National question: Can a family caregiver get paid? Official programs decide eligibility.

Alaska Personal Care Assistance (PCA) / Community First Choice (CFC)

Alaska's Personal Care Assistance program and Community First Choice (1915k) option provide personal care and related home- and community-based supports for Medicaid-eligible people with functional limitations. The current Alaska No Wrong Door guide describes consumer-directed PCS as an option where the consumer manages care by selecting, hiring, firing, and supervising a personal care assistant with agency administrative support.

Alaska's No Wrong Door resource guide describes Community First Choice services for people who meet an institutional level of care, including case management, personal care, training and support for worker supervision, personal emergency response systems, and related supports. The same guide describes Personal Care Services as help with ADLs and IADLs, available statewide through private agencies. Consumer-directed PCS lets the consumer manage care by selecting, hiring, firing, and supervising the personal care assistant while the agency provides administrative support.

Eligibility

• Care recipient must have a qualifying disability

Questions to ask the program

These are questions to ask the program, not a verdict on your eligibility. Confirm the current rules directly with the program.

• Does the person receiving care live in Alaska? — Residency is usually the first thing a program checks.
• What counts as a qualifying disability or level of care need, and what documentation shows it?
• Is there a caregiver-specific department, coordinator, or support line? Ask for it by name. — Many agencies have one that isn’t advertised on the website.
• What documents do you need from us to start an application?
• Is there a waitlist right now, and how long is it?

Services

Alaska's No Wrong Door resource guide describes Community First Choice services for people who meet an institutional level of care, including case management, personal care, training and support for worker supervision, personal emergency response systems, and related supports. The same guide describes Personal Care Services as help with ADLs and IADLs, available statewide through private agencies. Consumer-directed PCS lets the consumer manage care by selecting, hiring, firing, and supervising the personal care assistant while the agency provides administrative support.

How to apply

Use the official program page for application details: official program page.