Clocking In and Out: EVV for SDP Caregivers

If a caregiver is paid with Self-Determination Program (SDP) funds, they clock in and out of every shift with an app. That is Electronic Visit Verification (EVV), and it is a requirement, not a Sentinel Four preference. Here is what it records, how the app works, why there is a $2.50 line on the pay stub, and what to do when someone forgets to clock in.

What EVV is and why it applies to you

Electronic Visit Verification is a system that records, electronically, when a paid caregiver's visit starts and ends. It exists because the services are paid with public funds, and the agencies paying for them want proof that the visit happened. Under SDP, all staff paid with program funds are subject to EVV mandates. That includes a caregiver hired by a family under the Co-Employer or Sole Employer model.

EVV replaces the paper timesheet. Instead of a sheet filled in at the end of the week from memory, the record is made at the moment the shift starts and the moment it ends. That is better for the caregiver, who is paid for the hours actually worked, and better for the family, who approves hours from a record rather than a recollection.

The mandate is program-wide. Which app is used, and how corrections are handled, is up to each Financial Management Service (FMS).

What gets recorded

At clock-in and clock-out, EVV records the time and the location of the caregiver's device. The record is those two timestamps and where the device was at each one, tied to the caregiver and the participant.

The location matters because a home-based visit is expected to start and end at the home, or wherever the plan says the service happens. A community outing that starts at the house and ends at the house looks normal. A clock-in from across town for an in-home shift raises a question, and the family will be asked about it before approving.

The AxisCare app

Sentinel Four uses the AxisCare app. The caregiver installs it on their personal phone, signs in with their own login, and taps to clock in at the start of the shift and clock out at the end. The app builds the week's timesheet from those taps.

Practical habits that prevent most problems:

• Clock in when the shift starts, not when you remember. Same for clocking out.
• Keep location services on for the app.
• Check the timesheet at the end of the week before the family does. A missing shift is easier to fix on Friday than on Monday morning.

The $2.50 device reimbursement

Because the caregiver uses their own phone for work, Sentinel Four reimburses them. As of January 1, 2026, every caregiver who clocks in and out on a personal device receives $2.50 per pay period. With weekly pay that is $10.83 a month, or $130 a year. It applies under the Co-Employer and Sole Employer models.

This is Sentinel Four's response to California Labor Code §2802, which requires employers to reimburse necessary business expenses. The reimbursement appears as a separate, non-taxable line on the pay stub. It is not wages and it does not change the caregiver's hourly rate. The change is described in Sentinel Four 2026 updates.

When a clock-in is missed

A phone dies, or a shift starts in a rush. The record has a gap, and a gap is unpaid time until it is fixed.

What to do:

1. The caregiver tells the family as soon as they notice, with the actual start or end time.
2. The family confirms the time. The family is the supervisor and is the one who can say the shift happened.
3. The family or the caregiver tells the Sentinel Four case manager, who makes the correction so the timesheet is right before the family approves it.

Do this in the same week. Payroll is weekly, with pay periods running Monday through Sunday, so a correction that waits until the following week means the hours are paid a cycle late.

The family still approves the hours

EVV records the hours. It does not approve them. At the end of each pay period the family reviews the timesheet and approves it, and only approved hours are paid. Sentinel Four does not approve hours for a family, and the app does not approve them automatically.

This is the same under both hiring models. The family supervises; the FMS runs payroll. How caregiver payroll works follows the approved timesheet through withholding to the paycheck.

How Sentinel Four handles this

Caregivers on our payroll clock in and out with AxisCare on their own phone and receive the $2.50 per-pay-period reimbursement as its own non-taxable line. Pay is weekly, with paydays every Monday. The family approves hours; your dedicated case manager handles corrections and answers questions about the app, the record or the reimbursement.

New caregivers are set up in AxisCare as part of onboarding, along with their employment documents and wage notice, so the app is ready before the first shift. The payroll service page and the caregiver access page describe what caregivers and families see.