Main opening
Evening / night
5 p.m.–1 a.m.
$30 per hour
- New staff start here with paid training.
- Home guests, friend-making, meals, and activities.
- Light house cleaning and walks to nearby events.
- Driving is not required for this shift.
Arcata · just blocks from Cal Poly Humboldt
Humboldt Friends Jobs
Help an autistic adult enjoy friendships, shared meals, and local life. Bring patience, curiosity, and care; learn alongside other staff through paid evening training.
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Our main openings come first
Three daily shifts
Main opening
Overnight standby
1 a.m.–9 a.m.
$17.40 per hour standby-only
$30 per hour active support
- May follow evening training if you are a good fit.
- Stay inside the home; wake promptly and respond reliably.
- You may sleep when help is not needed.
- Moving into the room is not required.
Suitable aides may later be approved for full-time live-in work with a private bedroom, rent and utilities included at no charge. Selection, Housing Authority approval, and continued employment are required.
Daytime fill-ins
Day
9 a.m.–5 p.m.
$30 per hour
- Daytime fill-ins welcome.
- Community inclusion, advocacy, safe outings, community outreach, and friend interviews for Humboldt Friends.
- Your own car, valid driver’s license, and appropriate insurance are required.
- Required work expenses, including work use of the car, are reimbursed.
- Current funded schedule
- 24 hours a day, seven days a week.Coverage is shared across staff.
- Initial hiring
- Part-time until a permanent aide is chosen.Individual shifts are agreed separately.
- Location
- ArcataJust blocks from Cal Poly Humboldt.
- Payroll
- Every two weeksMAINSL, the Financial Management Services (FMS) provider, handles payroll and payments.
Recording pay
- Active direct-support work is paid at $30 per hour during any shift.
- Standby and direct-support time are recorded separately. The two rates are not added together for the same time.
- Overtime is paid when required by law.
Shared duties
Support daily life and friend-making
About the person
- An intelligent, playful, and goofy autistic adult.
- Enjoys advocacy, patterns and data, different cultures, and the arts.
- All shifts can expect silly humor. Respect everyone’s boundaries.
- Other staff help with training, coordination, and emergencies.
On every shift
- Respect the participant’s choices, privacy, dignity, and independence.
- Help with friend-making and participant-approved invitations for meals and activities.
- Follow prescribed instructions for medication, observation of medical events, diet, and occasional doctor-prescribed activities.
- Stay within your training and authorization; ask before unfamiliar medical-support tasks.
- Coordinate with staff; contact emergency services when needed.
Make local life more welcoming
- Enjoy the fun of friend-making, shared meals, local outings, and activities.
- Help the participant build meaningful local connections through the Humboldt Friends project, guided by their interests and choices.
- Help promote Humboldt Friends by sharing community activities and opportunities to connect. Respect the participant’s privacy.
MAINSL timekeeping checks location when you clock in and out; it does not continuously track you.
Room and household
Standby and living in are separate
Standby shifts now
- You can work agreed shifts without moving in.
- Taking standby shifts does not guarantee a permanent live-in role.
Room use and a future live-in aide
- The room is available to fill-in aides until a full-time aide is chosen.
- Moving in requires Housing Authority approval and continued aide work.
- It is not a regular room rental or a separate lease.
Included with approved room use
- Unfurnished private bedroom and shared bathroom.
- Rent, utilities, and high-speed Wi-Fi.
- Kitchen and laundry access.
Food storage: included / not included
- Refrigerator space — included: The two bottom refrigerator bins and the bottom shelf for the aide’s personal food.
- Freezer space — not included.
- Kitchen storage — included: One kitchen storage bin.
- Meals or groceries — not included.
- Clearly label these refrigerator spaces and their food “Live-in aide — personal food” so staff do not use it for the client.
Access and parking
- Just blocks from Cal Poly Humboldt. About one block from the pedestrian overpass; stairs are required.
- No dedicated parking space is included.
- City of Arcata caregiver parking permits are available, subject to City approval. Permit requirements and how to apply.
- A permit does not reserve a space. Street parking can be difficult and time-limited during the day.
- Daytime work requires a vehicle. Evening and overnight standby work do not.
Photos of the private bedroom
Select any photo to open a larger view. The room is shown unfurnished.
Household and work rules
- Staff guests may visit only after approval through the Humboldt Friends social circle (Friend Circle) application and vetting process, and with the participant’s agreement to the visit.
- No pets.
- Keep tobacco smoke, vapor, and residue out of the home.
- No electric space heaters.
- No marijuana or other federally prohibited substances in the home.
- No alcohol during paid hours; do not work impaired.
- Supervising staff must be present during move-in and move-out.
Experience
Reliability matters more than experience
Not required to apply
- Prior caregiving or autism-support experience.
- A résumé or references.
- CPR or first-aid certification.
- A vehicle or driver’s license for evening or standby shifts.
Working together
- Listen to the participant, respect their choices, and ask when instructions are unclear.
- Regular staff should intend to stay at least a year; fill-ins are welcome.
- The one-year intention is not a fixed term or an employment or housing guarantee.
Hiring steps
From PIN request to paid training
- Request a PIN. Introduce yourself and choose the shifts that interest you. Your application PIN will be emailed automatically.
- Complete the application and assessment. Use your emailed PIN. Short answers are fine.
- Meet locally. Qualified applicants meet at a Humboldt County coffee shop.
- Complete post-offer requirements. DDS criminal-background clearance, MAINSL payroll setup, and employment paperwork assigned under the selected FMS model.
- Start with paid evening training. At least 24 hours of paid training and supervised evening work at $30 per hour.
- Get room approval if moving in. Final Section 8 live-in-aide approval is required before moving in.
Clearance and fee details
- After a conditional job offer, arrange Live Scan fingerprinting at Arcata Police Department. An appointment is required.
- DDS clearance uses California Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) checks.
- Mains’l’s SDP FAQ states that the person providing care is responsible for the background-check cost.
- Paid work begins only after DDS criminal-background clearance and MAINSL payroll onboarding are complete.
- The separate Housing Authority approval process has no charge.
Apply
Request a PIN or use the one you have
- Need a PIN? Give your name, which shifts interest you, and whether you currently live in Humboldt County.
- Your PIN is emailed automatically; hiring staff receive a copy. A PIN does not guarantee a job, hours, or housing.
- Already have a PIN? Enter it in the application for contact details, shift choices, availability, and the assessment.
- The application requires the name you use, phone number, and email address, each entered twice.
- Need a disability-related accommodation? Use the application-help field or contact form. Requesting an accommodation will not affect employment consideration. No diagnosis is needed.
Application privacy and what not to send
- An authorized person reviews your answers. There is no automatic scoring, ranking, hiring, or rejection.
- Do not send Social Security numbers, banking details, identity documents, criminal or salary history, or personal medical information.
- No application payment is requested. Read the Application Privacy Notice before submitting.
- Day-shift license and insurance checks happen later; do not upload those documents with your application.
Employment and program information
This is employee work, not independent-contractor work. Humboldt Friends is not the employer or a staffing agency.
Hiring priorities and page clarity updated October 11, 2026. Availability, authorizations, and scheduling may change.
Program, schedule changes, and official sources
- The participant directs services and schedules staff through their person-centered IPP, budget, and RCRC-certified spending plan.
- DDS sets statewide policy and program standards; Redwood Coast Regional Center (RCRC) implements the program locally.
- MAINSL handles payroll, payments, budget monitoring, and the employment paperwork assigned to it under the selected FMS model.
- The FMS does not determine support needs, authorize service hours, or control the participant’s budget or spending plan.
- How the schedule may change: Hours and assignments may change with support needs; the current funded schedule is not a permanent guarantee.
- The participant works with the IPP team and RCRC on required budget, spending-plan, or service-authorization updates. RCRC sends required authorizations to MAINSL.
- If DDS later withdraws direct-care clearance, that work must stop. The Housing Authority separately decides whether the person remains eligible to live in the room.