If you searched for “PASC registry,” you probably need a caregiver, and you probably need one soon. The Personal Assistance Services Council (PASC) is the IHSS public authority for Los Angeles County, and its Homecare Registry has been matching recipients with providers since July 2002. It is free, it is real, and it has helped a lot of people.
It also still works the way it did in 2002: you apply, staff build a list, and you receive up to five names to call.
IHSS Connect was built because families deserve better than waiting on a list. Here is exactly how the two compare, using PASC’s own published rules, and the 12 places where IHSS Connect simply does more.
The registry sends you a list. IHSS Connect hands you the search.
- PASC registry: apply first, then receive up to five names, during weekday business hours.
- IHSS Connect: search every listed caregiver near you, any hour, with no application.
- Both are free. Free is not the difference. Speed, reach and tools are.
- You can use both. Request a list in the morning and search tonight.
IHSS Connect is not part of PASC, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services, or any county public authority. This is our platform, and we are telling you why we think it is better. Every fact about PASC below comes from PASC's own website, linked in Sources, so you can check it yourself.
How the PASC Homecare Registry works
PASC publishes its registry rules on its website. As of October 5, 2026, here is the process for a recipient who needs a provider:
- Be a current L.A. County IHSS recipientThe registry is only for people already receiving IHSS in Los Angeles County.
- File three formsA Registry Application, a Rights, Responsibilities and Release Agreement, and an IHSS Information Release Form, by phone or online.
- Wait for a referral reportStaff match on your needs, location and schedule, then send up to five provider names.
- Call each name yourselfYou contact, interview and choose. Registry phones: Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Source: PASC Homecare Registry page, pascla.org, checked October 5, 2026.
PASC also ran an online Job Bank where recipients could browse provider listings and ask for contact information. It is closed until further notice (a/o October 2026). When it was open, listings went up Monday at noon, closed Wednesday at noon, replies could take 72 hours, and each person was limited to five referrals.
PASC is not unusual. That is the problem.
State law requires every county’s IHSS public authority or nonprofit consortium to run a registry, screen providers through the California Department of Justice, and refer providers to recipients (Welfare and Institutions Code §12301.6). Most registries run on the same model: you contact staff, staff build a list, the list arrives. Sacramento County says lists usually go out within three working days, and you must already be authorized for IHSS hours. Merced County mails its lists within five to seven business days.
PASC registry vs. IHSS Connect, side by side
Same goal, very different experience. The green column is IHSS Connect.
| PASC Homecare Registry | IHSS Connect | |
|---|---|---|
| Who can use it | Current IHSS recipients in L.A. County only | Anyone in California looking for in-home care: IHSS, WPCS, respite and more |
| How you start | Three forms, then wait for staff | Search right away; free account to view full profiles |
| How many caregivers you see | Up to five names per referral report | Every caregiver listed in your search area |
| When it is available | Phones Mon–Fri, 8 a.m.–5 p.m. | Any time, any day |
| What you know before you call | A name and contact information | Profile with experience, services, availability, certifications and recommendations |
| First contact | You phone strangers from a list | Private in-site messaging; share your number when ready |
| Can caregivers find you? | No. The online Job Bank is closed until further notice | Yes. Post a job and caregivers apply |
| County lines | L.A. County only | Search radius up to 100 miles, across county lines |
| Website languages | 10 in the site translator | 17, automatic translation |
| Background checks | County DOJ fingerprint check; PASC also reviews registry providers’ criminal records | County DOJ check still required to get paid, plus an optional Checkr badge you can see on the profile, renewed every two years |
| Cost | Free | Free |
PASC details from pascla.org, checked October 5, 2026. Registries differ by county; PASC is the Los Angeles County public authority.
12 ways IHSS Connect goes further
1. Every caregiver near you, not five names
A registry decides which five people you get to call. IHSS Connect shows you everyone listed in your search area and lets you decide. On October 5, 2026, a search for Los Angeles at a 25-mile radius showed 587 caregivers.
The 587 figure is what the IHSS Connect search page showed for Los Angeles at a 25-mile radius on October 5, 2026. The count changes daily as caregivers join, update or leave. A listed caregiver is not necessarily available for your schedule or already enrolled as an IHSS provider.
2. Start in minutes, with no application
No application form, no release agreement, no waiting for a callback. You can see how many caregivers are near you without an account. A free account lets you open full profiles and send messages.
3. Open when you are
The PASC registry answers phones on weekdays during business hours. Care gaps do not keep office hours. When a provider quits on a Friday night, you can be searching and messaging caregivers on IHSS Connect before Monday morning.
4. Filter for what actually matters to you
Narrow your search by program, distance, language, gender preference, driver’s license, tasks, experience, age group served, certifications, availability and more. You can also sort by background-checked caregivers, recommendations from other users, or who was active most recently.
- Verified (background-checked) caregivers
- Recommended by other users
- Recently active
- IHSS
- WPCS
- Respite care
- Driver's license
- Distance: 10, 25, 50 or 100 miles
- Gender preference
- Language
- Tasks
- Work experience
- Recipient's age group
- Certifications and licenses
- Availability
- Profile completeness
Filter labels as shown on ihssconnect.com/search, October 5, 2026.
5. Read the profile before you pick up the phone
A referral list gives you a name and a phone number. An IHSS Connect profile shows a caregiver’s experience, services, availability, location and certifications before you ever reach out, plus thumbs-up recommendations from other users.
6. Talk privately first
IHSS Connect has built-in, real-time messaging. You can ask questions and get a feel for someone without handing over your phone number, email or address. Share contact information when you are ready, not before.
7. Caregivers can find you, too
Post a job describing your care needs, schedule and location, and caregivers can apply to you directly. With PASC’s online Job Bank closed, its registry runs in one direction: staff send you names.
8. County lines do not stop the search
County registries serve their own county. IHSS Connect searches by distance, from 10 to 100 miles, across county lines. That matters for families in places like Lancaster near the Kern County line, Pomona near San Bernardino County, or Long Beach next to Orange County, and it matters even more in rural areas where the nearest available caregiver may live in the next county.
9. Built for more than IHSS
The PASC registry is only for current L.A. County IHSS recipients. IHSS Connect serves IHSS, Waiver Personal Care Services (WPCS), respite care and other in-home care needs. That includes regional center families looking for respite. How a caregiver gets paid depends on the program, never on IHSS Connect.
10. An optional extra background check, renewed every two years
Caregivers can choose to complete a background check through Checkr and display a badge on their profile. The caregiver pays for it, it costs families nothing, and the badge stays for two years before the caregiver has to renew it. You can filter your search to show only background-checked caregivers, and caregivers can share the full report with you through messaging.
The badge means one thing: the caregiver completed a Checkr background check in the last two years. It is not an approval by IHSS Connect, and it does not replace the county's California Department of Justice fingerprint check, which every IHSS provider must pass before IHSS can pay them. Think of it as an extra layer you can see before you ever meet.
11. Seventeen languages and built-in accessibility tools
IHSS Connect runs in 17 languages, including Spanish, Armenian, Chinese, Korean, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Russian, Persian, Khmer and Hmong. Translation is automatic, and the language switcher sits in the bottom-left corner of every page. The UserWay accessibility tool in the bottom-right corner offers display and reading adjustments. PASC’s website translator lists 10 languages.
12. Answers in the same place you search
IHSS Connect publishes plain-language guides on IHSS hours, fair hearings, Medi-Cal renewals, protective supervision, paramedical services and more in its free Resource Library. Find a caregiver and understand your case in one place.
Even the registries say the list model is hard
You do not have to take our word for it. In January 2020, the California Association of Public Authorities for IHSS (CAPA), the statewide group of the agencies that run these registries, told the state that consumers get frustrated with registries. CAPA pointed to waits between asking for a list and receiving it, providers on the list who do not return calls, are not taking new clients or do not show up to interviews, and real difficulty finding providers in rural areas, for low-hour cases, and for people who need a specific language.
CAPA’s data from March 2019 showed 75,679 consumers had requested registry services, with 24,920 providers on registry lists. CAPA’s own conclusion was that registries need more providers and more tools to recruit them.
These are the most recent statewide registry numbers we could find. They come from the California Association of Public Authorities for IHSS (CAPA), collected in March 2019 from public authorities in 37 of California's 58 counties, and submitted to the state in January 2020. They are not current, and they do not cover every county.
What a county registry still does that we don’t
We would rather you trust us than just like us, so here is the other side. County registries do some things IHSS Connect is not designed to do:
- Registry caregivers are already enrolled. They have finished county IHSS enrollment, including the Department of Justice background check and orientation. A caregiver you find on IHSS Connect may not have done that yet.
- Some registries screen further. Santa Cruz and Sacramento interview registry applicants and check references. Riverside requires registry applicants to pass a drug and alcohol test. PASC reviews registry providers’ criminal records.
- A person on the phone. If you do not use the internet, a registry worker can take your request by phone and help you think through hiring.
- Back-up help. PASC lists back-up programs that can send a temporary provider for an urgent gap, using IHSS hours you already have.
The Governor proposed ending California's statewide IHSS Backup Provider System in the 2026-27 budget. IHSS Connect's budget coverage found the final budget kept it, and PASC's back-up page was still live as of October 5, 2026. Call PASC at 877-565-4477 to confirm what is available before you count on it.
Our honest advice: use both. Request a registry list in the morning and search IHSS Connect tonight. Nothing about one stops you from using the other, and state law lets you hire someone the registry did not refer to you.
From search to a paid caregiver
Finding the right person is the first step. Getting them paid takes a few more, and they are the same no matter where you found your caregiver.
IHSS cannot pay a caregiver until they finish county provider enrollment. That includes a California Department of Justice criminal background check with fingerprints and a provider orientation. Finding someone on IHSS Connect is the start, not the finish. Ask early whether they are already an enrolled IHSS provider.
- Search and message. Search IHSS Connect and message caregivers who fit. You can request a registry list the same day.
- Interview and check. Talk by phone or meet. Ask for references, and ask whether they have a background check report to share.
- Decide and hire. You are the employer. Hiring, schedules and arrangements happen between you and the caregiver, not through IHSS Connect.
- Caregiver enrolls with the county. If they are not already an IHSS provider, they complete enrollment, including the fingerprint check and orientation.
- Pay runs through the program. IHSS, WPCS or respite pays the caregiver through that program. IHSS Connect never handles pay.
- 1Search and messageSearch IHSS Connect and message caregivers who fit. You can also request a registry list the same day.
- 2Interview and checkTalk by phone or meet. Ask for references, and ask whether they have a background check report to share.
- 3Decide and hireYou are the employer. All hiring, schedules and arrangements happen between you and the caregiver, not through IHSS Connect.
- 4Caregiver enrolls with the countyIf they are not already an IHSS provider, they complete enrollment, including the fingerprint check and orientation.
- 5Pay runs through the programIHSS, WPCS or respite pays the caregiver through that program. IHSS Connect never handles pay.
Start your search tonight
The registry will send you a list. IHSS Connect lets you look at everyone, read their profiles, and start a private conversation in the next few minutes, for free, wherever you live in California.
Your next caregiver is already searchable.
See every caregiver listed near you, read their profiles, and message them privately. Free for families and caregivers in all 58 counties.
Caregiver looking for work? Browse job posts.
Sources
- PASC — Homecare RegistryRegistry eligibility, three required forms, up-to-five-name referral report, matching criteria, review of provider criminal records, operating since July 2002, business hours, phone number.
- PASC — Recipient Job BankJob Bank closed until further notice; Monday–Wednesday posting window, 72-hour response time and five-referral limit when open; definition of Ready-to-Work providers.
- PASC — Back-Up ProgramBUAP and BUPS back-up programs, hours come from existing IHSS hours, 80-hour annual BUPS limit; page live as of October 5, 2026.
- California Welfare and Institutions Code §12301.6 (California.Public.Law)Every public authority or nonprofit consortium must run a registry, investigate provider backgrounds through the Department of Justice, run a referral system and provide training; recipients may hire providers not referred by the registry.
- California Association of Public Authorities for IHSS — Recommendations for the Master Plan for Aging (Jan. 17, 2020)Public authorities in 56 of 58 counties; registry wait times and unresponsive providers; rural and language matching difficulty; March 2019 figures (75,679 consumers, 24,920 registry providers, 37 counties).
- Sacramento County IHSS Public Authority — Registry ConsumersMust already be authorized for IHSS; lists usually sent within three working days.
- Sacramento County IHSS Public Authority — Provider RegistrySeparate registry application, interview, training and orientation for registry providers.
- Merced County — IHSS Public AuthorityRegistry lists mailed within 5–7 business days.
- Santa Cruz County — IHSS Public Authority Provider RegistryRegistry providers are screened, interviewed and reference-checked; recipients request lists by phone.
- Riverside County IHSS — IHSS ProviderLive Scan DOJ background check and orientation for all new providers; drug and alcohol test for registry applicants.
- CDSS — How to Become an IHSS ProviderProviders must complete every enrollment step before they can be enrolled and paid.
- IHSS Connect — Caregiver searchSearch filters and the 587-caregiver count within 25 miles of Los Angeles (October 5, 2026).
- IHSS Connect — Home pagePrograms served (IHSS, WPCS, respite), 17 languages, private messaging, job posting tool, free to use.
- IHSS Connect — How to ConnectCaregiver and family sign-up steps; hiring and program enrollment happen offline.
- IHSS Connect — Background Check InformationOptional Checkr check paid by the caregiver; badge lasts two years; what the badge does and does not mean; sharing reports through messaging.
- IHSS Connect — Is California Cutting IHSS? What the 2026-27 Budget Actually DecidedFinal 2026-27 budget kept the IHSS Backup Provider System.
PASC’s own website is the authority for every statement about the PASC registry. State law (W&I Code §12301.6) governs what every county registry must do; where a county page and the statute differ, the statute governs.
About this article
IHSS Connect publishes this article for general information and education. It is not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney–client relationship. IHSS Connect is not a law firm and is not affiliated with the California Department of Social Services, the Personal Assistance Services Council (PASC), any county public authority, or any county agency. IHSS Connect is our own platform, and this article compares it with a service we do not run.
Registry rules, programs and phone hours change. Only your county IHSS office can decide what you are eligible for and whether a provider is enrolled and eligible to be paid.
If a decision on your case looks wrong, or you want advice about your own situation, talk to someone who can look at your file:
- Free and low-cost legal help: LawHelpCA.org
- CDSS Public Inquiry and Response: 1-800-952-5253
- PASC Homecare Registry (Los Angeles County): 877-565-4477
Registry details and IHSS Connect features verified October 2026.
