If your parent, grandparent, or elderly neighbor needs in-home help to age in place, you may qualify to become their paid caregiver. If you make meals, give medication reminders, and perform light housework for a Medi-Cal member, you could be compensated for your time.
Recognizing the importance of this type of care, California has created a Medi-Cal benefit for members to choose a caregiver they already know and trust to provide paid care.
24 Hour Home Care calls this the “Agency With Choice” model, and we champion it because it delivers heart-felt, sustainable care. Eligible Medi-Cal members select a family member, friend, or community member to be their caregiver. The caregiver is then onboarded, trained, and compensated by 24 Hour Home Care.
If you’re interested in becoming a paid caregiver for your family member or someone close to you, read this blog to learn:
- Caregiver responsibilities
- Why you may want to become a caregiver
- What makes the Agency With Choice model different
- Eligibility requirements for members
- Eligibility requirements for caregivers
- How to get started
“I thank God for putting me in the right spot at the right time. I truly see them as family.” – Maria, 24 Hour Home Care Caregiver
Caregiver Responsibilities: What Does a Caregiver Actually Do?
Becoming a paid caregiver for a loved one comes with specific responsibilities because it is funded through California’s In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program. These responsibilities vary according to what is deemed appropriate for the member through a Functional Needs Assessment.
Learn more about what IHSS is and how Medi-Cal members can apply in this blog >
In-home caregivers provide non-medical support that helps people manage Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADLs) including:
- Personal care (e.g., bathing, grooming, and dressing)
- Meal preparation
- Light housekeeping and laundry
- Grocery shopping and errands
- Medication reminders
- Companionship and supervision
The day-to-day reality of caregiving looks different for every household. For one member it might mean preparing culturally familiar meals and helping with morning routines. For another it is tidying up to keep the home safe, managing errands. For another it is being a consistent, calming presence. What stays the same is this: the work is meaningful. It gives the care recipient the dignity of aging where they’re most comfortable, with someone they know and trust.
Why Become a Caregiver for Your Loved One
The impact of consistent, trusted in-home care goes well beyond the task list. For many seniors and people with disabilities, staying at home is not just a preference, it’s essential to their health and dignity. When the right support is in place, people take their medications, eat regular meals, stay mobile, and maintain the routines that keep them stable. When it is not, small problems compound fast.
A good caregiver doesn’t just serve the person receiving care. They give the whole family permission to breathe. Knowing that someone they trust is present every day — someone who already understands the household, the preferences, the rhythms — is a different experience than hoping a rotating roster of agency staff shows up on time. For families already stretched thin by work and distance, that consistency is everything.
“To be able to continue your work, your life, and know that your mom is taken care of is awesome. Thank God for 24 Hour Home Care that they’re here for my mom when I’m not here.” — Marco, son of 24 Hour Home Care members
What Makes “Agency With Choice” Different?
In traditional home care, an agency typically assigns a caregiver to a member. Building trust takes time, and not every caregiver-member relationship is the right fit. If a caregiver leaves, changes assignments, or the relationship simply isn’t working, the member may need to start over with someone new.
Agency With Choice takes a different approach. Instead of assigning an unfamiliar caregiver, members choose someone they already know and trust. Because the relationship comes first, care feels more natural, more comfortable, and more sustainable from the very beginning.
For many seniors, especially those from close-knit communities, managing anxiety, suffering from dementia, or with a strong sense of privacy, a stranger in the home is a barrier too high to clear. The agency may assign somebody new, but trust takes time to build; without it, the revolving door of caregivers keeps on turning. The care provided is unstable, and health outcomes can worsen leading to unnecessary hospitalizations or more costlier forms of care.
The Agency With Choice model removes the barrier of trust entirely. The member identifies the right person, someone who:
- Already knows the household
- Understands their routines and preferences
- Has the trust that makes care feel natural from day one
The results are measurable. Caregivers placed through Agency With Choice are retained at 4.5 times the rate of caregivers placed by traditional agencies. When the relationship comes first, care is more stable and more sustainable.
“When we talked about having to have someone here for my dad, he was totally against it. When we were able to tell him that it was going to be somebody that he knew, had a relationship with, he really perked up and got really happy about the opportunity.” — Marco, son of 24 Hour Home Care members
See Agency With Choice in Action
Bernardo and Josafina’s family shares how choosing their own caregiver — someone they already knew and trusted — changed everything. Watch their story:
Eligibility Requirements for Members
To receive care from a family-selected caregiver, the care recipient must meet the following requirements:
- Be enrolled in Medi-Cal
- Be a California resident living at home (i.e., not in a licensed care facility or hospital)
- Have a documented functional need for in-home assistance
- Be determined eligible by their Medi-Cal managed care health plan
Community Supports services are available to members who have:
- Applied for IHSS and awaiting approval; or
- Exhausted their authorized IHSS hours and need additional support.
Services are provided at no cost to the member.
Not sure if the person you care for qualifies? Visit In-Home Care Eligibility >
Eligibility Requirements for Caregivers
To become a paid caregiver through 24 Hour Home Care, you must meet the following requirements:
- Be 18 years of age or older
- Pass a background check
- Complete paid onboarding and training provided by 24 Hour Home Care
No formal certification is required for non-medical in-home care. 24 Hour Home Care handles all employment paperwork, health plan authorization, and training — so you can focus on the person you are there to support.
Note: Under IHSS rules, a spouse cannot be paid as a caregiver in most cases. Adult children, siblings, in-laws, close friends, and neighbors are all eligible.
How to Get Started
Getting started is simple. Here’s what to expect:
- The family chooses you: The process begins when a Medi-Cal member selects you as their caregiver. Their social worker, case manager, or health plan connects them with 24 Hour Home Care for next steps.
- We get you set up: Our team handles eligibility verification and authorization with the health plan. Once confirmed, we walk you through onboarding and training — everything you need to feel prepared and supported before care begins.
- You start providing care: Because the family chose you, you’re not starting from scratch. The trust is already there. And as an employed caregiver through 24 Hour Home Care, you receive ongoing support and compensation for the work you do.
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