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

Illinois Home Services Program (HSP) - Self-Directed Option

Illinois Home Services Program (HSP) provides home and community-based services for people with severe disabilities so they can remain at home. The consumer-directed Individual Provider/Personal Assistant option lets HSP customers select, employ, and supervise their own providers; legally responsible individual rules apply. HSP includes Medicaid waiver and state-funded pathways, with no waiting list for the current Persons with Disabilities waiver.

Illinois HSP provides home-based services for people with severe disabilities, including the consumer-directed Individual Provider/Personal Assistant option. Customers who use Personal Assistant services select, employ, train, and supervise the individual provider, subject to HSP provider and legally responsible individual rules. IDHS lists 2026 HSP rates including Personal Assistant at $19.50/hour, Homemaker at $30.80/hour, home health agency CNA at $25/hour, LPN nursing at $37.50/hour, RN nursing at $45/hour, adult day care at $16.84/hour, and home-delivered meals at $16/day. HSP eligibility includes disability, Illinois residency, nursing-facility-risk/DON criteria, cost-effectiveness, Medicaid application cooperation, and asset rules; the Medicaid waiver special-income group is modeled as 300% of the 2026 SSI Federal Benefit Rate ($2,982/month for an individual). Adult HSP customers must have less than $17,500 in non-exempt personal assets; customers under age 18 use a $35,000 family-asset threshold.

Eligibility

  • Asset limit of $17,500
  • U.S. citizenship or qualified immigrant status required
  • Care recipient must have a qualifying disability
  • Care recipient age: at least 60
  • 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 Illinois? — 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 $17,500 — limits change, so confirm the current figures.
  • Is the person receiving care in the covered age range (60 or older)?
  • What counts as a qualifying disability or level of care need, and what documentation shows it?
  • Which citizenship or immigration statuses does the program accept, and which documents show 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

Illinois HSP provides home-based services for people with severe disabilities, including the consumer-directed Individual Provider/Personal Assistant option. Customers who use Personal Assistant services select, employ, train, and supervise the individual provider, subject to HSP provider and legally responsible individual rules. IDHS lists 2026 HSP rates including Personal Assistant at $19.50/hour, Homemaker at $30.80/hour, home health agency CNA at $25/hour, LPN nursing at $37.50/hour, RN nursing at $45/hour, adult day care at $16.84/hour, and home-delivered meals at $16/day. HSP eligibility includes disability, Illinois residency, nursing-facility-risk/DON criteria, cost-effectiveness, Medicaid application cooperation, and asset rules; the Medicaid waiver special-income group is modeled as 300% of the 2026 SSI Federal Benefit Rate ($2,982/month for an individual). Adult HSP customers must have less than $17,500 in non-exempt personal assets; customers under age 18 use a $35,000 family-asset threshold.

How to apply

  • Contact the Community Care Program Senior HelpLine at 1-800-252-8966 (press #4 after choosing language; Illinois Relay 711), or contact the Care Coordination Unit (CCU) for your area via the Service Locator. Managed care members contact their MCO care coordinator for a referral.

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