An IHSS Notice of Action is the written document your county sends whenever it plans to start, increase, decrease, or terminate your In-Home Supportive Services hours, and the single most important thing on it is the effective date. If you disagree with what the county decided, request a state hearing before that effective date and your current hours continue unchanged until an Administrative Law Judge rules on your case. You can file online, call the State Hearings Division at (800) 743-8525, or mail the form on the back of the notice to Sacramento.
What the Notice Is Telling You
The notice is a structured grid of your authorized hours, broken into task categories like domestic services, personal care, and paramedical services. Two columns matter most: “service authorized,” meaning what the county approved, and “service requested,” meaning what you or your social worker identified as needed. Comparing those two columns is how you find the problem.
California regulations require the notice to describe each task assessed, list the hours authorized for that task, and identify which hours went up or down from your previous authorization.1California Department of Social Services. Division 30 Ch30-700 Thru Sec30-764 The bottom of the grid shows your total monthly hours, which is the cap on what your provider can be paid for. Every number in the grid is something you can dispute at a hearing, so read the document line by line.
Counties send these notices after any event that changes your status: an initial assessment, an annual reassessment, a mid-year change in your medical condition or household, or a statewide policy change that adjusts service maximums. Whatever the trigger, the county must give you written notice before the change takes effect so you have a record and a chance to challenge it.2California Department of Social Services. In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) Program
Read These Lines First
Find your case number, usually at the top right of the first page. Find the effective date, which is the day the county’s proposed change starts. Then flip to the back of the notice, sometimes called the NA BACK 9, where the hearing request form sits with spaces for your case number and contact information.3California Department of Social Services. NA BACK 9 Form
The Three Deadlines That Decide Everything
California law creates three different filing windows with three very different consequences. Confusing them can cost you months of reduced hours while you wait for a hearing.
Before the Effective Date: Aid Paid Pending
File your hearing request before the effective date printed on the notice and your services continue at their current level until you get a decision. This is called aid paid pending, and it is the strongest protection available to you.4California Department of Social Services. Manual of Policies and Procedures – Division 22 – State Hearing and Request for Review Your hours stay exactly where they were before the proposed cut, and if you filed in good faith, you are not required to repay the difference even if you ultimately lose.
The county is generally required to mail the notice at least 10 days before the effective date, so the window to act is narrow. If the notice is mailed April 20 with a May 1 effective date, you must file before May 1. Do not assume you have weeks. Check the effective date the moment you open the envelope and count backward.
Within 90 Days: Standard Hearing Request
If you miss the effective date, you still have 90 days from the date the notice was mailed to request a hearing.4California Department of Social Services. Manual of Policies and Procedures – Division 22 – State Hearing and Request for Review Your hours will drop to the new, reduced level during this period. You can still win and receive retroactive correction, but you will be living with fewer hours in the meantime.
Good Cause Up to 180 Days
If you miss the 90-day window, California law allows a late request when you had a substantial and compelling reason beyond your control for the delay, such as hospitalization or never receiving the notice. Good cause requests cannot be filed more than 180 days after the date on the notice.5California Legislative Information. California Welfare and Institutions Code 10950 Not understanding the deadline, on its own, does not qualify.
How to File the Hearing Request
Three methods are equally valid.6California Department of Social Services. State Hearing Requests
- Online through the CDSS State Hearings Division portal. You will need your case number and the date on your notice.
- By phone at (800) 743-8525. The TDD line is (800) 952-8349.
- By mail. Fill out the NA BACK 9 form on the back of the notice, make a copy for yourself, and send it to California Department of Social Services, State Hearings Division, P.O. Box 944243, Mail Station 9-17-442, Sacramento, CA 94244-2430.
If you mail it, send it certified. That tracking receipt is what proves you filed before the effective date if there is ever a dispute about aid paid pending. If you call or file online, write down every confirmation number.
After the State Hearings Division processes your request, you will get an acknowledgment letter with a hearing case number and the name of the Administrative Law Judge assigned to your file. The letter also identifies the county appeals worker handling your case. Watch your mail.
You do not have to handle any of this alone. California law lets you authorize any person or organization to represent you: a lawyer, a family member, a friend, or a disability rights advocate. Sign a written statement naming your representative, or state it on the record at the hearing itself.4California Department of Social Services. Manual of Policies and Procedures – Division 22 – State Hearing and Request for Review You can limit the scope of the authority or revoke it at any time.
Building Your Case
The Administrative Law Judge does not know your daily life. Your job is to make it visible in enough concrete detail to override the county’s assessment.
Start by requesting your case file. You have the right to review everything in it related to the hearing.7California Department of Social Services. Your Hearing Rights Ask specifically for the SOC 293 assessment form your social worker completed, along with any worker notes from the assessment visit. Those documents show the exact functional rankings the county assigned and the reasoning behind each one, so you know precisely what to rebut.
Then gather medical documentation that speaks to the tasks in dispute, not just your diagnosis in general. If the county cut your paramedical hours, ask your doctor to describe the specific procedures that still require time-consuming assistance. A letter that addresses individual tasks carries far more weight than one that describes a condition in the abstract.
Finally, write a statement of facts. Walk through a typical day. For each disputed task, describe what it actually involves given your physical limitations, how long it takes, and what happens when you do not get enough help. If meal preparation was cut from five hours to two, spell out what meal prep looks like for you. Concrete detail is what separates a winning case from a general complaint.
What Happens at the Hearing
Hearings are scheduled by phone by default. You can request a video conference or an in-person hearing at your county welfare office by contacting the State Hearings Division before your hearing date. If you have a disability, the agency must provide reasonable accommodations, including sign language interpreters, materials in alternative formats, scheduling at a time of day when you function best, and even moving the hearing to your home if you cannot travel.
Before the hearing, the county prepares a written Position Statement explaining its decision and the evidence behind it. You can pick up a copy during business hours in the two working days before your hearing.8California Department of Social Services. General Information Regarding a State Hearing If you do not pick it up early, you will get a copy at the hearing and time to read it, but reading it in advance gives you time to prepare counterarguments.
The hearing is informal compared with a courtroom proceeding, but your procedural rights are substantial. You can present evidence and testimony, bring witnesses, and cross-examine the county’s witnesses. An Administrative Law Judge who was not involved in the original decision presides and weighs the evidence from both sides.9eCFR. 42 CFR Part 431 Subpart E – Fair Hearings for Applicants and Beneficiaries Strict rules of evidence do not apply, so the judge can consider documents and testimony that a regular court might exclude.
The state must issue a final decision within 90 days of receiving your hearing request.9eCFR. 42 CFR Part 431 Subpart E – Fair Hearings for Applicants and Beneficiaries If the decision goes your way, the county must promptly implement corrective action, including retroactive payments for services you were wrongly denied.
If You Disagree With the Decision
You have 30 days from receiving the decision to ask the CDSS Director for a rehearing. The request must be in writing and explain why the original decision was wrong. If you want to present new evidence, describe it, explain why it was not available at the original hearing, and show how it would change the outcome.10California Department of Social Services. Rehearing Review Protocols You may file late with good cause, but no rehearing request will be granted more than 180 days after the decision.
After the administrative process is exhausted, you have one year from the final decision to file a petition for a writ of mandate in California Superior Court. The court reviews the entire administrative record for legal errors. No filing fee is required, and no bond is needed for the petition or any appeal. If you win, you may be awarded reasonable attorney’s fees and costs.11California Legislative Information. California Welfare and Institutions Code 10962 A legal aid organization or disability rights attorney can tell you whether court review makes sense for your situation, especially if the case involves how the county conducted your assessment.