caregiver

in home caregiver

caretaker

support worker

ihss provider

In Home Support Services (IHSS)

What is the best part of working at the company?
Managing professionally developing care providers and watching them grow and succeed. Developing in-depth training programs for new or professionally developing care providers.  Improving outcomes and increasing numbers of happy clients.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Sometimes, long hours.  Managing so many cases of both providers and care recipients (clients) takes a great deal of patience, endurance and flexibility. Many recipients can be challenging to work with regarding issues related to varying status in mental health and that is common since they are in need of healthcare support. Solved problems relieve stress for all. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Broadly adaptable. Providers come from multiple cultures and backgrounds. Care recipients (Clients) usually come from different backgrounds from their providers. Our work environment has to adapt these differences to one another to strike a balance and create harmonious work environment. We need Top-Down, as well as Bottom-Up support for each other in this work.  As we maintain mutual support as discribed above, the work environment and culture is most pleasant and rewarding. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
It varies greatly.  Morning meetings. Conduct audits of financials. Monitor safety and quality of care. Enforce regulatory standards, compliance and quality assurance issues.  Managment’s typical day involves overseeing all aspects of the organizational operations, including client care, staff management, financial oversight, compliance with regulations, coordinating with healthcare teams, addressing client and family concerns, facilitating family/county or other support services meetings, reviewing patient records, and ensuring a safe and positive environment for clients, often with a fast-paced and reactive approach to unexpected situations; their primary focus is on delivering high-quality care while maintaining regulatory compliance and keeping staff skills and safety training up.

Almost every client I've worked for has requested things of me that are not even close to the duties listed at IHSS office. This is generally fine, until they start to abuse the fact that you go above and beyond your duties, which almost every client has.

This position is supposed to help people better themselves, however MOST clients genuinely don't want to get better themselves. 

In my experience, the best-case, you end up a glorified housekeeper/errand boy, or in some rare instances you befriend the client and then it doesn't even feel like work anymore, just taking care of a friend. 
And the worst-case, you wind up bending over backwards to assist the clients every whim. In many cases when you try to explain that the latter is often not on the job description, they can (and often will) fire you on the spot as there is little to no on-site supervision.

The above, and the fact that most clients are on the older age spectrum or in very poor health means that job security is uncomfortably flimsy. 
Finally, I've got to mention the mental/emotional/spiritual toll that the above enacts when do find a client that you befriend and then you lose them when they cease to be alive. It either takes someone with a massive heart, or no heart at all to fill this position.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Helping people to live independently 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
There is a lot of red tape to get through to finally get paid. And it seems like they don’t give you appropriate time for the task. And don’t take into consideration that the client don’t have the skills to be a boss or time management or specific job duties and appropriate time allocated for such duty. Or allow for client training on such issues. Leaving the provider to explain over and over how it works and how to approve the time card and what specific duties or role the provider has. Example. Their dog gets out of the yard spend all day dealing with that. Then they want you to stay longer to do dishes dinner laundry etc.  You do cause it’s been a crazy but you try to get paid for that and it’s a hassle. No overtime. No consideration for the incidentals or time spent. And the client thinks it the providers job to do everything. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Home of a person that has become overwhelmed with health issues and end of life decisions with ADL activities of daily living. Families who want to tell you what you should be doing while they upset your client and add more stress to an already stressful situation. It’s the hardest job I’ve ever done. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Stressful and frustrating with a lot of responsibilities and difficult subjects.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Full time to finding extra income, this is a great way to work without the stress of heavy management. You get to interview with the client before accepting the job. Most clients have around 10 to 20 hours per week with cooking, shopping, laundry, and 30 minutes of house cleaning. Pay is very good and the benefits are expanding every year. Starting in 2024, if you join the union, your  dues are a tax write off.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Clients with mental health and physical disabilities and older people adjusting to losing their independence can be a challenge. You can learn tolerance and practice acceptance. Many times you have to encourage them to make a list or schedule of duties as they sometimes assume you know 'what to do.'

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Building relationships while accepting that you and your client have boundaries.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
If I am running late, even ten minutes, I call. The work load is like taking care of home. It is a routine that gets easier with time.

What is the best part of working at the company?
It's very rewarding taking care of the elderly. Especially when they're able to stay in their own homes and not with strangers in a nursing home. Plus families can feel at ease knowing they're  actually being cared for. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Getting paid is inconsistent. It's never the same days monthly. Especially around any Holidays. You wait an extra week. It's very stressful. At least with other jobs, if payday was a Friday, every two weeks, you knew the day your deposit was going in. Because you get paid Bi weekly here, and pay periods end on the 1 and 15, they literally take their time issuing your pay. Especially if either day falls on a weekend or Holiday, they take advantage and process slowly.  Granted, they have a 10 business day time frame, with added weekend days or Holidays, you actually wait almost that 10 business day mark. That's with direct deposit. Receiving a paper check I'd imagine can take even longer. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Feeding, clothing, bathing, interacting, giving meds, running errands, cleaning on a daily basis to assist elderly.

IHSS with specific regard to my particular county; is a benefit that saved (and continues to save) my life. Most importantly is that it depends greatly which county you live in that determines the harmony you will be "allowed" to acquire while using this benefit.  The annual evaluation process is atrocious within my county as it pertains to my own experience.  I don't see how this benefit could not impact a different applicant in a positive and impactful way with regard to my county. This benefit is one that an applicant must qualify for to assist the disabled community in a variety of ways and there are times in which one must conclude you cannot put a price for service to others in desperate need for compassion, reliability, trust, medical administration, transportation, health and hygiene, emotional support, ambulatory support, housekeeping, cooking and more.  All of which are extremely vulnerable to abuse that causes great stress to the system as a whole. The best part of my experience is that I am able to support my family member to the best of my ability and this benefit allows me to provide a better quality of life for my family member that affects our entire family.

A work day was just like any other job, but I work in someone's home. I have learned so so much doing this job. It's literally like going to hands on school and getting paid! The culture was different than mine, and from that I also learned alot. The hardest part of this job is becoming more like a family member instead of a worker. Getting attached,  the closeness that you get with your patient is like no other. We had such a strong bond that I could walk in the door and tell what kind of mood she was in just by the look on her face. I loved and respected her so much. Unfortunately she passed. And it hit me hard. So before jumping into this take that into consideration. The best part of my job is seeing that smile on their faces. Helping them get better. Watching them get stronger and having the drive and motivation to keep going. Getting to laugh with them. And getting to be a good ear when they need to talk. All in all it's a wonderful job. 

I work with seniors and people with disabilities, my tasks are clear and simple: as a caregiver I have to provide consistent, reassuring, and compassionate care for them to feel secure at all time either in their homes or in the community. As a team member, I have learned that we are stronger if we are together. We can set goals and achieve them here in IHSS, our management and work culture entitle us to fight for our rights through our union SEIU, knowing that is not easy the hardest part in this agency it's that they do not provide PTO nor vacations. We are fighting to get full medical benefits still here in Ventura County, so it will take time to obtain PTO and vacations for the county supervisor to revise our benefits.  That is the most enjoyable part of this job, knowing progress takes time and that everything we request to the Board of Supervisor of our County is resolve within months, because they know the necessity not only of their employees but also of the community, especially our seniors, children, and people with disabilities.

Is one of the most rewarding and challenging life experiences in my life and is a beautiful gift to have and experience in life. To be able to meet people who have been throusome of the most amazing and inspiring situations and difficulty's to show myself how much can be done and lived through how precious this life we have is and how important it can be to never let those who have been through life to one day wake up and everything be different and to now need to hand from a someone else to go through learning how to build and to actually have a trust in someone on a level for it is normally a life and death situation. It is the most empower I feeling to know how big it is to someone else just to know your showing up and the days goal is to create a new beautiful adventure and pushing the limits on what our insecurities tell us we can't to inspire somebody to know that they can as much as they are willing and to never give up every day is a new day and in that blessings are found without work faith is dead. 

What is the best part of working at the company?
The support long term employment updated information about n bettering your job giving the tools to help you help others strong union great folllow ups with social works  home health care if needed good relationships with family members 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
I never had that problem each case I taken  is a little different but also the same needing help with there lifestyle I try to make easy for them to live with the issues at hand

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Fine each case is different cause everyone’s household is more or less to care for them and the homes they live in you have to housekeep more or less but all have been doable 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Each the same come in check on the person start with there needs check if there’s been any problems changes in there health and behavior plan there day for the best of care

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Caregiver 31 salaries reported	$20.68 per hour
In home caregiver 8 salaries reported	$17.59 per hour
Caretaker 9 salaries reported	$17.00 per hour
Support worker 5 salaries reported	$21.73 per hour
Ihss provider 2 salaries reported	$22.29 per hour

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