·State program
Structured Family Caregiving Waiver
Structured Family Caregiving Waiver allows Missouri Medicaid recipients to employ family members to provide paid home and community-based care services.
What you get
Cash Stipend, Services, as recorded:
- Daily per diem rate is 60% of the nursing facility daily rate cap; the SFCW provider agency may take no more than 35% of that unit rate, with the remainder paid to the primary/substitute caregiver as a stipend
Questions that decide eligibility
GiveCare prepares the questions; the program makes the decision. Bring these to the call or the application:
- 01
Does the person receiving care live in Missouri?
Residency is usually the first thing a program checks.
- 02
Does your relationship to the person — parent or other relative — count for this program?
- 03
Is the person receiving care in the covered age range (21–null)?
- 04
What counts as a qualifying disability or level of care need, and what documentation shows it?
- 05
Does the VA disability rating meet the program’s minimum (our record lists null%)?
- 06
Do you need to live with the person receiving care, and how is that verified?
- 07
Do the work hours meet the minimum (our record lists null hours)?
- 08
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.
- 09
What documents do you need from us to start an application?
- 10
Is there a waitlist right now, and how long is it?
Who qualifies, in the source’s words
Where our record has a direct quote from the official source, here it is — otherwise, this is our best reading of the rule.
Age of the person receiving care
“Be 21 years of age and over at initial entry”
health.mo.gov →Disability of the person receiving care
“Diagnosed with Alzheimer's or related dementia disorders as defined by state statute 172.800 RSMo by a physician licensed in the State of Missouri”
health.mo.gov →Minimum VA disability rating
Minimum VA disability rating: null%.
Living with the person receiving care
“The primary caregiver must be the live-in caregiver already providing care to the participant prior to authorization of SFCW.”
health.mo.gov →Work hours
Minimum work hours: null.
Relationship to the person receiving care
“The primary and substitute caregivers may be a non-family member, family member, or legal guardian.”
health.mo.gov →
How to apply
- 01
DSDS staff confirm the diagnosis meets state statute 172.800 RSMo criteria by contacting the participant's physician (using the SFCW Diagnosis Verification form if the physician cannot be reached by phone), provide SFCW provider options, and submit the request through a supervisor to the Bureau of Federal Programs (BFP) for review before authorization; BFP determines slot availability and notifies the supervisor to enroll the participant.