What are Waiver Care Personal Service (WCPS) hours?

Waiver Care Personal Service (WCPS) hours may be available if your child already receives the maximum IHSS hours and still needs in-home care. IHSS can provide a maximum of 283 hours of care per month; WPCS provides additional care for people who need up to 24 hours a day of nursing level care. A child needs to be using all of their authorized IHSS hours before they can be approved for WPCS.

WCPS is only available if your child is on the Home and Community Based Alternatives (HCBA) waiver. A child who doesn’t use the HCBA waiver for institutional deeming can still apply and use the HCBA waiver to access WPCS.

Many families use WPCS care to fill in the gaps of the home nursing system. Families can use a combination of IHSS and WPCS caregivers to take care of a child in cases where they can’t find a nurse. Parents are responsible for training WPCS caregivers on how to take care of their child’s medical needs. WPCS caregivers earn the same rate as IHSS workers, which varies by county.

WPCS can pay parents and legal guardians for taking care of a minor child, but only in limited circumstances.