Medicaid family caregiver programs: how every state pays family

What is a Medicaid family caregiver program?

A Medicaid family caregiver program is any Medicaid benefit that lets the person receiving care choose a relative as their paid caregiver. There's no single federal program with that name. Instead, each state offers home care through its Medicaid plan and waivers, and most of them include a self-directed option where the member hires their own worker — and that worker can be family.

So a Medicaid caregiver program in one state might be called Home Help, in another Consumer Directed Services, and in a third Structured Family Caregiving. The label changes; the idea doesn't. Your relative qualifies, a needs assessment sets the hours, and you are paid as a Medicaid paid caregiver — a state-paid caregiver for a family member — through a payroll agency or the state itself.

People search for this in many ways: family caregiver program, caregiver program, family caregiving program, relative caregiver program, government caregiver program or state caregiver program. On state forms you may even see the paid relative called a Medicaid caretaker, attendant, personal assistant or individual provider. It's all the same benefit.

Does Medicaid pay for family caregivers?

Yes. When people ask whether they can go about getting paid as a caregiver by Medicaid, the answer in every state is yes, as long as the person needing care qualifies and the program allows that relationship. Medicaid pays for family caregivers through two main models:

• Hourly, self-directed care. The member is the employer, hires you, and you log hours. Examples: CDPAP in New York, IHSS in California, Michigan Home Help, Missouri CDS. This is consumer-directed care.
• A daily stipend for a live-in caregiver. You live with the member and an agency pays you a set amount per day. Example: Structured Family Caregiving in Georgia, Indiana, Ohio and other states.

In both models a Medicaid in-home caregiver who is a relative is paid the same rate as anyone else. The limits are on which relatives can be paid — mainly spouses and parents of minor children.

The federal basis is Medicaid's self-directed services options, which give members "employer authority" over their worker and sometimes "budget authority" over the care budget.

Government assistance for family caregivers

Medicaid is the largest source of government assistance for family caregivers, because it's the only one that pays wages for ongoing care. But it isn't the only help. Here's the full picture of government assistance for caregivers:

If Medicaid isn't an option yet, read family caregiver support programs and respite care for help that doesn't depend on it. For most families, a caregiver paid by the state through Medicaid is the answer.

Programs that pay family caregivers, state by state

This table lists the programs that pay family caregivers in every state and DC. Each row links to that state's full caregiver program page, with pay, rules and how to apply.

Looking for caregiver programs near me, as many people type it? Start with your relative's state above, then the county page — for example Los Angeles County, Brooklyn (Kings County) or Maricopa County — which lists local offices and agencies.

Who qualifies for a Medicaid caregiver program

Two people have to qualify: the person receiving care, and you.

The person receiving care

• Medicaid eligibility. Long-term care Medicaid has its own income and asset rules, often more generous than standard Medicaid.
• Care needs. Usually help with at least one or two activities of daily living — bathing, dressing, eating, toileting, moving around — or a nursing-home level of care for waiver programs.
• Living at home. In a house, apartment or your home, not a facility.

The family caregiver

• Usually 18 or older, legally able to work in the US, and able to pass a background check.
• Not a relationship the program excludes — most often a spouse, a parent of a minor child, or the member's own legal representative.
• Some programs require a short orientation, CPR or aide training. Live-in programs require you to share a home.

Want the step-by-step version? Read how to become a paid caregiver for a family member.

Can a spouse be paid? Rules in every state

Spouses are the relationship Medicaid restricts most. In 16 states a spouse can be paid, in 20 only under certain programs, and in 15 not at all. New York, Pennsylvania, Texas and Massachusetts are among the states that don't allow it; Wisconsin, Oregon, Colorado and Minnesota do.

Where spouses are barred from the hourly program, a live-in stipend program sometimes allows them — Missouri's and Nevada's Structured Family Caregiving waivers are examples. Each state's spousal caregiver page spells out the exceptions.

Florida and Georgia caregiver programs

Florida caregiver program

The Florida Medicaid caregiver program most families use is the Participant Directed Option inside Statewide Medicaid Managed Care Long-Term Care. There's also Consumer Directed Care Plus (CDC+) for people with developmental disabilities, and a Family Home Health Aide program that pays a trained parent $25 an hour for a medically complex child. So if you're a caregiver in Florida searching for a Florida family caregiver program, those are the three names to know.

The catch: Florida's long-term care program is not an entitlement. The waitlist is ranked by a frailty score, not by how long you've waited. That makes the phone screening that sets the score important. Full details are on the Florida caregiver program page, and county pages such as Miami-Dade and Broward list local contacts. Searches for "family caregiver program Florida" or "Medicaid caregiver program Florida" lead to the same programs.

Georgia caregiver program

The main Georgia Medicaid caregiver program for a relative who lives with the member is Structured Family Caregiving, which pays a daily stipend reported at about $1,987 to $2,400 a month by care level. Georgia also offers self-directed care in CCSP and SOURCE, the NOW and COMP waivers for people with developmental disabilities, and GAPP for medically fragile children. If you're a caregiver in Georgia, the Georgia caregiver program page covers each — and our Structured Family Caregiving guide explains the stipend. A Medicaid caregiver program Georgia families often overlook is SOURCE, which generally has no waitlist for people on SSI.

Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Missouri and Illinois

Ohio family caregiver program options include the PASSPORT Waiver's self-directed care, Next Generation MyCare and Structured Family Caregiving; spouses can be paid. See the Ohio caregiver program.

Michigan Home Help is the state's core program. The Home Help program Michigan runs pays an individual caregiver — who can be an adult child or other relative, though not a spouse — directly through MDHHS after a caseworker assessment, at $17.13 an hour from January 2026. For home care, Michigan pays through Home Help; for skilled home health care Michigan Medicaid also covers agency nursing, and a home health aide Michigan agencies employ can be a family member in some cases. See Michigan's caregiver program and Wayne County.

The Indiana family caregiver program most families know is Structured Family Caregiving: a live-in, tax-free daily stipend. A paid family caregiver Indiana approves can also work as an attendant under the PathWays and Health & Wellness waivers — but those waivers have had waitlists since 2024. For in-home care Indiana details, see the Indiana caregiver program and Marion County.

The main Missouri caregiver program is Consumer Directed Services, an entitlement with no waitlist, plus a small Structured Family Caregiving waiver for people with dementia. For Missouri home health care and at-home care: Missouri families start with an in-home assessment from the state's senior and disability services division. More at the Missouri caregiver program.

An Illinois caregiver program means either the Community Care Program (seniors) or the Home Services Program (people with disabilities). Someone asking for a "list of home care agencies in Illinois" is usually better served by starting with the program, since it decides which agencies are paid. See Illinois.

Colorado family caregivers: CDASS, IHSS and parent CNA

Colorado is one of the most flexible states. Colorado family caregivers can be paid through CDASS (the member hires and directs their own attendant), through Colorado's own program named IHSS, or — for parents of children with high needs — by becoming a certified nursing assistant paid through a home health agency. Spouses can be paid.

So a Colorado paid family caregiver usually works in one of those three routes, and a paid caregiver for family member Colorado approves earns roughly $17 to $20 an hour, with the floor set by the state and Denver minimum wages. Any family caregiver program Colorado offers starts with the local Case Management Agency and enrollment in Health First Colorado (Medicaid). For home health care: Colorado Medicaid also covers skilled agency care, which is where the parent CNA pathway sits.

Families who search "family caregiver act Colorado" are often thinking of Colorado's paid family and medical leave program (FAMLI), which can replace part of your wages for up to 12 weeks while you care for a relative with a serious health condition. It's leave, not caregiver pay. Others search "Colorado family caregivers address" looking for an office; the right door is the Case Management Agency for your county, listed on each county page like Denver or El Paso County.

Every Colorado caregiver route and rule is on the Colorado caregiver program page. For the parent CNA pathway, see paid parent caregivers. If you're a family caregiver: Colorado is a state where spouses and parents both have a path.

Connecticut, New Jersey, Maryland, Massachusetts and Rhode Island

Connecticut

The CT caregiver program families ask about is a mix: Community First Choice and the PCA Waiver for self-directed care, the CT Home Care Program for Elders, and Adult Family Living, which pays a live-in caregiver. A CT family caregiver program search usually lands on one of these; spouses can't be paid. The family caregiver program CT runs for live-in relatives, Adult Family Living, reports about $500 a week. For CT home care details and caregivers: Connecticut rules, see the Connecticut caregiver program.

New Jersey

The NJ family caregiver program under Medicaid is the Personal Preference Program, which gives the member a monthly budget to hire the caregiver of their choice — including a spouse. For seniors who aren't on Medicaid, New Jersey also runs Jersey Assistance for Community Caregiving (JACC), a state-funded program for people 60 and older who need a nursing-home level of care. JACC pays for services like home care, respite and adult day care, with an income-based copay. See the New Jersey caregiver program.

Maryland

A Maryland caregiver program means Community First Choice, Community Personal Assistance Services or the Community Options Waiver — all of which let a participant hire a relative, and spouses can be paid. People who search "home care agencies in Maryland" or in-home care Maryland often don't realise the member can hire family directly. See Maryland.

Massachusetts

A paid caregiver Massachusetts approves works through the MassHealth PCA program (hourly, self-hired) or Adult Foster Care, which pays a live-in caregiver: Massachusetts families use it for parents who move in. Spouses can't be paid in either. Any caregiver: Massachusetts or family caregiver Massachusetts question starts at the Massachusetts caregiver program.

Rhode Island

The RI caregiver program is the Personal Choice Program, where the member hires and manages their own caregiver, plus the Independent Provider Program. See consumer-directed care and Rhode Island.

Oregon, California, Texas, Virginia and other states

Oregon home care for family runs through the Consumer-Employed Provider program, the Independent Choices Program and a Spousal Pay Program. The Oregon caregiver program pays $20 to $24.10 an hour and spouses can be paid. See Oregon.

A California caregiver program almost always means IHSS. A caregiver: California pays through IHSS earns a county-negotiated wage, and parents of minors are now eligible. Read our IHSS guide or the California caregiver program page.

Texas caregivers are paid through Consumer Directed Services in STAR+PLUS and several waivers, at a reported $15 an hour; spouses can't be paid. See Texas and Harris County.

The Virginia caregiver program is consumer-directed personal care in the CCC Plus Waiver. If you're looking for a home care agency in Virginia, note that in consumer direction the member hires the worker and a fiscal agent runs payroll. See Virginia.

The Kentucky family caregiver program is Participant Directed Services, which reports the highest published hourly rate, $29.04. Delaware caregivers are paid through DSHP-Plus self-directed care, where spouses and parents can be hired. The Wisconsin caregiver program is IRIS, with no waitlist and paid spouses. Every other state is in the table above and on the states index.

Using a Medicaid caregiver program to keep a parent at home

Many families come to this from one worry: they want to keep a parent out of a nursing home. People type it as "keep mom at home care" — and Medicaid's home care programs were designed for exactly that, because home care usually costs the state less than a facility.

If your parent is on Medicaid or close to its limits, follow the steps below. Caring for aging parents covers the wider decisions, and Medicaid home care explains what Medicaid covers at home.

How much Medicaid pays family caregivers

Pay depends on the state, the program and the approved hours. Of the 51 jurisdictions, 29 publish an hourly rate, from about $11 to $29.04. Others pay a daily or monthly stipend.

For every state, see family caregiver pay rates.

How to apply for a Medicaid caregiver program

1. Find your program. Use the state tables above or our two-minute check.
2. Apply for Medicaid long-term care if your relative isn't already enrolled.
3. Request a home care assessment from the state agency, Area Agency on Aging or managed-care plan.
4. Choose the self-directed or live-in option and name yourself as the caregiver.
5. Enroll with the payroll agency — background check, tax forms, direct deposit.

Some families prefer an agency route instead; see home care agencies that hire family members. Sunroom Care helps with the enrollment paperwork at no cost to your family; we're paid by the program, and we're not a state agency.

Where to go next