How to Get Paid to Take Care of a Family Member in Michigan

Yes, you can get paid to take care of a family member in Michigan. The main route is the Medicaid Home Help program, run by MDHHS, which lets your loved one choose you as their paid caregiver. The MI Choice Waiver and some VA programs can also pay relatives. You enroll as a provider, and the state pays you hourly.

On this page

1. Can you really get paid to take care of a family member in Michigan?
2. Which Michigan programs pay family caregivers?
3. Who can be paid to care for a family member?
4. What are the requirements, and what disqualifies you?
5. How do you apply, and how long does it take?
6. How much will you earn as a paid family caregiver?
7. Frequently asked questions

Can you really get paid to take care of a family member in Michigan?

You can, and thousands of Michigan families already do. The state’s Medicaid program recognizes that family members provide most long-term care at home, and that paying them is cheaper and better for the person than a nursing facility.

The program that makes this possible is called Home Help. It is a Medicaid personal care benefit administered by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS). Under Home Help, the person who needs care picks their own caregiver, called an individual provider, and MDHHS pays that person an hourly rate for approved tasks.

Two things trip families up. First, the money follows the person receiving care, so it is their Medicaid and their needs that drive eligibility, not yours. Second, neither Medicare nor Social Security pays family caregivers. If you have been calling the Social Security office about this, Medicaid Home Help is the program you were looking for.

Which Michigan programs pay family caregivers?

Three programs are worth knowing. Most families end up in the first one.

Home Help (Medicaid State Plan personal care)

Home Help pays for hands-on help with activities of daily living such as bathing, dressing, toileting, eating, and moving around, plus household tasks like meals, laundry, shopping, and housework. It has no waiting list, serves any age, and runs through the MDHHS office in your loved one’s county. The caregiver enrolls in CHAMPS, the state’s Medicaid provider system, and logs visits with electronic visit verification (EVV).

MI Choice Waiver

MI Choice is Michigan’s home and community-based waiver for adults who need a nursing-facility level of care but want to stay home. It is applied for through regional waiver agents, usually your Area Agency on Aging. MI Choice covers more services than Home Help, and its self-determination option lets participants hire their own workers, which can include relatives. Some regions have waiting lists. See our MI Choice Waiver page for eligibility details.

VA caregiver programs

If your loved one is a veteran, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs runs programs that can pay or support family caregivers, including Veteran Directed Care and the Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers. These have their own rules and go through the VA, not MDHHS. They can sometimes be combined with Medicaid Home Help, so mention veteran status when you call us.

Who can be paid to care for a family member?

Under Home Help, the person receiving care chooses the caregiver, and MDHHS allows almost any adult. You can be paid if you are the person’s:

• Adult son or daughter, including a stepchild or adopted child
• Brother, sister, grandchild, niece, nephew, aunt, uncle, or cousin
• Son-in-law or daughter-in-law
• Friend, neighbor, or member of their church, mosque, or community
• Roommate or the adult child of a partner

You can live with your loved one or live separately. You can also care for more than one person, as long as the hours do not overlap.

What about spouses?

Home Help generally does not pay a husband or wife to care for their spouse, and it does not pay a parent to care for their own minor child. This follows federal Medicaid rules on legally responsible relatives. If you are a spouse, ask about the MI Choice Waiver and VA options, and read can a spouse be a paid caregiver in Michigan for the full picture.

What about guardians and power of attorney?

Holding power of attorney does not disqualify you by itself. Being the court-appointed legal guardian brings extra MDHHS rules. Either way, tell the Adult Services Worker at the start so it can be handled correctly.

What are the requirements, and what disqualifies you?

You do not need a license, a certificate, or a caregiving resume. MDHHS requirements for a Home Help individual provider are practical:

• Be at least 18 years old
• Have a Social Security number and be legally allowed to work in the United States
• Pass a Michigan criminal history background check
• Not be listed on a Medicaid excluded provider list
• Enroll in CHAMPS and keep your provider record current
• Use the state’s EVV system to record each visit
• Be physically able to perform the approved tasks

Certain criminal convictions bar a person from being a paid provider, especially those involving abuse, neglect, exploitation, fraud, or violence. Older or minor records are often not a problem, but do not guess. We walk through the specifics in what disqualifies you from being a caregiver in Michigan.

Your loved one has requirements too. They must have active Michigan Medicaid, need hands-on help with at least one activity of daily living, have a medical needs form signed by their doctor, and live at home or with family rather than in a facility. If Medicaid is the missing piece, start with our Medicaid eligibility check.

How do you apply, and how long does it take?

To get paid to take care of a family member, two tracks run at the same time: your loved one’s Home Help case and your provider enrollment. Here is the order that avoids delays.

1. Confirm or apply for Medicaid. Nothing moves until your loved one has active Michigan Medicaid. Check eligibility, then apply through MI Bridges if needed. Gather proof of income, assets, and identity before you start.
2. Request Home Help from MDHHS. Contact the Adult Services unit at the MDHHS office in your loved one’s county and ask to open a Home Help case. Supportive Solutions Homecare can make this referral for you and follow up on it.
3. Get the medical needs form signed. MDHHS provides the form. Your loved one’s physician, physician assistant, or nurse practitioner completes it to confirm the need for hands-on help.
4. Prepare for the in-home assessment. An Adult Services Worker visits and scores each daily activity. Keep a simple log for a week beforehand showing what help your loved one needs and how long it takes. Describe their hardest days.
5. Enroll as a provider in CHAMPS. Create a MiLogin account, complete the Home Help individual provider application in CHAMPS, consent to the background check, and set up direct deposit. Our CHAMPS enrollment guide covers every screen.
6. Get linked to the case and start EVV. Once approved, the worker links your provider ID to your loved one’s case and issues an authorization listing the tasks and monthly hours. Download the EVV app and start clocking in and out.
7. Receive your first payment. MDHHS pays through CHAMPS on its regular payment cycle once your visits are verified.

How long does approval take?

MDHHS does not publish a guaranteed timeline. Families we work with commonly see four to eight weeks from the first call to the first paycheck, with the doctor’s form and the Medicaid application being the usual bottlenecks. The fastest cases are the ones where Medicaid was already active and the medical form went back the same week.

If you would rather have someone else chase the paperwork, start at become a paid caregiver. We handle the referral, the forms, and the county follow-up for families in Detroit, Dearborn, Warren, Sterling Heights, Ann Arbor, Flint, Lansing, and Grand Rapids.

How much will you earn as a paid family caregiver?

When you get paid to take care of a family member through Home Help, you are paid by the hour. MDHHS sets the individual provider rate and adjusts it periodically. Through Supportive Solutions, caregivers earn a minimum of $18 per hour.

Your monthly income depends on the hours authorized at the assessment, not on how many hours you actually spend with your loved one. Hours are built task by task from the assessment, so someone who needs daily help with bathing, dressing, toileting, and meals is authorized for far more hours than someone who only needs help with shopping and laundry.

A few things affect the total:

• Authorized hours. Ask for a reassessment when your loved one’s needs increase.
• Agency vs individual provider. MDHHS pays agencies a separate rate, and the agency sets the caregiver’s wage. Ask any agency, including us, to put the pay rate in writing.
• Taxes. If you live with the person you care for, your Home Help payments may be excludable from federal income tax under IRS Notice 2014-7. Check with a tax professional.

For worked monthly examples, see our family caregiver pay rate page, and for the difference between the two provider types read get paid to care for a family member.

Frequently asked questions

Can my daughter or son be paid to be my caregiver?

Yes. Adult children are the most common paid caregivers under the Michigan Home Help program. Your daughter or son must be at least 18, pass a background check, and enroll in CHAMPS as an individual provider. You choose them as your caregiver during the Home Help application, and MDHHS pays them hourly for the tasks authorized at your assessment.

Can I get paid to take care of my elderly mother or father in Michigan?

Yes, if your parent has Michigan Medicaid and needs hands-on help with at least one daily activity such as bathing, dressing, or toileting. You apply for Home Help through the MDHHS office in your parent’s county, get a medical needs form signed by their doctor, and enroll as their provider. You can live with them or separately.

Can a friend or neighbor be a paid Home Help provider?

Yes. Home Help does not require the caregiver to be related. Any adult the person receiving care trusts can be their individual provider, as long as that person is 18 or older, passes the Michigan background check, and enrolls in CHAMPS. Many people choose a longtime friend or neighbor who already helps them day to day.

Will Social Security or Medicare pay me to care for my parents?

No. Social Security pays retirement and disability benefits to the person entitled to them, not to caregivers. Medicare covers short-term skilled home health after illness or surgery, not ongoing help from a family member. In Michigan, the program that pays family caregivers is Medicaid Home Help, along with the MI Choice Waiver and certain VA programs for veterans.

Can I keep another job while being a paid caregiver?

Yes. Home Help pays for a set number of authorized hours per month, and you can work another job around them. The only rule is that your EVV records must be accurate: you cannot clock in for Home Help while you are physically at another workplace. Many family caregivers combine part-time work with their authorized hours.

Do I need a certification or CNA license to be paid?

No. Michigan Home Help individual providers do not need a CNA license, a home health aide certificate, or formal training. You need to be 18 or older, pass a background check, enroll in CHAMPS, and be able to perform the approved tasks. Agencies may offer optional training, which can help with safe lifting and transfers.