California Advocacy Group

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IHSS Insight: What are Domestic and Related Services?

Eric Weingrad

In-Home Supportive Services, commonly referred to as IHSS, is a statewide program administered by each county under the direction of the California Department of Social Services. It provides the disabled, blind, those with limited income, or people over the age of 65 with in–home care services that are paramount to their ability to live safely within their own home.

In this article we'll focus on "Domestic and Related Services," however, below is a list of some of the main services children under the age of 18 are eligible to receive through IHSS:

WHAT ARE DOMESTIC AND RELATED SERVICES?

Domestic and Related services are actually two separate IHSS-approved services but are so closely connected that they are typically grouped together. Both domestic and related services are generally comprised of non-skilled tasks that do not demand a licensed healthcare professional to prescribe or order.

As it relates to a minor, domestic services cover the general household chores necessary to maintain the cleanliness of the child's home. Just the same, related services refer to tasks like meal preparation, laundry, and other household errands that keep the child's home and life in proper order.

⇲ Examples of Domestic Services

Domestic Services include, but are not limited to:

  • Bathroom Cleaning
  • Bedroom Care (changing linens, trash removal)
  • Cleaning Kitchen Appliances (oven, stove, microwave)
  • Dusting
  • Fuel Handling (for heating or cooking purposes)
  • Light Bulb Maintenance
  • Picking Up Around the House
  • Refrigerator Care (cleaning, defrosting)
  • Storing Food & Supplies
  • Sweeping
  • Trash Removal
  • Vacuuming
  • Washing/Waxing Floors
  • Washing Kitchen Counters & Sinks
  • Wheelchair Care (cleaning, changing/recharging batteries, adjustments)

⇲ Examples of Related Services

Related Services include, but are not limited to:

  • Laundry (sorting, operating machines, hanging to dry, folding, ironing, etc)
  • Shopping (compiling shopping list, traveling to/from store, grocery handling, transferring/loading/unloading goods, buying clothing, etc)
  • Errands (Performing minor necessary errands, ordering & picking up prescriptions, reading important documents like medicine instructions, food labels, utility bills, etc)
  • Meal Preparation (planning menus, washing/drying hands before & after meal prep, washing, peeling, slicing food, opening packages/cans, measuring, mixing, reheating food, setting table, serving meals, pureeing food, cutting into reasonable bite-size pieces, etc)
  • Meal Cleanup (loading/unloading dishwasher, washing, rinsing, drying dishes and cooking utensils and culinary appliances, packing/storing leftover foods, cleaning used table & counter, sinks, etc)

Please note that meal cleanup does not include general cleaning of the refrigerator, stove/oven, or countertops and sinks. These services would be covered under "domestic services."

We hope this has given you a better understanding of the domestic and related services within the IHSS program. If you still have questions, feel free to message us here at California Advocacy Group.