Delivering faster pay at scale for California’s IHSS caregivers

For decades, the California Case Management, Information and Payrolling System (CMIPS) has served as the backbone of the state’s In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program. As enrollment continued to grow and demand intensified, the need for faster, more resilient payroll processing became urgent.

Working in close partnership with the California Department of Social Services (CDSS), we scaled CMIPS to process up to 300,000 timesheets per day — a nearly 90% increase in capacity delivered in just seven months. This improvement reduces payroll processing time by two full days during peak periods, providing more predictable pay for caregivers and enhancing continuity of care for the residents who depend on them.

This milestone reflects the power of sustained partnership, deep program understanding and modernization focused on outcomes that matter to real people across California.

Client and context  

California’s IHSS program enables eligible aged and disabled individuals to remain safely in their homes, supported by caregivers who receive payment through the state’s Case Management, Information and Payrolling System (CMIPS). Administered by the CDSS, the program supports over 850,000 recipients and more than 760,000 caregivers who rely on timely, predictable payments to provide essential care.

We have been a long-standing technology partner to California, delivering end-to-end managed services for CMIPS. We continue to provide comprehensive business process outsourcing and IT services to support efficient, secure and accessible payroll processing. This includes decades of modernization, from cloud migration to digitized timesheets and DevOps automation, supporting over 1.5 million payroll payments each month and more than US$19B in annual disbursements.

The challenge  

For IHSS families, every payment cycle carries significant importance. Caregivers often live paycheck to paycheck, and delays can lead to late rent fees, postponed medical appointments and uncertainty for those they support. Historically, the system’s processing ceiling, approximately 160,000 timesheets per day, struggled to keep pace with IHSS’s average annual enrollment growth of 7%.

This created a series of operational and human impacts:  

• Delays for low-income caregivers, many earning minimum wage  
• Increased financial strain on families relying on uninterrupted care  
• High call volumes and frustration across county offices  
• Heightened scrutiny from legislators and stakeholders  

The state urgently needed faster, more scalable payroll processing that could withstand growth, support future program changes and demonstrate visible modernization.

Our solution  

In close partnership with CDSS, we undertook a targeted, high-impact modernization effort focused on scaling CMIPS to meet the rising needs of the IHSS program. In just seven months, we increased system capacity by 87.5%, enabling processing of up to 300,000 timesheets per day.

This required deep technical optimization, workflow re-engineering and sustained collaboration with program leaders. Enhancements were made across the payroll pipeline to support continuous high-volume, low-latency processing, while maintaining accuracy and stability. The work was delivered without additional cost to the state, reflecting our ongoing commitment to supporting IHSS families.

The improvement directly accelerated payroll turnaround by two full days during peak periods. This was achieved while maintaining the complex program rules that govern IHSS payroll, including varied employer–employee relationships, live-in provider conditions, tax considerations, multi-rate pay periods, daily (not cyclical) payroll processing and coordination with hundreds of external partners.

The result is not only an immediate performance uplift but also a future-ready foundation capable of supporting continued growth in IHSS and adapting to legislative changes.