Preliminary Phone Interview

Before you take the time to interview applicants in person, you may want to screen them by telephone. Your “Notice of Action” will describe the job in detail. We suggest you keep it near the telephone during interviews.

During the phone interview, how the applicant responds to your questions may determine whether you ask the applicant for a face-to-face interview. By the end of the phone interview, you should have discussed the basics of the job:

• Days and times the care provider is needed.
• Total hours required.
• Start date.
• Number of hours paid for through IHSS.
• If you have a share of cost, explain how it works and how much you would pay.
• Tasks the care provider will need to perform (review your Notice of Action).
• Length of the job: long term, limited term or temporary.
• Describe special needs if appropriate (for example, lifting or transfers).
• Describe authorized paramedical services that the care provider will need to train to do.
• Describe your pets, if you have any.
• Describe transportation needs if you expect the care provider to provide transportation.
• Explain your practice to cover the cost of mileage or gas reimbursement.
• Let the care provider know if you smoke or use alcohol or illegal drugs.
• Describe required special care, equipment, special diet or cooking.

Set the In-Person Interview

• Do not schedule an interview if the phone interview does not go well. Thank the applicants for calling, even if you feel the person is not qualified for the job. Simply take the person’s phone number, and say, “I am doing other interviews and will get back to you.”
• If an applicant sounds reliable, and you feel comfortable, schedule a face-to-face interview. 
• Give the care provider applicant your name, location of the interview and phone number.
• Request the applicant bring photo identification and two or three references with them (unless already screened by the Registry).

Consumers and care providers are strongly encouraged to tell each other about any health conditions they have that may adversely affect the other’s health. This includes all infectious diseases, including HIV, hepatitis, tuberculosis, MRSA and others. The Registry advises care providers to use Universal Precautions against infectious disease in all cases, whether or not there is disclosure of a medical condition.

Universal Precautions

Care providers must assume that all clients can potentially infect the care provider, regardless of whether an infectious disease has been disclosed. They should use methods of preventing the spread of blood and air-born germs, viruses and parasites. We recommend that care providers follow these Universal Precautions: 

• Wear latex or vinyl gloves when there is a chance of contact with blood or body fluids, including emptying or cleaning a commode, cleaning the bathroom, dealing with dirty laundry or providing personal care.
• Wash hands and other skin surfaces immediately after contamination.
• Clean up blood and body fluid spills promptly, and wear gloves.
• Wear gloves when assisting a client with changing adult diapers, pads, handling bed linen, or doing bowel and bladder care.
• Wear gloves if giving a bed bath.
• Wear gloves when there is possible contact with open sores, burns or hangnails.
• Wash hands with soap and warm water for 20 seconds before preparing or eating food, before and after treating a cut or wound, after handling garbage, after going to the bathroom, and after sneezing, coughing or blowing nose.

The IHSS consumer is to provide gloves to the care provider. The IHSS Public Authority will provide your care provider with a limited supply of disposable gloves, disinfectant wipes and masks upon request.