IHSS Santa Ana: the West Walnut Street office, phone numbers, $18.90 pay and how to apply

Where Santa Ana residents go for IHSS: 2020 W. Walnut St.

The County of Orange Social Services Agency (SSA) does not divide IHSS by city or ZIP code. Its office directory has one IHSS entry for the whole county, and it sits inside Santa Ana:

So a household in 92701, 92703, 92704, 92705, 92706 or 92707 deals with the same office as one in San Clemente. What changes for Santa Ana is that the office is inside the city, so handing in paperwork in person does not mean a trip to another town.

Three services, one address. The SSA directory lists Adult Protective Services at 2020 W. Walnut St. too, on the same main number. The IHSS Public Authority, home of provider enrollment and the registry, also gives 2020 W. Walnut St. as its office address. Its parking map marks the office entrance on West Walnut Street, a visitor parking area beside the building, and two gates beyond which parking is reserved for staff.

How to apply for IHSS from a Santa Ana address

The county lists the phone first: call 714-825-3000 (TTY 714-834-4400) between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. on a weekday and apply with county staff. If you prefer paper, the application is form SOC 295L, which the county posts in English, Spanish, Chinese and Armenian. Two in-person options are in the city itself:

• Pick up a blank form. The county says paper copies of the IHSS application are left outside the front door of the Walnut Street office.
• Drop off a finished one. A secured drop box for completed applications stands outside the same front doors.

Email (IHSSapplications@ssa.ocgov.com), fax (714-825-3001) and the P.O. box above are also accepted. Once a case is open, extra documents go through the county's SSA Submit page rather than the drop box.

After the application, a social worker sets the authorized hours using state time guidelines for each task, the help other household members can give and the applicant's medical information. SSI/SSP recipients clear the money test automatically. Someone with more income can still get IHSS, but may be given a share of cost, a set amount paid to the provider each month, with the State covering the balance. The county guide walks through the home assessment in detail.

Medi-Cal and other benefits in Santa Ana. The SSA office list names the Santa Ana Regional Center, 1928 S. Grand Ave., Bldg. B, Santa Ana, CA 92705, for Medi-Cal, CalFresh, General Relief and CAPI, reached through the service center on 800-281-9799 (TTY 714-834-8500), weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. That is a different building from the IHSS office, so do not take IHSS forms there.

Becoming an IHSS provider in Santa Ana: appointment and Live Scan

The IHSS Public Authority handles enrollment, which in short runs: create an online account, the orientation videos, electronic signatures on the SOC 426 and SOC 846, then fingerprints, then one in-person appointment. The full sequence is in the Orange County guide. The parts that depend on where you live are below.

The in-person appointment is on Walnut Street

The verification appointment takes place at the Public Authority office, and the Public Authority says to plan on about two hours. Arrive early: late arrivals, and anyone missing an original, valid Social Security card or photo ID, are turned away and must rebook. Seating is limited, so children, recipients and other guests should stay home. The recipient fills in your start date on the SOC 426A and signs it; take that form, plus a copy of the Live Scan form you were fingerprinted with. If you have no printer, call 714-825-3195 ahead of the appointment and the forms can be mailed.

Live Scan sites inside Santa Ana

Fingerprints are not taken at the appointment. The Public Authority's location list (updated November 2025) names these Santa Ana businesses; the list says to call ahead to confirm hours, fees and payment, and that $32 in government fees is added to each site's rolling fee:

Take the Public Authority's own Request for Live Scan Service form, which shows ORI AA504 and Mail Code 11855, plus a valid photo ID. Any other Orange County Live Scan operator is acceptable as long as you use that form; a different form means paying a second time. If you will be fingerprinted outside Orange County, call 714-825-3174 first instead of using the form.

The Public Authority registry for Santa Ana families and caregivers

The registry is run from the same Walnut Street building, on its own line, 714-825-3202. A Santa Ana recipient, or an authorized representative, who has no one to hire calls that number and a Registry Training Specialist does an intake to work out what help is needed. Caregivers who want their names passed to recipients apply online and use the same number for questions. The Public Authority says registry providers are prescreened: each one attends an orientation, passes a reference check and a phone interview, and clears the Department of Justice background check. Someone who will only care for a relative or friend skips the registry and goes straight to provider enrollment. For anything else, the Public Authority reception line is 714-825-3174.

IHSS pay for Santa Ana providers: $18.90 an hour

The Orange County IHSS wage for individual providers is $18.90 an hour, effective January 1, 2026, from the Orange row of the CDSS county wage workbook dated October 1, 2026. What counts is the recipient's county of residence, so a Santa Ana caregiver working for a client in Santa Ana, Tustin or Garden Grove earns $18.90, while the same caregiver serving a client across the county line would be paid that county's rate.

The State issues provider pay. Pay is limited to the hours on the recipient's authorization, so earnings track what the social worker approved. Overtime rules, sick leave and timesheet systems apply statewide; our Orange County page covers them, and our county-by-county IHSS pay table shows rates elsewhere.

Getting to the IHSS office by bus or OC ACCESS

OCTA Route 64. Route 64, Huntington Beach to Tustin "via Bolsa Ave / 1st St", runs along 1st Street across Santa Ana in its timetable effective August 9, 2026, with a timed stop at 1st and Bristol and transfer points at Main (routes 53, 55 and 553), Flower (150 and 151), Bristol (57) and Grand (59). The Public Authority's parking map shows West 1st Street next to the Walnut Street site, so Route 64 is the line to ask about. Buses run Monday to Friday, Saturday and Sunday; on weekdays the timetable shows the first eastbound bus at 1st and Bristol at 4:51 a.m.

Fares. OCTA's fares page lists a regular one-way fare of $2.00. Riders aged 60 and older and people with disabilities can apply for reduced-fare status, which brings a one-way ride to $0.75.

OC ACCESS paratransit. For applicants whose physical or cognitive limitations prevent them from using the regular bus, OC ACCESS gives shared curb-to-curb rides within three-quarters of a mile of OC Bus service, during the same hours. Each one-way trip costs $3.60. A personal care attendant travels free, useful when a caregiver goes with a recipient to the office. Book at least a day ahead and up to three days ahead on 877-628-2232 (TDD 800-564-4232); reservations are taken 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends and holidays. OCTA says an OC ACCESS technology upgrade is scheduled for October 24, so phone booking is the reliable route for now.

Senior centers, caregiver help and APS in Santa Ana

City of Santa Ana senior services. The Parks and Recreation senior services page points residents who need more support to 2-1-1 Orange County and prints the IHSS number, 714-825-3000. The city runs two centers for adults aged 55 and older:

• Santa Ana Senior Center, 424 W 3rd St, in Birch Park downtown, (714) 647-6540. Its page lists weekday hours of 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., a weekday congregate lunch for people 60 and older, free round-trip rides from home for Santa Ana residents 60 and older through the senior mobility program, and classes such as chair yoga, tai chi, technology and English for Spanish and Chinese speakers.
• Southwest Senior Center, 2201 W McFadden Ave, (714) 647-5306.

Orange County Office on Aging. Also in Santa Ana, at 1300 S. Grand Ave., Bldg. B, 92705. Call (800) 510-2020 toll free or (714) 480-6450, Monday to Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; the office says it is wheelchair accessible and offers multilingual help.

Caregiver Resource Center OC. The county's caregiver resource center is in Fullerton, at 130 W Bastanchury Rd, 92835, on (714) 446-5030 or 800-543-8312. It is a nonprofit, its services are free to family caregivers, and they include consultation, care planning, counseling, respite planning and education seminars.

Reporting abuse. For an older or dependent adult at home, call Orange County Adult Protective Services on its 24-hour hotline, 800-451-5155. If the person lives in a nursing facility or a board-and-care home, the county directs reports to the Long-Term Care Ombudsman on 714-479-0107. In an emergency, call 911.

Private care in Santa Ana alongside IHSS

An IHSS authorization covers a fixed number of hours. If a household wants more, such as nights, weekends or time off for a relative who is also the paid IHSS provider, those hours are private. A Santa Ana family can list that need on CaregiverConnect for free, and caregivers apply directly; whoever the family picks works for the household, which is the employer for those extra hours and settles the hourly rate with the caregiver (minimum wage is the floor). Nobody pays us a cut of the wage. CaregiverConnect does not screen backgrounds; caregivers can attach their own check result, and some extras come with optional premium plans.

Caregivers can browse caregiver jobs in Santa Ana, and families can see caregivers in Santa Ana; the listings there change as new posts and profiles go up. Nearby pages: Garden Grove, Costa Mesa, Irvine and the Orange County hub (for families). Starting out as a provider? Read how to become an IHSS provider, then make a free caregiver profile.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

1. County of Orange SSA, How Do I Apply for IHSS (phone, TTY, fax, email, P.O. box, drop box, paper SOC 295 outside the office, SOC 295L languages, SSA Submit)
2. County of Orange SSA, IHSS FAQs (office address and hours, hours authorization, finding a provider, share of cost, State pays providers)
3. County of Orange SSA, Office Locations by List (single IHSS office, APS at the same address, Santa Ana Regional Center for Medi-Cal)
4. County of Orange SSA, Making a Report (APS 24-hour hotline, Long-Term Care Ombudsman)
5. Orange County IHSS Public Authority, Registry - Provider (prescreening, application steps, 714-825-3202); Recipient page (registry intake)
6. Orange County IHSS Public Authority, Provider Enrollment (appointment length, documents, Live Scan form ORI AA504, out-of-county rule, reception 714-825-3174)
7. Orange County IHSS Public Authority, O.C. Live Scan Locations (updated 11/2025; Santa Ana sites, $32 government fee, ORI AA504)
8. Orange County IHSS Public Authority, Walnut St. parking map (entrance, visitor parking, W. 1st St.)
9. CDSS, IHSS wages by county (workbook sheet "IP Effective 10-1-2026", Orange $18.90 from January 1, 2026)
10. OCTA, Route 64 Huntington Beach to Tustin via Bolsa Ave / 1st St (timetable effective August 9, 2026)
11. OCTA, Fares and passes (regular $2.00; senior and disabled $0.75, Wave caps)
12. OCTA, OC ACCESS (eligibility, $3.60 fare, free personal care attendant, reservations)
13. City of Santa Ana, Senior services (two centers with addresses and phones, ages 55+, 2-1-1, IHSS number)
14. City of Santa Ana, Santa Ana Senior Center (hours, lunch, senior mobility program, activities, Birch Park)
15. Orange County Office on Aging, Contact Us (address, phone lines, hours)
16. Caregiver Resource Center OC (address, phone, free services for family caregivers)