·State program
Paid Family Caregiver
Paid Family Caregiver allows relatives 18 years of age or older to be paid for providing care through the Medicaid pathway or the WA Cares Fund program. Caregivers earn at least $22.52 per hour and must complete required safety training. Care recipients must qualify for Apple Health Medicaid long-term care services.
What you get
Cash Stipend, Services, as recorded:
- $22.52/hour starting wage for CDWA; WA Cares lifetime benefit amount of $36,500 (grows with inflation) can be applied to pay a family caregiver
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 Washington?
Residency is usually the first thing a program checks.
- 02
Does your relationship to the person — spouse or other relative — count for this program?
- 03
What counts as a qualifying disability or level of care need, and what documentation shows it?
- 04
Does the VA disability rating meet the program’s minimum (our record lists null%)?
- 05
Which citizenship or immigration statuses does the program accept, and which documents show it?
- 06
Do the work hours meet the minimum (our record lists null hours)?
- 07
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.
- 08
What documents do you need from us to start an application?
- 09
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.
Applicant age
“Be 18 years of age or older”
wacaresfund.wa.gov →Disability of the person receiving care
“Need help with 3+ activities of daily living”
wacaresfund.wa.gov →Minimum VA disability rating
Minimum VA disability rating: null%.
Citizenship or immigration status
“Be eligible to work in the United States”
wacaresfund.wa.gov →Work hours
Minimum work hours: null.
Relationship to the person receiving care
“Be a relative of the beneficiary”
wacaresfund.wa.gov →
How to apply
- 01
The person you care for must qualify for Apple Health Medicaid LTSS, then apply to become an Individual Provider on the Consumer Direct Care Network of Washington website (Medicaid pathway); under WA Cares, the beneficiary applies for benefits first, then the caregiver becomes an employee of CDWA or a registered home care agency