Disability Home Care in Michigan: Programs That Pay for Care

Disability home care in Michigan means a caregiver comes to the home of an adult or child with a physical, intellectual, or developmental disability to help with bathing, dressing, mobility, and meals. Medicaid pays for it through Home Help, the MI Choice Waiver, the Habilitation Supports Waiver, and Community Mental Health, and a family member can be the paid caregiver.

On this page

1. Which Michigan programs pay for home care for adults with disabilities?
2. Can someone under 65 with a disability get Home Help?
3. What does disability home care include?
4. Can a family member provide this care and get paid?
5. Disability home care across Michigan
6. Frequently asked questions

Which Michigan programs pay for home care for adults with disabilities?

Michigan has several programs, and they can be combined. The right one depends on diagnosis, level of need, and living situation.

Program	Who it is for	What it pays for	Where to apply
Home Help	Any Michigan Medicaid recipient, any age, who needs hands-on help with daily activities	Personal care (bathing, dressing, toileting, transfers) and household tasks; family caregiver can be paid	County MDHHS office
MI Choice Waiver	Adults 18 and older who meet a nursing-home level of care and Medicaid financial rules	Personal care plus respite, adult day, home modifications, equipment, transportation	Area Agency on Aging or waiver agent
Habilitation Supports Waiver	People with intellectual or developmental disabilities at an ICF level of care	Community living supports, respite, skill building, supported employment, environmental modifications	Community Mental Health
Community Mental Health	People with developmental disabilities, serious mental illness, or substance use disorders on Medicaid	Case management, community living supports, respite, self-determination budgets	County CMH agency

Home Help (MDHHS)

Home Help is run by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) and is the program most families use first. An adult services worker visits the home, scores each daily activity, and authorizes monthly hours. The state pays the caregiver directly. See our Michigan Home Help program page.

MI Choice Waiver

The MI Choice Waiver serves adults with disabilities who would otherwise qualify for a nursing home. It adds services Home Help cannot fund, such as respite, ramps and roll-in showers, and personal emergency response systems. Apply through your Area Agency on Aging or regional waiver agent.

Habilitation Supports Waiver (HSW)

The HSW is for people with intellectual or developmental disabilities who meet an intermediate care facility level of care. It funds community living supports, respite, skill-building, supported employment, and home modifications. Slots are limited and managed through county Community Mental Health.

Community Mental Health (CMH)

Every Michigan county has a CMH agency serving Medicaid recipients with developmental disabilities, serious mental illness, or substance use disorders. CMH provides case management and can authorize community living supports and respite outside the HSW, including self-determination budgets where the person hires their own staff. For a fuller walkthrough, read home care for adults with disabilities in Michigan: programs that pay.

Can someone under 65 with a disability get Home Help?

Yes. Home Help has no age floor for adults and no diagnosis list. The requirements are:

• Enrolled in Michigan Medicaid (SSI recipients usually are; others apply through MI Bridges).
• Needs hands-on help with at least one activity of daily living: bathing, dressing, eating, toileting, transferring, or mobility.
• Lives at home, with family, or in another unlicensed private residence.
• A doctor confirms the need on a medical needs form.

Common qualifying conditions include spinal cord injury, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, stroke, traumatic brain injury, and intellectual or developmental disabilities. A young adult who uses a wheelchair and needs help transferring and bathing qualifies just as an 80-year-old does. Run our free Medicaid eligibility check to start.

What does disability home care include?

Care is built around what the person cannot do alone and what they want to do themselves. Our caregivers provide:

• Bathing, dressing, grooming, and toileting routines.
• Transfers, wheelchair positioning, and range-of-motion assistance as directed.
• Meal preparation, feeding assistance, and special diets.
• Medication reminders and help organizing supplies.
• Housekeeping, laundry, shopping, and errands.
• Support getting to work, school, and appointments where arranged.
• Companionship that follows the person’s lead.

See personal care assistance for the full ADL breakdown.

Can a family member provide this care and get paid?

Yes. Under Home Help, the Medicaid recipient chooses their own caregiver: a parent, adult sibling, grandparent, other relative, friend, or neighbor. The family caregiver enrolls as an individual provider through CHAMPS, passes a background check, and is paid by MDHHS for the authorized hours logged with Electronic Visit Verification (EVV).

Two limits apply. Under current MDHHS rules, a spouse cannot be paid as the Home Help provider, and a parent generally cannot be paid through Home Help to care for their own minor child. Parents of a child under 18 should ask Community Mental Health about the Children’s Waiver and other supports; once the child turns 18, a parent can be enrolled and paid through Home Help. Caregivers who live with the person they care for may exclude the payments from federal income tax under IRS Notice 2014-7.

We enroll family caregivers and stay on for training, EVV, and reassessments. Start at become a paid caregiver or read how to get paid to take care of a family member in Michigan.

Disability home care across Michigan

We provide home care for adults with disabilities in Detroit, Dearborn, Warren, Sterling Heights, Ann Arbor, Flint, Lansing, and Grand Rapids, and the surrounding counties. Caregivers speak English, Arabic and Spanish.

Frequently asked questions

Can a person with a disability under 65 get Home Help in Michigan?

Yes. Michigan Home Help has no age requirement. Any Michigan Medicaid recipient who needs hands-on help with at least one activity of daily living can qualify, whether the cause is a spinal cord injury, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, an intellectual disability, or a stroke. Eligibility is based on functional need, not on age or diagnosis.

What is the difference between Home Help and the Habilitation Supports Waiver?

Home Help pays for personal care and household tasks for any Medicaid recipient with a functional need. The Habilitation Supports Waiver (HSW) is for adults and children with intellectual or developmental disabilities who would otherwise need an intermediate care facility. It funds community living supports, respite, skill building, and supported employment, and is accessed through your county Community Mental Health agency. Some people use both.

Does Medicaid pay for home care for adults with disabilities in Michigan?

Yes. Michigan Medicaid pays for home care for adults with disabilities through Home Help, the MI Choice Waiver, the Habilitation Supports Waiver, and Community Mental Health, depending on needs and diagnosis. Home Help is the most common starting point because it covers personal care for anyone with a functional need. Supportive Solutions Homecare helps you find the program that fits.

Can I be paid to care for my adult child with a disability?

Yes. Once your child is 18, you as a parent can enroll through CHAMPS and be paid by Home Help for the authorized hours, provided your adult child is on Medicaid and needs help with daily activities. Community Mental Health self-determination arrangements may also allow you to be paid for community living supports. Spouses are generally excluded under Home Help rules.

Does receiving SSI or SSDI affect Home Help eligibility?

SSI recipients in Michigan are generally enrolled in Medicaid automatically, which satisfies the Home Help insurance requirement. SSDI recipients may have Medicare and may need to apply for Medicaid separately through MI Bridges; income and asset limits apply. Neither benefit disqualifies you. The functional need for help with daily activities is what the MDHHS assessment measures.

Can a person with a disability choose their own caregiver?

Yes. Under Home Help, the Medicaid recipient chooses who provides care, sets the schedule, and can change providers. Under MI Choice and Community Mental Health, self-determination options let you manage a budget and hire your own staff. Supportive Solutions Homecare supports whichever model you choose, including enrolling the person you pick.