IHSS Sierra County: the Loyalton and Downieville offices, phone numbers and $18.50 pay

What IHSS covers and who qualifies in Sierra County

According to Sierra County, IHSS pays for help that keeps a person safe in their own home, and the county adds that help with housework can make life easier for older and disabled people and in some cases is what lets them stay at home at all. The domestic and personal help it lists is grooming and bathing, dressing, housecleaning, shopping, laundry, and cooking and cleaning up after meals. Elsewhere on the page the county adds paramedical care, going along to doctor visits, and protective supervision for a person with a mental impairment.

The page sets the threshold at age over 65, blindness or disability, with disabled children eligible too, and describes IHSS as an alternative to care outside the home. It then lists the SSI/SSP-linked routes to eligibility:

• you currently receive Supplemental Security Income/State Supplementary Payment (SSI/SSP); or
• you meet every SSI/SSP rule except that your income is too high; or
• you meet every SSI/SSP rule, income included, but do not receive it; or
• you receive Medi-Cal and meet the SSI/SSP disability criteria.

On top of that, CDSS requires every applicant to live in California, to have had Medi-Cal eligibility determined, to live somewhere of their own choosing other than a hospital or licensed facility, and to get a completed Health Care Certification (SOC 873) to the county ahead of any authorization of hours. If you still need Medi-Cal, Sierra County Social Services takes applications online through BenefitsCal, by phone on 530-993-6720, or in person at either office.

IHSS Sierra County phone numbers and how to apply

You can apply by phone, or by completing the Application for Social Services (linked in English and Spanish from the IHSS page) and returning it to either office. Both offices open at 8 and close at 5 on weekdays, with a lunch closure from 12 to 1, according to the county's public assistance page.

The county lists a 24-hour emergency contact for Social Services, 530-289-3720. Connecting Point also gives 530-993-6720 as the Sierra County Social Services number for anyone who wants to receive IHSS.

Sierra County states plainly that IHSS is delivered by independent providers, and that the recipient is the provider's employer, in charge of hiring and supervising. Under CDSS rules the recipient also trains the provider and, if needed, dismisses them; the state's own IHSS application is numbered SOC 295.

Sierra County IHSS pay: $18.50 an hour

CDSS's table of IHSS wages (we read the "IP Effective 10-1-2026" sheet on October 16, 2026) shows Sierra providers on $18.50 an hour, effective January 1, 2026. Connecting Point's Sierra registry application quotes the same "current rate of pay". Nevada, Plumas and Shasta counties are on $18.50 as well.

A provider is paid the rate of the recipient's county. Someone in Loyalton who works for a client in Plumas County earns Plumas's rate (the same $18.50), while a client in Yuba County means Yuba's $18.78. Sierra's line in the CDSS collective bargaining workbook, with status notes dated July 1, 2023, shows the last negotiated raise on February 1, 2020 and "Currently Negotiating".

EDD estimates that about 5.1% of Sierra County's labor force was unemployed, on average, between August 2025 and August 2026, a little under California's 5.3%. With only about 1,436 people in the county's labor force, by EDD's count, a steady IHSS client at a fixed county rate is a meaningful local job. Sierra County has no entry in the Berkeley Labor Center's local wage inventory (September 30, 2026 revision); private care work therefore follows the $16.90 state minimum. See how the county compares in IHSS wages by county.

Connecting Point: Sierra County's IHSS Public Authority

CAPA's county list names Connecting Point as Sierra County's Public Authority. Connecting Point, a public agency, traces its IHSS work across the three counties back to 2003 under its first name, the Nevada-Sierra Regional IHSS Public Authority. Its headquarters address is 208 Sutton Way, Grass Valley, and its IHSS team answers (530) 274-5601.

For families who need a caregiver, Connecting Point keeps a registry of providers and a Home Care Coordinator who covers both Plumas and Sierra counties, on (530) 205-5224. The coordinator asks about your needs and preferences, then passes on names and contact details of registry providers; you interview them and choose. Once the paperwork is signed, managing the provider (schedule, training, tracking hours, signing timesheets) is your job.

Caregivers can enroll to work for someone they already know, or apply through the Sierra registry application to be referred to IHSS consumers based on each consumer's needs, schedule and preferences. The Plumas and Sierra enrollment line is (530) 205-5225. Before a first hire, our guide to hiring a caregiver suggests what to ask.

How to become an IHSS provider in Sierra County

Connecting Point's Sierra County checklist:

1. Online first. Set up your own profile on Connecting Point's online enrollment system, where the orientation and the state's required videos live. E-sign both enrollment documents there (SOC 846 agreement, SOC 426 form), then phone (530) 205-5224 for an in-person slot.
2. Appointment in Downieville or Loyalton. Bring a current state-issued ID plus your Social Security card; you go home with the Department of Justice Live Scan form.
3. Background check. Get fingerprinted and keep the completed copy. If you are unsure how a Tier 1 or Tier 2 conviction affects you, ring Connecting Point's IHSS team.
4. Provider number. After everything clears, Connecting Point emails you and mails a letter with your number, the timesheet website and next steps; if relevant, you also receive a SOC 2271 showing your recipient's authorized tasks.
5. Timesheet system. Registering for the online ESP or the telephone TTS is a state condition of employment. TTS sign-up is 1-833-342-5388.
6. Direct deposit and live-in status. Each recipient is a separate employer, so enroll in direct deposit for each one (about 30 calendar days). Live-in providers self-certify in the portal.
7. Timesheets. Complete each available timesheet promptly and tell your recipient, who must approve it.

The Attorney General's Live Scan directory returned no sites in Sierra County on October 16, 2026. Its Nevada County list includes the Truckee Police Department (10183 Truckee Airport Road, Tuesday and Wednesday mornings by appointment, $20 rolling fee) and several Grass Valley businesses; its Plumas County list includes the Plumas County Sheriff's Department in Quincy ($20) and a site in Portola ($25). Rolling fees vary by site and other fees may apply. Relatives start from the same list; see IHSS for family caregivers and the statewide enrollment guide.

Payroll help, sick leave and health benefits

• Payroll. Connecting Point's timesheet page lists Sierra County payroll assistance on 530-993-6732. When the portal will not let you register or sign in, the state's ESP desk can help: (866) 376-7066, business hours, Monday to Friday. The portal handles timesheets, payment status and history, direct deposit changes and sick leave claims.
• Hours limit. CDSS caps a provider at 66 hours of work in a workweek, counting every IHSS recipient together.
• Sick leave. The state's allowance for 2026/2027 is 40 paid sick hours, from July 1, 2026; a provider just starting out first needs 100 hours of authorized work. Request it online or with the SOC 2302, before the balance resets on June 30.
• Health plan. Through Connecting Point, eligible providers in all three of its counties can join a Pan-American Life Insurance Company plan, a limited benefit indemnity policy. Payroll has to show 80 or more approved and paid hours a month for two straight months, you must be working when the plan begins, and you stay covered while you keep up 80 hours a month. Missing application? Call (530) 274-5601 or (866) 577-6331.

Sierra County's public assistance page gives 530-993-6725 for reporting suspected welfare misuse or fraud.

Adult Protective Services, senior outreach and contacts

APS in Sierra County helps people 60 or older, and disabled adults between 18 and 64, when they cannot meet their own needs or suffer abuse, neglect or exploitation. It investigates abuse in private homes, hotels, hospitals and clinics where the abuser is not a staff member, and can arrange advocacy, counseling, money management, out-of-home placement or conservatorship. Services are open to anyone, whatever their income. To report, contact Social Services (530-993-6720 in Loyalton, 530-289-3711 in Downieville, 530-289-3720 at any hour) or your local law enforcement agency; an SOC 341 reporting form, with a Spanish version, is on the APS page. From any phone, 1-833-401-0832 (CDSS) forwards you to the county's APS after you enter the ZIP. IHSS providers have a legal duty to report suspected abuse (WIC §15630).

Sierra County Public Health also runs a Senior Outreach Nurse Program, free to residents aged 65 and over regardless of income. Nurses take referrals from seniors themselves, family, neighbors and doctors, do in-home assessments, review medicines, link people to services and follow up about every six months. Public Health is on 530-993-6700 at 202 Front Street, Loyalton.

Sierra County caregiver jobs, home care and neighboring counties

Sierra County has no separate town pages on CaregiverConnect; the county page covers everyone.

• Caregivers: caregiver jobs in Sierra County.
• Families: in home care in Sierra County.

Care beyond the authorized IHSS hours is a private arrangement. Families can advertise it on CaregiverConnect for free; caregivers respond, and the family picks, interviews and employs someone, with nothing deducted from the caregiver's pay. CaregiverConnect itself does no background checking, though caregivers may display their own, and optional plans exist. New jobs show on the county page when families post them. For clients in the next county over, see IHSS in Nevada County, Plumas County IHSS or the Yuba County guide.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

1. Sierra County, Social Services (Loyalton and Downieville offices, phones, faxes, 24-hour emergency contact)
2. Sierra County, In Home Supportive Services (IHSS) Program (services, eligibility, independent providers, how to apply)
3. Sierra County, Adult Protective Services (ages served, scope, how to report)
4. Sierra County, Public Assistance (Medi-Cal applications, office hours, fraud line)
5. Sierra County Public Health, Senior Outreach Nurse Program
6. CAPA, County Public Authorities (Sierra County listed as Connecting Point)
7. Connecting Point, IHSS Step-By-Step: Sierra County (online enrollment, Downieville or Loyalton appointment, TTS line)
8. Connecting Point, Receive IHSS and Hire a Caregiver (Sierra County Social Services number, Plumas and Sierra coordinator) and About (history since 2003)
9. Connecting Point, Become an IHSS Provider (Plumas and Sierra enrollment line) and Registry Provider Application: Sierra ($18.50)
10. Connecting Point, Health Benefits (Pan-American Life plan) and IHSS Timesheets (Sierra County payroll assistance)
11. CDSS, IHSS wages by county (sheet "IP Effective 10-1-2026"; Sierra $18.50 from January 1, 2026) and collective bargaining status workbook
12. CDSS, In-Home Supportive Services (statewide eligibility, SOC 295, SOC 873, recipient as employer)
13. CDSS, IHSS program requirements (66-hour workweek), paid sick leave FY 2026/2027 and ESP help (Service Desk); Adult Protective Services (1-833-401-0832)
14. California Attorney General, Live Scan locations (Sierra County: no results; Nevada and Plumas county lists)
15. California EDD, Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS), 12-month average August 2025 to August 2026
16. California DIR, minimum wage FAQ ($16.90 from January 1, 2026); UC Berkeley Labor Center local minimum wage inventory (updated September 30, 2026)