In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) is a social service that allows people who need long-term care to receive it in the comfort and safety of their own homes. In Lake County, approximately 2,408 IHSS workers provide long-term care services—including household work, personal care services, and paramedical services—to nearly 2,755 older adults and people with disabilities.
Click here to learn more about the essential long-term care IHSS workers provide.
Without our IHSS workers, thousands of our vulnerable neighbors would lose access to essential long-term care. Despite providing critical services, Lake’s IHSS workforce earns just $17.15 an hour, only $0.65 above California’s minimum wage and far below the $22.83 hourly wage needed to cover a single individual’s household expenses in our county.
Lake IHSS workers are joining together to secure a strong contract that not only increases wages and improves benefits for workers but guarantees just, equitable access to long-term care for all who need it in our community.
Campaign Update #1: July 22, 2025
Negotiations on a new contract agreement have finally resumed between IHSS providers and Lake County leadership. At the July 22 Board of Supervisors meeting, SEIU 2015 members noted their previous contract has been expired for more than a year and household costs have only gone up in the meantime.
Bargaining team member Ceva Giumelli said she had to take on IHSS work to stay afloat because her Social security isn’t enough to live on. “Most people retire in other professions–not us.“
Giumelli implored the Board to give IHSS workers a fair contract. “You guys have the power to give us a livable wage so I don’t have to work so hard at 70,” she said.
Roseanne Dimenco, another SEIU 2015 bargaining team member, argued that recipients and providers would benefit from competitive wages that retain good caregivers. “Investing in long-term care is a win-win,” she said.
Dimenco said that family caregivers like her do not only make a positive impact on their families. “IHSS providers in Lake give thousands of older adults and people with disabilities the care they need,” she said. “We save the county millions of dollars by keeping them our of expensive living facilities.“
“This should be a high priority in the county’s budget,” she added.
See more remarks from SEIU 2015 members at the July 22 Lake BOS meeting: