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

Washington Individual Provider and Consumer Directed Employer Program

Washington Medicaid in-home care clients may use Individual Providers (IPs) for personal care and respite services. IPs are employed by Consumer Direct Care Network Washington (CDWA), Washington's Consumer Directed Employer, while clients remain the managing employer for selecting, scheduling, supervising, and dismissing their IPs. IPs may be friends or family members when they meet provider requirements, but standard Individual Provider rules exclude spouses and parents of minor children.

Washington's Individual Provider path lets Medicaid-qualified in-home care clients receive authorized personal care or respite services from an IP. DSHS says IPs provide in-home caregiving to clients eligible for Medicaid in-home care services, must complete training and certification requirements, are employed by CDWA, and are sometimes friends or family members of the client. CDWA is the Consumer Directed Employer for Washington DSHS and employs about 46,000 IPs; clients remain the managing employer and can select, schedule, manage, supervise, and dismiss their IPs while DSHS case managers determine service amounts through assessment. DSHS caregiver guidance says CDWA employs IPs to support Medicaid-qualified people in their homes, including paid family caregivers, but the DSHS Employment Reference Guide says DSHS cannot pay an IP who wants to be the paid caregiver for their spouse or who is the natural, step, or adoptive parent of a minor client needing paid support. CDWA's current provider page lists starting pay of $22.63-$26.22/hr, with eligibility requirements, paid training, PTO accrual, SEIU 775 representation, and other possible benefits. Actual hours, eligibility, training category, pay step, and work-week limits depend on the care recipient's assessment, authorization, provider qualifications, and CDWA/DSHS rules.

Eligibility

• 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 Washington? — 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 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

Washington's Individual Provider path lets Medicaid-qualified in-home care clients receive authorized personal care or respite services from an IP. DSHS says IPs provide in-home caregiving to clients eligible for Medicaid in-home care services, must complete training and certification requirements, are employed by CDWA, and are sometimes friends or family members of the client. CDWA is the Consumer Directed Employer for Washington DSHS and employs about 46,000 IPs; clients remain the managing employer and can select, schedule, manage, supervise, and dismiss their IPs while DSHS case managers determine service amounts through assessment. DSHS caregiver guidance says CDWA employs IPs to support Medicaid-qualified people in their homes, including paid family caregivers, but the DSHS Employment Reference Guide says DSHS cannot pay an IP who wants to be the paid caregiver for their spouse or who is the natural, step, or adoptive parent of a minor client needing paid support. CDWA's current provider page lists starting pay of $22.63-$26.22/hr, with eligibility requirements, paid training, PTO accrual, SEIU 775 representation, and other possible benefits. Actual hours, eligibility, training category, pay step, and work-week limits depend on the care recipient's assessment, authorization, provider qualifications, and CDWA/DSHS rules.

How to apply

• apply directly online via Washington Connection (ages 65+, blind, or disabled) or Washington Healthplanfinder (ages 18-64); for children under 18 or people with a developmental disability, submit a Service and Information Request or call the county phone line

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