Let’s start your evaluation! Next steps are below!

Thank you for completing our evaluation request form. In case you didn’t know, we’re an advocacy company that has helped hundreds of families obtain Protective Supervision (PS) for their children throughout California. We use our years of advocacy experience to fight for our families throughout the IHSS process.

Get Started

In order for us to evaluate your child’s IHSS case, we will review 3rd party documents. If we think you have a bonafide case for Protective Supervision (PS), we will likely offer you representation. If not, we’ll give you advice on how to bolster your case. If you’re reaching out to us for a reason other than for us to review your documentation, this is not the best avenue to do so; please see our FAQs below.

To continue the evaluation, please email PDFs* of any of the following documents you have to amanda@ihssadvocates.com:

  1. Most recent Individual Education Plan (IEP)**
  2. Most recent progress report from ABA therapy**
  3. Most recent SOC 821 form (Assessment of Need for Protective Supervision for In-Home Supportive Services Program)
Email Us Your Docs

 *If you are unsure how to create PDFs (rather than photos) of documents, please see the instructions found here.
**If you have a Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP) through the school district, a Special Circumstance Instructional Assistance (SCIA) Assessment to determine need for a 1:1 aide at school, and/or an intervention plan through ABA, please include those documents as well.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Obtaining IHSS hours is a confusing process. Here are our most common “What If’s” that we get from families contacting us:

  1. I’m not sure my child needs Protective Supervision (PS)

There are many categories of IHSS hours; one of which is PS. Click here for more information on that specific category. For other categories, review the IHSS Advocate Manual, starting on page 65. It goes into detail about all potential categories of IHSS hours.

  1. My child does not need Protective Supervision (PS)

While we do assist our clients with obtaining non-PS hours, we only assist families that need PS.

  1. We don’t live in California

IHSS is a California program. While there are some supportive services in other states that resemble IHSS, we only assist families with IHSS in California.

  1. My child does not have Medi-Cal

IHSS is a Medi-Cal program. If your family income is too high for your child to be eligible for Medi-Cal, ask the Regional Center to help you obtain a waiver. Reach out to us once your child has Medi-Cal.

  1. My child is older than 18 years old

We specialize in assisting minor children. We can sometimes help families with young conserved adults who still have third party documentation of their supervision needs (IEP, day program goals, etc.). Conservatorship is not required to obtain IHSS or PS, but it is our company’s policy to wait until an applicant is conserved before representing them.

If we can’t help, you can reach out to the non-profit Disability Rights California to ask about local adult advocates. Their phone number is 1-800-776-5746, and they’re available M-F, 9 am-4 pm.

  1. I don’t know if now is the time to hire an advocate

You can hire an advocate at any point in the IHSS process. If you have already had an in-home assessment and are waiting for a Notice of Action (NOA) to determine if you were denied, we ask that you wait for the NOA denial before continuing with our evaluation, just in case you’ve got good news on its way to your mailbox!

  1. My child does not have an IEP and/or my child is sometimes in general education without a 1:1 aide

We have not had much success securing protective supervision for children who are in general education without an aide because it makes it difficult to prove that their supervision need is greater than that of a neurotypical child of the same age. There are exceptions, however that is a concern for eligibility for PS.