CDPAP in Michigan? Home Help vs MI Choice vs CDPAP Explained

There is no CDPAP in Michigan. CDPAP, the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program, is New York’s Medicaid program for hiring your own caregiver. Michigan offers the same thing under different names: the Medicaid Home Help program and the MI Choice Waiver. Both let a family member or friend be paid to provide care at home.

On this page

1. Is there CDPAP in Michigan?
2. What is CDPAP, and why do people search for it in Michigan?
3. CDPAP Michigan alternatives: Home Help and MI Choice
4. Home Help vs MI Choice vs CDPAP: side-by-side comparison
5. Who qualifies for each program?
6. How to enroll in Michigan’s programs
7. How to choose between Home Help and MI Choice
8. Consumer-directed care across Michigan
9. Frequently asked questions

Is there CDPAP in Michigan?

No. CDPAP is administered by the New York State Department of Health and is available only to New York Medicaid recipients. Michigan families often search for “CDPAP Michigan” because they have seen ads or heard from relatives in New York about being paid to care for a parent. The concept is real in Michigan. The program name is not.

Michigan uses two programs to do what CDPAP does. The Michigan Home Help program pays for personal care from a provider the recipient chooses. The MI Choice Waiver adds a broader package of services for people with higher needs and includes a self-determination option that lets participants hire and direct their own workers.

If you searched for CDPAP Michigan, you are looking for one of these two. The rest of this page compares them so you know which to apply for.

What is CDPAP, and why do people search for it in Michigan?

CDPAP stands for Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program. It lets a New York Medicaid recipient hire, train, and schedule their own personal assistant instead of receiving an aide from an agency. The assistant can be a friend or most family members, and a fiscal intermediary handles payroll. New York moved CDPAP to a single statewide fiscal intermediary in 2025, which generated news coverage and advertising that reached well beyond New York.

Because CDPAP has been heavily marketed and the term “consumer directed” is easy to remember, it has become shorthand across the country for “get paid to care for a family member.” Michigan’s programs are older than most people realize and cover the same need. They simply were never branded the same way.

CDPAP Michigan alternatives: Home Help and MI Choice

Home Help: the program most families need

Home Help is a Michigan Medicaid state plan benefit, which means anyone who meets the rules receives it, with no waiting list and no enrollment cap. MDHHS Adult Services staff assess the care recipient at home, approve a number of hours per month, and pay the caregiver the recipient chose. Caregivers enroll as individual providers in CHAMPS and log visits with electronic visit verification.

Home Help is the closest match to CDPAP for the everyday case: a parent or grandparent on Medicaid who needs help with bathing, dressing, meals, toileting, or getting around, and an adult child or friend willing to provide it.

MI Choice: consumer direction for higher needs

MI Choice is Michigan’s Medicaid waiver for people who qualify for nursing facility level of care but want to remain at home. It is applied for through regional waiver agencies, usually the Area Agency on Aging. Along with personal care, it covers respite, adult day services, home-delivered meals, emergency response systems, home modifications, and more.

The MI Choice self-determination option is the feature that most resembles CDPAP. The participant receives an individual budget, hires their own caregivers, and a fiscal intermediary handles payroll and taxes. Adult children, other relatives, and friends can be hired.

Home Help vs MI Choice vs CDPAP: side-by-side comparison

Feature	Michigan Home Help	Michigan MI Choice Waiver	New York CDPAP
Available in Michigan	Yes	Yes	No
Funding	Michigan Medicaid state plan	Michigan Medicaid waiver	New York Medicaid
Who runs it	MDHHS county Adult Services	MDHHS through regional waiver agencies and Area Agencies on Aging	NY Department of Health through a fiscal intermediary
Minimum need	Hands-on help with at least one ADL	Nursing facility level of care	Need for home care services and ability to self-direct or have a representative
Age	Any age	18 and older	Any age
Waiting list	No	Possible, varies by region	No
Caregiver you choose	Yes: relatives, friends, neighbors, or an agency	Yes, through self-determination	Yes: most relatives and friends
Spouse can be paid	No	Depends on waiver agency policy	Limited cases
Services beyond personal care	Household tasks only	Respite, adult day, meals, equipment, home modifications, nursing, transportation	Personal care, home health aide tasks, some skilled tasks
How caregivers are paid	Directly by MDHHS after CHAMPS enrollment and EVV	Through a fiscal intermediary from the individual budget	Through a fiscal intermediary
Where to apply	County MDHHS office	Regional waiver agency	Local Department of Social Services or managed care plan in NY

Who qualifies for each program?

Home Help eligibility

• Active Michigan Medicaid
• A medical needs form signed by a doctor, physician assistant, or nurse practitioner
• Hands-on help needed with at least one activity of daily living
• Living at home, not in a nursing facility or licensed adult foster care home

MI Choice eligibility

• Age 18 or older and a Michigan resident
• Nursing facility level of care, confirmed by an MDHHS assessment
• Income and assets within Michigan’s long-term care Medicaid limits, with spousal protections for married applicants

CDPAP eligibility

• New York Medicaid and New York residency, so Michigan residents do not qualify

Caregiver requirements in Michigan are the same across Home Help and MI Choice: 18 or older, a valid Social Security number, a passed background check, and CHAMPS enrollment or fiscal intermediary onboarding. No CNA license or certificate is required. Not sure whether your loved one meets the Medicaid rules? Use our free Medicaid eligibility check.

How to enroll in Michigan’s programs

Since a CDPAP Michigan application is not an option, here is how to get started with the two Michigan programs. Supportive Solutions Homecare handles these steps with you.

1. Confirm Medicaid. Check that the care recipient has active Michigan Medicaid. If not, apply through MI Bridges before requesting either program.
2. Pick the right program. Start with Home Help if your loved one needs hands-on personal care. Pursue MI Choice if they need nursing-home level care or services Home Help does not cover, such as respite or home modifications. Many people qualify for both.
3. Request the assessment. For Home Help, call the county MDHHS office and ask for Adult Services. For MI Choice, call your regional waiver agency or Area Agency on Aging and ask for intake.
4. Complete the paperwork. Get the medical needs form signed for Home Help, and gather diagnoses, medications, income, and asset information for MI Choice.
5. Enroll the caregiver. For Home Help, the caregiver enrolls in CHAMPS through MiLogin and sets up EVV. For MI Choice self-determination, the caregiver is onboarded by the fiscal intermediary. Start at become a paid caregiver.

Our short guide on whether CDPAP is available in Michigan covers the most common questions from families who moved here from New York or have relatives in both states.

How to choose between Home Help and MI Choice

A few questions usually settle it:

• Does your loved one need help with one or two daily tasks, and nothing else? Home Help.
• Do they need help with most daily tasks, plus supervision or nursing? Apply for both, and use Home Help while MI Choice is processed.
• Do you need respite, adult day services, a ramp, or a walk-in shower? MI Choice, since Home Help does not cover these.
• Is the caregiver a spouse? MI Choice may be the only route, so ask the waiver agency during intake.
• Do you need income to start as soon as possible? Home Help, because there is no waiting list.

For a longer discussion of how the programs fit together, and what a family can expect to earn under each, read Home Help vs MI Choice vs CDPAP or our page on how to get paid to care for a family member in Michigan.

Consumer-directed care across Michigan

Supportive Solutions Homecare serves families in Detroit, Dearborn, Warren, Sterling Heights, Ann Arbor, Flint, Lansing, and Grand Rapids. We enroll family caregivers under Home Help, coordinate with MI Choice waiver agencies, and provide our own trained aides when a family caregiver is not available. Our team speaks English, Arabic and Spanish.

Frequently asked questions

Is there CDPAP in Michigan?

No. CDPAP is New York’s Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program and is only available to New York Medicaid recipients. Michigan offers the same benefit, getting paid to care for a family member, through the Medicaid Home Help program and the MI Choice Waiver. Both let the care recipient choose their own caregiver, including relatives and friends.

What is the difference between Home Help and the MI Choice Waiver?

Home Help is a Medicaid state plan benefit for anyone who needs hands-on help with at least one daily activity, applied for through the county MDHHS office, with no waiting list. MI Choice is a Medicaid waiver for people who need nursing-home level care, applied for through a regional waiver agency, with more services and a possible waiting list.

What is the MI Choice Waiver and who is eligible?

MI Choice is Michigan’s Medicaid waiver that pays for in-home and community services as an alternative to a nursing home. Eligible applicants are 18 or older, Michigan residents, meet nursing facility level of care based on an MDHHS assessment, and meet the long-term care Medicaid income and asset limits. Services include personal care, respite, adult day, meals, and home modifications.

Can I be paid through MI Choice to care for a loved one?

Yes. The MI Choice self-determination option lets the participant hire and direct their own caregivers, including adult children, relatives, and friends. A fiscal intermediary handles payroll and background checks. Whether a spouse or legal guardian can be paid depends on the waiver agency’s policy, so ask during intake. Home Help offers a similar option but excludes spouses.

What are the requirements to be a paid caregiver in Michigan?

Under both Home Help and MI Choice, the caregiver must be 18 or older, have a valid Social Security number, pass a criminal background check, and complete CHAMPS provider enrollment or fiscal intermediary onboarding. No CNA license, certification, or prior experience is required. The care recipient must have Michigan Medicaid and meet the program’s level-of-need rules.