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

Georgia EDWP Consumer-Directed Personal Support and Structured Family Caregiving

Georgia's Elderly and Disabled Waiver Program (EDWP), delivered through CCSP and SOURCE, includes two distinct caregiver-payment pathways: Consumer Directed Personal Support Services (CD-PSS), where the participant, representative, or caregiver can hire, train, and supervise attendants, and Structured Family Caregiving (SFC), where an approved agency supports a live-in family caregiver and reimburses the caregiver through a per diem stipend. The current approved 1915(c) waiver uses $1 = 1 unit budgeting for CD-PSS and projects a Year 4 average CD-PSS unit cost of $1.18; SFC is reimbursed to the provider agency as a daily per diem with a Year 4 average cost/unit of $100.72. The official waiver does not specify the net caregiver pass-through amount.

Georgia EDWP has two distinct paid-care pathways relevant to caregivers. Consumer Directed Personal Support Services (CD-PSS) lets the participant, representative, or caregiver hire, train, and supervise care attendants; the approved waiver uses $1 = 1 unit budgeting and the Year 4 financial table lists a $1.18 average CD-PSS cost/unit. Structured Family Caregiving (SFC) is separate: a live-in family caregiver is supported by an approved agency, and the enrolled agency reimburses caregivers through a per diem stipend. The approved waiver's Year 4 table lists SFC at 2,921 projected users and $100.72 average provider per diem cost/unit; it does not specify the net caregiver pass-through amount. Georgia's 2026 Community Care financial limits list an individual income limit of $2,982/month and resource limit of $2,000; SOURCE separately requires SSI Medicaid eligibility.

Eligibility

  • Asset limit of $2,000
  • Care recipient must have a qualifying disability
  • Relationship: parent, child, sibling, grandparent, other relative, non relative

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 Georgia? — Residency is usually the first thing a program checks.
  • Does your relationship to the person — parent, child, sibling, grandparent, other relative, or non relative — count for this program?
  • What are the current income and asset limits, and whose income counts? — Our record lists gross monthly limit around $2,982 for a household of one or an asset limit around $2,000 — limits change, so confirm the current figures.
  • 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

Georgia EDWP has two distinct paid-care pathways relevant to caregivers. Consumer Directed Personal Support Services (CD-PSS) lets the participant, representative, or caregiver hire, train, and supervise care attendants; the approved waiver uses $1 = 1 unit budgeting and the Year 4 financial table lists a $1.18 average CD-PSS cost/unit. Structured Family Caregiving (SFC) is separate: a live-in family caregiver is supported by an approved agency, and the enrolled agency reimburses caregivers through a per diem stipend. The approved waiver's Year 4 table lists SFC at 2,921 projected users and $100.72 average provider per diem cost/unit; it does not specify the net caregiver pass-through amount. Georgia's 2026 Community Care financial limits list an individual income limit of $2,982/month and resource limit of $2,000; SOURCE separately requires SSI Medicaid eligibility.

How to apply

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

  • sfc-ga (companion): Georgia Structured Family Caregiving program