Regulatory watch
California EVV requirements: IHSS and Medi-Cal
- Welfare and Institutions Code section 14043.51, the Medi-Cal EVV statute (amended effective July 10, 2023)
- Section 10835 and section 10836, the IHSS EVV chapter
- The Department of Social Services location FAQ (dated May 16, 2023)
- The department’s 2023 check-in overview (slide deck)
- Its EVV help page for recipients and providers
- Its EVV stakeholder page
Two departments, two systems
The statutes give EVV to both departments. Only the Social Services side could be read in full.
| Layer | Standing | Reach | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medi-Cal statute | Amended July 10, 2023. | Health Care Services may run EVV, sets what providers follow, and lists its responses to a shortfall. | § 14043.51 |
| IHSS statute | Amended July 16, 2021. | Social Services builds the IHSS system on principles the Legislature wrote down. | § 10836 |
| IHSS check-in | Since July 1, 2023. | Caregivers who live apart from the recipient check in and out once each workday. | Location FAQ |
| Health Care Services pages | Not read. | The department’s own EVV pages and documents blocked our reader. | None |
Standings as read on October 13, 2026.
The Legislature’s words on IHSS
Section 10836 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, in the text read on October 13, 2026:
- On location, subdivision (d): Social Services is to find “the least intrusive manner to record the location of in-home supportive service delivery at the time service begins and ends each day.”
- On hours, subdivision (g) of section 10836 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, as amended July 16, 2021: “information from electronic visit verification shall not be used to reduce a consumer’s hours.”
- On violations, subdivision (g) of section 10836 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, as amended July 16, 2021: Social Services “shall not implement a violations policy or process for in-home supportive service providers as part of electronic visit verification.”
The IHSS check-in, step by step
The Department of Social Services FAQ dated May 16, 2023 sets the routine that began on July 1, 2023. A caregiver who lives apart from the recipient checks in when the first service of the day starts and checks out after the last one, picking “home” or “community” each time. Shopping, errands, picking up medicine, laundry and medical appointments count as community. A caregiver with two recipients checks in and out for each, and the times may overlap.
Three tools take a check-in: the Electronic Services Portal in a browser, the Telephone Timesheet System dialed from the recipient’s landline, and an optional IHSS EVV mobile app. The entries flow onto the electronic timesheet, which the recipient approves. Pay still follows the hours worked, not the time between the two check-ins.
Where location comes in
The department’s 2023 overview says the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services asked for location to be confirmed electronically when each workday begins and when it ends. California does that only when the caregiver picks “home”. The FAQ dated May 16, 2023 says nothing is collected through the day or on a “community” check-in. The same FAQ explains the history: the state first proposed letting providers type in their location, and federal reviewers found that fell short of the federal standard.
Live-in caregivers and mistakes
A caregiver who lives with the recipient can self-certify on form SOC 2298, and the Social Services EVV stakeholder page says live-in providers have skipped the start, end and location fields since January 2021. For everyone else, the FAQ dated May 16, 2023 says a missed or wrong check-in can be corrected on the timesheet before it is sent to the recipient, and the 2023 overview adds that a check-in mistake carries no penalty.
Agencies under Medi-Cal
Under section 14043.51 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, as amended effective July 10, 2023, a provider whose Medi-Cal services fall under EVV shall comply with the requirements Health Care Services and its partners set. Subdivision (f) lets the department set those details by provider bulletin or plan letter instead of formal rulemaking, so the operating details sit in department instructions rather than in the code, and those instructions were not read for this page. Subdivision (d)(3) takes individual IHSS and WPCS providers who are not employed by an agency out of the department’s (d)(2) actions and points them instead to section 10836 and to sections 12305.82 and 12305.83, which cover fraud investigation and overpayment recovery in IHSS.
Settled, and not answered here
The sources fix the statutory split, the July 1, 2023 check-in for caregivers who live apart, the limits on when location is taken, and the rule that EVV data does not cut a recipient’s hours. This page does not answer how the Health Care Services EVV program runs for Medi-Cal providers, because the department’s own pages could not be opened.
LockProof next to California EVV
The two records answer different people. California’s EVV data answers the state. A LockProof photo answers a daughter, a private-pay client or an agency owner who wants to see a visit. Agencies weighing both can start with keeping a photo log next to EVV, then the capture of a single visit photo.
What this page leaves out
The statutes are the Legislature’s online text and the rest are Social Services documents, all read on October 13, 2026. The Social Services EVV stakeholder page still carries early planning text from 2018 and 2019, and this page reports its later sections instead. County procedures, union agreements and plan contracts were not reviewed. Other covered states sit in the state EVV hub, including Colorado, where pictures are barred from visit data.
Common questions
Does California track IHSS caregivers by GPS?
Not through the day. The Department of Social Services FAQ dated May 16, 2023 says a non-live-in provider’s location is confirmed electronically at check-in and check-out alone, and only when the provider picks “home”; picking “community” records no location. The department’s 2023 overview says the mobile app and the portal both ask for location access before a check-in goes through, and its EVV help page lists a third route, a phone line called from the recipient’s landline.
Who has to check in and out under California EVV?
IHSS and WPCS providers who do not live with the person they care for. The Department of Social Services FAQ of May 16, 2023 dates the daily check-in to July 1, 2023: once at the start and once at the end of each workday, for each recipient. A provider who lives with the recipient files the SOC 2298 self-certification, and section 10836 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, as amended July 16, 2021, keeps live-in providers outside EVV.
Does a check-in decide how much an IHSS provider is paid?
No. The Department of Social Services help page says pay follows the hours and minutes the provider reports, not the span between check-in and check-out. A mistaken check-in can be fixed up to the moment the timesheet goes to the recipient, and the department’s 2023 overview says there is no penalty for such a mistake. The recipient still approves each timesheet.
What does California’s Medi-Cal EVV statute say for agencies?
Section 14043.51 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, as amended effective July 10, 2023, tells a provider whose Medi-Cal services fall under EVV to follow the requirements set by the Department of Health Care Services and its partners. When a provider falls short, section 14043.51 as amended July 10, 2023 lets the department and its partners give technical help, require a corrective action plan, recover overpayments, impose enrollment or monetary sanctions, or take other remedial action. The department’s own EVV pages were out of our reader’s reach.
Does LockProof count as EVV in California?
Not in either system. In California, LockProof is not an EVV system. The Health Care Services EVV program and the IHSS portal, phone line and app are separate from it, and nothing it records is sent to either department or matched to a timesheet or claim. An agency can still keep a LockProof photo of a visit in its own files, for a relative or a private-pay client who wants to see the visit.
Is this page legal advice?
It is not. It reports seven California sources, all read on October 13, 2026 and all linked above: three sections of the Welfare and Institutions Code and four Department of Social Services documents. How any of it applies to one agency or one provider is a question for counsel, the county IHSS office or the Department of Health Care Services.