Severely Impaired (SI)
What it means in California's IHSS program, in plain English.
The finding that decides whether your monthly IHSS ceiling is 283 hours or 195. Under MPP 30-701(s)(1) you are severely impaired if you have a total assessed need of 20 or more hours per week across non-medical personal services, meal preparation, meal clean-up (only where meal preparation and feeding are both required), and paramedical services. Housework, laundry, shopping and accompaniment do not count toward the 20; need met outside IHSS, such as at an adult day program, does. It counts assessed need rather than authorized hours. You can check which applies to you from the starred box in the lower middle of your Notice of Action. Severely impaired: 283 hours a month (WIC 12303.4(b)(1), MPP 30-765.111). Non-severely impaired: 195 (WIC 12303.4(a)(1), MPP 30-765.121). Protective Supervision counts inside that ceiling, not on top of it.
Read the full guide
Official program information: CDSS — In-Home Supportive Services. Definitions here are IHSSHours.com's plain-English explanations, not the regulatory text.
