Connecticut · waiver service
Adult Family Living (AFL) in Connecticut
Adult Family Living is a Medicaid waiver service in Connecticut that pays a live-in caregiver to give daily personal care and supervision to an older adult or an adult with a disability in a private home. The caregiver works under a sponsoring agency that supervises the care and passes on a stipend. A relative such as an adult child can be the caregiver, but a spouse or another legally liable relative cannot.
Also called: AFL · Adult Family Living · adult foster care Connecticut · Adult Family Living-Foster Care · CT AFL caregiver stipend
Who do you care for?
Quick facts
- Pay
- up to about $500/week
- Adult children & other relatives
- Yes
- Spouse
- Not right now
- Parent of a minor child
- Not right now
- Waitlist
- possible
Who qualifies for AFL
- Enrolled in the Connecticut Home Care Program for Elders (CHCPE) Medicaid waiver (age 65+) or the Personal Care Assistance (PCA) waiver (adults 18–64 with physical disabilities).
- Meets Medicaid financial rules for that waiver (for the elder waiver, income up to 300% of the SSI federal benefit rate is reported as $2,982/month in 2026).
- Needs help with daily activities: AFL has four levels, from daily supervision and cueing (Level 1) up to hands-on help with 4 or more activities of daily living (Level 4).
- Lives in a private home with the principal caregiver; no more than 4 AFL participants may live in one home.
Who can be paid as the caregiver
- Adult children & other relatives Yes
- the waiver says the direct caregiver may be a relative as long as they are not a legally liable relative, so adult children, siblings, nieces and nephews and other relatives can qualify.
- Spouse Not right now
- spouses are legally liable relatives and are excluded from being the paid AFL caregiver.
- Parent of a minor child Not right now
- AFL serves adults only; legally liable relatives and guardians are excluded.
- Living together
- the principal caregiver must live in the home, which can be either the caregiver's home or the participant's home.
Who employs the caregiver: Agency. A DSS-approved AFL provider agency recruits or accepts the family caregiver, trains and supervises them, bills Medicaid, and pays the caregiver.
Spouse rules differ by program — see spouse pay in Connecticut.
How much AFL pays
up to about $500/week. DSS pays the AFL agency a rate based on the participant's assessed level (Levels 1–4); the agency pays the caregiver a stipend. DSS does not publish the caregiver's share. Third-party and agency sources report stipends up to roughly $500 per week (about $2,400/month), often described as tax-free. Room and board are not paid by Medicaid.
Hours and budget: AFL is a daily (per diem) service, not hourly. The care manager's assessment of activities of daily living, instrumental activities, and cognitive or behavioral needs sets the level (1–4), and the level sets the payment. Separate homemaker or chore services are not paid on top of AFL.
Compare with other Connecticut programs on the Connecticut caregiver pay page, or across states in pay rates by state.
Is there a waitlist?
AFL is only available to people already enrolled in a waiver. The Medicaid-funded elder waiver and the PCA waiver both have participant caps, and the PCA waiver keeps a waiting list ordered by application date when the cap is reached.
How to apply for AFL
- Call the DSS Community Options line at 1-800-445-5394 (or 860-424-4904, option 4, in the Hartford area) or submit an online CHCPE referral to start a waiver application.
- A nurse or social worker screens by phone, then a care manager visits the home to assess needs and financial eligibility.
- Ask the care manager for Adult Family Living and choose an approved AFL agency; the agency screens and trains the family caregiver.
- Once the plan of care is approved, the agency begins paying the caregiver for each day of care.
- CT DSS Community Options / Home Care Program for Elders · 1-800-445-5394 · official site
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AFL questions
Can I get paid through Adult Family Living to care for my mother in Connecticut?
Yes, if your mother is on the Home Care Program for Elders waiver (or the PCA waiver), you live with her, and you work through an approved AFL agency. Adult children are allowed; only spouses and other legally liable relatives are excluded.
Can a spouse be paid under AFL?
No. The waiver excludes legally liable relatives, which includes spouses and guardians. Advocates asked the legislature in 2024 to allow spouses, but the waiver still excludes them.
How much does Adult Family Living pay?
DSS does not publish the caregiver's stipend. The agency is paid a daily rate based on one of four care levels, and caregivers report receiving up to about $500 per week. Ask each agency what share it pays the caregiver.
Does the caregiver have to live with the person?
Yes. AFL is for a principal caregiver who lives in the home. The home can belong to either the caregiver or the person receiving care.
Is AFL the same as Community First Choice?
No. AFL is a live-in, agency-supervised daily stipend. Community First Choice is self-directed hourly personal care where the member hires and schedules their own attendant.
Sources: portal.ct.gov · portal.ct.gov · medicaid.gov · cga.ct.gov · payingforseniorcare.com · Updated 2026-10-08. Program rules change — always confirm with the program.
Where most Connecticut caregivers are
Counties with the most residents aged 65 and older. The rules are the same everywhere in Connecticut — pick yours for the local picture.
Across the line
States that border Connecticut
Each state writes its own rules, and they differ more than people expect — a spouse who can be paid on one side of the line often cannot be on the other.