IHSS Tehama County: phone numbers, Public Authority enrollment in Red Bluff and $18.40 pay

Who is eligible for IHSS in Tehama County

Tehama County Social Services describes IHSS as a program for eligible Medi-Cal elderly and disabled people who need help with activities so they can remain safely in their home. In the Public Authority's words, a consumer needs Medi-Cal, needs to be blind, disabled or at least 65, and cannot safely stay at home unaided.

CDSS layers its statewide rules over the local ones. IHSS is delivered where the recipient chooses to live, and a hospital ward, a nursing facility and a licensed community care home are all excluded. The county also needs a finished Health Care Certification (SOC 873) on file before it can approve any hours.

The person who receives IHSS is called the recipient, or consumer. Tehama County says the recipient is responsible for hiring, supervising and scheduling their caregivers, who are called providers. The Public Authority adds training and, if necessary, ending the employment to that list.

How to apply: IHSS Tehama County phone number and forms

The main Social Services number is (530) 527-1911. On the phone menu, press 5 for In-Home Supportive Services, including provider enrollment and time sheets; press 2 to report abuse or neglect of a child, elder or dependent adult. The office is at 310 South Main Street, Red Bluff, CA 96080, with weekday hours of 8 am to 5 pm, except holidays.

To apply, the county asks you to complete the state IHSS application form (SOC 295) and send it in one of three ways:

• post it to the department's mailing address, P.O. Box 1515, Red Bluff, CA 96080;
• put it in the drop box outside the Department of Social Services office (the county lists drop boxes at 310 S. Main Street, Red Bluff, and 275 Solano Street, Corning);
• fax it to Adult Services on (530) 527-4836.

You also need the Health Care Certification Form (SOC 873). The county's instructions are to print it, sign Section B, and take it to your licensed health care provider to fill in. Hours are then set after a needs assessment; CDSS says the social worker looks at diagnoses and medications, emergency contacts, who lives in the household and functional rankings for daily tasks.

Providers can be family members or friends, or the recipient can find one through the Public Authority. CDSS reminds recipients that they are the provider's employer. New employers can use our guide to hiring a private caregiver for interview questions.

Tehama County IHSS provider wage: $18.40 from July 2026

Tehama County raised its individual provider wage to $18.40 an hour on July 1, 2026, according to the October 2026 wage sheet CDSS publishes for all 58 counties (we read it on October 16, 2026). Humboldt County pays the same. Across California, 34 counties pay more and 22 pay less.

The Public Authority posts its 2024-2027 Memorandum of Understanding with SEIU Local 2015, which runs from March 19, 2024 to March 18, 2027. The MOU recognizes SEIU Local 2015 as the exclusive representative of Tehama County IHSS providers. Its wage article adds a Public Authority supplement to the base wage: $1.00 an hour once the state approved the agreement, rising by $0.25 after twelve months and by another $0.25 twelve months later, to $1.50 an hour for the third year and after. The MOU also sets aside $5,000 a fiscal year for provider training run by the union, on topics such as infection control, CPR, first aid, safe lifting and dementia care.

Pay follows the recipient's county. A Tehama County provider caring for someone in Shasta or Glenn County is paid that county's rate. About 6.1% of Tehama County's labor force was unemployed, on average, between August 2025 and August 2026, according to EDD estimates; California's average was 5.3%. The Berkeley Labor Center tracks city and county wage ordinances, and its list (last revised September 30, 2026) has no entry for Tehama County, Red Bluff or Corning, so private care work falls back on California's $16.90 minimum set by DIR. For a rate-by-rate comparison, open IHSS provider pay by county.

Registry and services of the Tehama County IHSS Public Authority

It describes itself as the IHSS providers' employer of record and says its services cost nothing for consumers and for providers who meet its qualifications. Its main job, in its own words, is helping consumers reach providers, which it does through a registry of screened IHSS providers.

When a consumer asks for help finding a caregiver, the Public Authority matches registry providers to the recipient's physical location, authorized tasks and work schedule. The consumer, as the employer, then interviews the providers and decides whom to hire, and can let a provider go at will. Caregivers who want to be listed use the registry application on the Public Authority's Forms page after completing provider enrollment.

Two smaller notes from the Public Authority's home page: it keeps essential protective gear for providers and recipients who need it (call to arrange a pickup time), and its IHSS PA Advisory Committee is recruiting, with seats open for three current or past IHSS consumers and one advocate for people with disabilities or seniors.

How to become an IHSS provider in Tehama County

No one is paid by IHSS until they have finished enrollment and cleared a background check; the Public Authority points out that state law requires both. Its enrollment page sets out this order:

1. Create an online account through the "Continue to Enrollment" link. Record your username, password and security answers somewhere safe; all three are case sensitive.
2. Watch the mandatory videos. You need your security questions to open them.
3. Review and e-sign the documents shown on the site (the SOC 426 and SOC 846). Copies are handed to you at orientation.
4. Book the next in-person orientation on the enrollment site.
5. Attend orientation and bring two things: a current driver's license or another US government photo identification, and the Social Security card itself. The two names have to match; a copy or receipt for the card will be turned away.
6. Get fingerprinted. Take the completed Live Scan form, which you are given at orientation or can print from the enrollment site or the Forms page, to a Live Scan site. You pay for the fingerprinting. Keep your copy of the form and the receipt.

The Public Authority's resources page names two background check sites, and both appear on the Attorney General's Live Scan list for Tehama County:

Both take appointments only, and the DOJ notes that further fees may apply. The Forms page also carries the SOC 426A recipient designation form, W-4 and DE-4 tax forms, the SOC 2298 live-in self-certification, a direct deposit form, the SOC 840 change of address, a sick leave form and a travel time form. Relatives who provide care can read being paid to care for a family member; the requirements every county shares are summarized in our IHSS provider enrollment guide.

Timesheets, payroll and sick leave in Tehama County

• No paper timesheets. The Public Authority says all Tehama County IHSS recipients and providers must submit and approve timesheets through the Electronic Services Portal (ESP) or by phone on the Telephone Timesheet System (TTS).
• What the portal does. CDSS says recipients approve or reject timesheets online, while providers submit them, view payment status and history, manage direct deposit and file sick leave claims. Portal registration help comes from the ESP Service Desk, (866) 376-7066, during weekday business hours.
• County help. For payroll questions, call the IHSS Payroll desk on (530) 528-4073; for other IHSS questions, the IHSS Command Center on (530) 528-4115.
• Weekly cap. Providers with several recipients are held to 66 paid hours a week in total under CDSS program rules.
• Sick leave. The fiscal 2026/27 sick leave allowance is 40 paid hours, which opened on July 1, 2026. A provider new to IHSS can use it after working 100 authorized hours. Claims go through the portal or a paper SOC 2302, and note that hours still unused at June 30 are forfeited.

The county and Public Authority pages we read do not describe a health or dental plan for Tehama County providers, and the MOU does not set up a health plan; it only lets the state deduct premiums for voluntary insurance programs offered by the union. Ask the Public Authority whether any coverage is available.

Adult Protective Services and IHSS fraud reports

Tehama County APS works to maintain the health and safety of older and dependent adults who are victims of abuse or neglect. It investigates reports involving elders aged 65 or older and dependent adults aged 18 to 64 with disabilities. The county says information is kept confidential, with limited exceptions, and that APS is voluntary: a victim can refuse or withdraw consent at any time.

The county links the SOC 341 report form for suspected abuse and the SOC 342 form that financial institutions use to report suspected financial abuse. Its warning signs include unexplained injuries, a caregiver who will not let visitors see the elder alone, unsafe or unsanitary living conditions, and a caregiver who controls the elder's money without meeting their needs. California's Welfare and Institutions Code, section 15630, makes caregivers responsible for reporting suspected elder and dependent adult abuse.

IHSS for Red Bluff, Corning and private care

Applications from anywhere in Tehama County go to the same Social Services office, and the county also lists an application drop box at 275 Solano Street in Corning. About 7.5% of Red Bluff's labor force was unemployed, on average, between August 2025 and August 2026, according to EDD estimates, above the county's 6.1% and California's 5.3%. In Corning the figure was about 2.9%, below both the county and state rates. In both towns, IHSS providers earn the same county wage of $18.40, which sits above the state's $16.90 minimum.

• Caregivers: caregiver jobs in Tehama County, caregiver jobs in Red Bluff and cna jobs in Corning.
• Families: home care in Tehama County, in home care in Red Bluff and senior care in Corning.

IHSS authorizes a fixed number of hours each month. Care beyond them, such as overnight help or cover when the usual provider is away, is a private job whose pay and hours the family and caregiver agree between themselves. Listing that work on CaregiverConnect is free for Tehama County families. Caregivers put themselves forward, and the family interviews them, chooses one and becomes the employer. CaregiverConnect takes no commission from caregivers. CaregiverConnect does not run background checks, but caregivers may upload proof of one to their profile, and optional paid plans add some features. The postings on the Tehama County pages update as families publish them. For nearby counties, see IHSS in Shasta County, IHSS in Glenn County and IHSS in Butte County.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

1. Tehama County Social Services, Apply for IHSS (SOC 295, mail, drop box, fax, SOC 873, Public Authority number, fraud lines)
2. Tehama County Social Services, Contact Social Services (310 South Main Street, hours, (530) 527-1911 menu, fax, P.O. Box, drop boxes)
3. Tehama County Social Services, Adult Services (APS role, warning signs, reporting numbers)
4. Tehama County Social Services, Report Elder Abuse (daytime and after-hours lines)
5. Tehama County IHSS Public Authority, home page (ESP/TTS requirement, protective gear, advisory committee, Command Center and Payroll numbers)
6. Tehama County IHSS Public Authority, About and Requirement (employer of record, registry matching)
7. Tehama County IHSS Public Authority, Enrollment and Steps to Enroll (online account, videos, SOC 426/846, orientation, ID, Live Scan)
8. Tehama County IHSS Public Authority, Forms, Resources and Contact Us (address, phone, fax, Live Scan sites)
9. Tehama County IHSS Public Authority and SEIU Local 2015, Memorandum of Understanding, March 19, 2024 to March 18, 2027
10. CDSS, IHSS wages by county (workbook sheet "IP Effective 10-1-2026"; Tehama $18.40 from July 1, 2026)
11. CDSS, In-Home Supportive Services (eligibility, SOC 873, needs assessment, recipient as employer)
12. CDSS, IHSS program requirements (66-hour weekly maximum) and paid sick leave FY 2026/27
13. CDSS, Electronic Services Portal help (portal features, Service Desk (866) 376-7066)
14. CDSS, Adult Protective Services (statewide reporting line 1-833-401-0832)
15. California Attorney General, Live Scan locations in Tehama County
16. California EDD, LAUS 12-month average August 2025 to August 2026 (data.ca.gov); CA DIR minimum wage FAQ; UC Berkeley Labor Center inventory (September 30, 2026)