IHSS Solano County: phone numbers, the Fairfield office and the $18.10 provider wage

IHSS eligibility rules in Solano County

Solano County describes IHSS as a program that lets Medi-Cal eligible older adults, adults with disabilities and children with a disability stay safely at home, where without the help they would need care outside it. The county gives bathing, dressing, cooking, cleaning, grooming, feeding, laundry, shopping, help with toileting and washing dishes as examples of tasks a social worker can authorize.

The county lists these conditions:

• your own home is in Solano County;
• citizenship: U.S. citizen, or legal permanent resident of California;
• age and disability: 65 or older, an adult with a disability, or a child with a disability;
• you have Medi-Cal eligibility;
• a Health Care Certification (form SOC 873) has been completed and turned in;
• you complete an in-home eligibility assessment with a county social worker.

The county also says anyone can make an IHSS referral, for themselves or for someone else who needs help at home, so an adult child or neighbor can start the process for a parent.

Solano County IHSS phone number and the two ways in

There are two routes into the program.

By telephone. Call (707) 784-8259 and press extension 1 on weekdays between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. The line shuts for lunch from noon to 1 p.m. Before you call, gather the applicant's name, date of birth, Social Security number, home address, gender, phone number and preferred language; the parents' or guardians' names and contact details if the applicant is a minor; whether anyone smokes in the home and whether there are pets; the services you are asking for; the medical diagnosis and symptoms; the primary doctor's name and contact; and the name of the person you hope will be the paid caregiver, if you have one.

By mail or fax. Fill in the state Application for Social Services, form SOC 295, and send it to In-Home Supportive Services, 275 Beck Ave., MS 5-110, Fairfield, CA 94533, or fax it to (707) 784-2440.

What happens next.

1. If you meet the residency rule and have qualifying Medi-Cal, the county mails you the SOC 873 to take to your licensed health care provider. CDSS says no hours get authorized while that certification is still outstanding.
2. Once the certification requirements are met, a county social worker is assigned and books an in-home assessment to decide eligibility.
3. The county asks applicants to allow up to 90 days for the whole process: eligibility, the home visit and the authorization of hours.

When hours are approved, the person receiving care hires the caregiver. Under CDSS rules the person receiving care counts as the employer, which puts recruiting, instructing, overseeing and dismissing the caregiver in their hands. Our step-by-step hiring guide covers interviews and written agreements that work just as well for an IHSS hire.

Becoming a paid IHSS provider in Solano County

A family member, friend or anyone else must finish provider enrollment before the IHSS program can pay them. The county enrollment page describes four parts, and the Public Authority runs enrollment sessions every week.

1. Register online. Create a profile on the county's Provider Enrollment portal, enter your personal details, watch the seven required IHSS videos, sign two forms electronically and pick an in-person orientation slot. New orientation dates are released on the first and third Tuesday of each month by 9 a.m. If you get locked out of your portal account, the county cannot reset it, so keep your login details somewhere safe.
2. Go to orientation. It can take up to four hours; arrive 15 minutes early. Bring a driver's license or other U.S. government identity card that has not expired, your original Social Security card with a name matching the ID (copies are refused), work authorization papers if the card is restricted to work with DHS or INS approval, and a signed school work permit if you are 17 or younger. You will be turned away if a document is missing. Leave children and other companions at home; interpreters are available if you ask.
3. Background check. State law requires it. Live Scan fingerprinting is offered at orientation for $52, payable in cash or by Visa or Mastercard debit or credit card only.
4. Return the paperwork. You receive the enrollment documents at orientation. They must be completed, signed by your IHSS client, and the originals returned to the office.

Once enrolled, the county suggests joining the Public Authority registry to be referred to other clients. Statewide background on each step is in our how to become an IHSS provider guide.

IHSS pay in Solano County: $18.10 an hour

The CDSS county wage workbook (we opened the tab "IP Effective 10-1-2026" on October 15, 2026) puts Solano County providers at $18.10 an hour, effective January 1, 2026. On its recruiting page for registry caregivers, the Public Authority repeats $18.10 for most IHSS cases and adds that an emergency backup provider on the registry earns a differential of $20.10 an hour.

Ranked across the 58 rows of that workbook, Solano sits 38th. Its neighbors pay more, so a caregiver living near a county line may notice the gap:

The UC Berkeley Labor Center inventory of local minimum wage ordinances (July 1, 2026 table) lists no city in Solano County and no unincorporated Solano rate, so the state $16.90 is the floor there. The IHSS rate is $1.20 above it (our arithmetic, for illustration).

Hour limits. State rules cap anyone caring for several recipients at 66 paid hours per workweek combined, with limited exemptions. CDSS publishes the SOC 2255 workweek and travel time agreement for providers who split time between clients.

Sick leave. For July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027, CDSS grants 40 hours. They are credited once you have logged 100 IHSS hours, become usable after a further 200 hours worked or 60 days (the earlier of the two), and lapse at the end of June if unused. File form SOC 2302, or request the time online in the state portal; the IHSS Service Desk on (866) 376-7066 answers balance questions. For the full statewide comparison see IHSS pay by county.

IHSS Public Authority Solano County

The Board of Supervisors set up the Solano County IHSS Public Authority in 2003 as part of Health and Social Services. It is the employer of record for IHSS providers when wages are negotiated, and it runs training, administers provider benefits and helps clients hire.

Contact: (707) 784-8200, fax (707) 784-2440, IHSSPublicAuthority@SolanoCounty.gov, 275 Beck Ave., MS 5-190, Fairfield, CA 94533. Staff answer on weekdays, 8 a.m. until 5 p.m., with a lunch closure from noon.

The registry for clients

Registry providers have been recruited, interviewed, reference checked and background checked by the Public Authority, have finished state enrollment and are ready to work. An eligible Solano client who needs someone can ask for a list; because the registry is small, staff aim to send three to five available providers in your area. You call, interview and choose.

Ask for a list in one of three ways: phone the Public Authority; email it with the client's name, IHSS case number and a phone number (plus your own name and relationship if you are writing for someone else); or ask your IHSS social worker for a referral. If you do not know who your social worker is, the IHSS main line, (707) 784-8259 extension 1, can connect you.

In an emergency, the registry can send a backup provider within 72 hours of a request. Emergency backup providers may work up to 80 hours a year for each client.

Joining the registry as a caregiver

The Public Authority says it is recruiting. Registry providers must be eligible to work in the U.S., hold a government photo ID and a Social Security card with matching names, pass a criminal background check, use their own car to reach work and drive clients to appointments and errands, and be willing to help with personal care such as bowel and bladder care. A CNA, home health aide or medical assistant certificate, First Aid and CPR, paramedical skills (wound care, injections, g-tubes, catheters) and safe transfers are listed as highly desired, not required.

To apply online, watch the registry slide presentation, submit the online application, then print the reference form emailed to you and have two work references complete it. Mail the forms to Solano County IHSS Public Authority, Attn: Registry Recruitment, at the MS 5-190 address. Applications are incomplete without them. For a paper application, call (707) 784-8200 and ask for one to be mailed.

Health benefits and training

The Public Authority administers medical, dental and vision coverage. Working 65 or more hours monthly over two straight months may make you eligible; qualifying providers receive a benefit application packet by post, which goes back to the Public Authority address. It also runs free, optional training for any Solano IHSS provider.

IHSS for Vallejo, Fairfield and Vacaville residents

The county pages list one IHSS address, the Beck Avenue building in Fairfield. Applications, registry requests and benefit forms all go there by phone, email, post or fax, so living in Vallejo, Vacaville, Benicia, Suisun City, Dixon or Rio Vista does not change the process or the $18.10 rate.

• Vallejo: caregiver jobs in Vallejo and Vallejo caregivers.
• Fairfield: Fairfield caregiver jobs and caregivers in Fairfield.
• Vacaville: Vacaville caregiver jobs and caregivers in Vacaville.

Across the county: Solano County caregiver jobs and find caregivers in Solano County. Neighboring counties have their own pages: IHSS Napa County, IHSS Contra Costa County and IHSS Sacramento County.

Solano County IHSS contact list

Care the Notice of Action does not cover

IHSS pays for the tasks and monthly hours the county authorizes. Families in Solano often need more: overnight help after a discharge from hospital, weekend cover, or someone to step in when the regular provider is away and the registry backup has used its hours. Those extra hours become a private arrangement that IHSS plays no part in.

A Solano family can list that job on CaregiverConnect for free; interested caregivers send their own applications, and the family interviews and hires the person it chooses, becoming the employer. Nothing is taken from the caregiver's pay. Background screening is not something we do, though a caregiver can add a copy of any check they arranged themselves. Optional paid plans add features. For private-pay rates, see our California in-home care cost guide, and if you are an IHSS provider with spare hours, open a caregiver profile at no charge.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

1. Solano County H&SS, In-Home Supportive Services (eligibility, phone and SOC 295 application, Beck Ave. address, fax, 90-day timeline)
2. Solano County H&SS, IHSS Provider Enrollment (online registration, seven videos, orientation, documents, $52 Live Scan)
3. Solano County H&SS, Public Authority (established 2003, employer of record, weekly enrollment sessions, 65-hour benefits rule, contact)
4. Solano County IHSS Public Authority, Registry of Caregivers (3-5 provider lists, 72-hour emergency backup, 80 hours a year, request methods)
5. Solano County IHSS Public Authority, Registry Recruitment ($18.10, $20.10 emergency backup differential, requirements, application steps)
6. Solano County H&SS, Older and Disabled Adult Services contact page (APS, Area Agency on Aging, IHSS and PA lines)
7. CDSS, IHSS wages by county (workbook sheet "IP Effective 10-1-2026"; Solano $18.10 from January 1, 2026)
8. CDSS, In-Home Supportive Services (SOC 873 before authorization, recipient as employer)
9. CDSS, IHSS Program Requirements: overtime, travel time and wait time (66-hour maximum, SOC 2255)
10. CDSS, IHSS Provider Paid Sick Leave (FY 2026/27, SOC 2302, Service Desk, fraud hotline)
11. California DIR, minimum wage FAQ ($16.90 from January 1, 2026)
12. UC Berkeley Labor Center, inventory of local minimum wage ordinances (no Solano County locality listed, July 1, 2026 table)