSS in Santa Clara County, IHSS in Monterey County or IHSS in Santa Cruz County.

San Benito County IHSS phone numbers and Adult Protective Services

San Benito County APS covers people aged 60 or over, and adults 18 to 59 with disabilities, who cannot meet their own needs or who suffer abuse, neglect or exploitation in private homes, apartments, hotels or hospitals. The APS reporting line is (831) 636-4190 on weekdays from 8 am to 5 pm, excluding holidays; at other times, call non-emergency dispatch on (831) 636-4100, and call 911 when a life is in danger. The county lists (831) 637-5510 as the fax for APS and IHSS.

Paying for care beyond the IHSS hours

Your notice of action caps the hours IHSS will fund each month. Evenings, weekends or cover for a provider on leave often fall outside that cap; those hours are agreed privately, between family and caregiver.

CaregiverConnect lets a San Benito County family post that job free of charge. Caregivers apply to the posting; the family picks whom to interview and hires that person itself, as household employer. Nothing is deducted from a caregiver's earnings. CaregiverConnect runs no background checks of its own, though a caregiver is free to upload evidence of a check done elsewhere. Optional paid plans unlock extra features. Our California in-home care cost guide helps with budgeting. If you already provide IHSS and want more hours, you can open a caregiver profile without paying anything; the postings on the county and Hollister pages update as families publish them.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

1. San Benito County HHSA, Children and Adult Services (IHSS description, eligibility, 831-630-5153 application line, Suite 205 office, APS summary)
2. San Benito County HHSA, Public Authority for IHSS (mission, SEIU Local 2015 representation, office contacts)
3. San Benito County HHSA, Public Authority (role, employer of record, Suite 108 office, 831-634-0784)
4. San Benito County HHSA, PA Appointments and Enrollment (online enrollment, in-person appointment, Live Scan cost, ESP and TTS, SOC 2271, forms, 66-hour week, Help Desk)
5. San Benito County HHSA, Join the Public Authority Registry (provider registry steps)
6. San Benito County HHSA, Need a Registry Care Provider? (consumer referral list, SOC 426A, eHire)
7. San Benito County Public Authority, provider recruitment flyer 2026 ($19.35, dental and vision, sick leave)
8. San Benito County HHSA, Adult Protective Services (reporting line, after-hours dispatch, ombudsman)
9. CDSS, IHSS wages by county (workbook sheet "IP Effective 10-1-2026"; San Benito $19.35 from January 1, 2026)
10. CDSS, In-Home Supportive Services (eligibility, SOC 873, recipient as employer, county wage differences, payments)
11. CDSS, IHSS provider orientation process (SOC 426, SOC 846, DOJ background check)
12. CDSS, IHSS provider paid sick leave (FY 2026/27)
13. California Attorney General, Live Scan locations in San Benito County
14. California EDD, Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS), 12-month average August 2025 to August 2026
15. California DIR, minimum wage FAQ ($16.90 from January 1, 2026)
16. UC Berkeley Labor Center, inventory of US city and county minimum wage ordinances (updated September 30, 2026)