Home Care in Detroit

Home care in Detroit is often paid for by Michigan Medicaid rather than out of pocket. Through the MDHHS Home Help program, an eligible Wayne County resident can get help with bathing, dressing, meals and housekeeping at home, and can choose a family member as the paid caregiver. Supportive Solutions Homecare helps Detroit families enroll and get started.

On this page

1. Home care in Detroit and Wayne County
2. Which programs pay for home care in Detroit?
3. How to apply for Home Help in Wayne County
4. Get paid to care for a family member in Detroit
5. Home care services we provide in Detroit
6. Frequently asked questions

Home care in Detroit and Wayne County

Detroit is the largest city in Michigan, and Wayne County carries the largest Home Help caseload in the state. That scale means more MDHHS district offices, more adult services workers, and real differences in how fast a case moves depending on your address.

We serve every part of the city: the east side from Morningside and East English Village to Jefferson Chalmers, the west side from Rosedale Park and Brightmoor to Warrendale, Southwest Detroit and Mexicantown, Midtown, the North End, Palmer Woods and Sherwood Forest. We also cover the enclave cities of Hamtramck and Highland Park, plus Harper Woods and the five Grosse Pointes along the eastern border.

Our office number is a Detroit 313 number, and our caregivers live in the neighborhoods they work in. When you call (313) 977-6888 you reach a local team that knows which Wayne County office handles your street.

Which programs pay for home care in Detroit?

Michigan Home Help (MDHHS)

Home Help is the Medicaid benefit that pays for hands-on help at home. In Wayne County it is handled by adult services workers at the MDHHS district offices, and Detroit residents are assigned an office by address. One of them is the Conner Center at 4733 Conner Street, (313) 926-8600. Because there are several, confirm hours and the right office for your address with the office locator at michigan.gov/mdhhs, or call us at (313) 977-6888 and we will look it up for you. You can also open a Medicaid application online through MI Bridges before you ever visit an office. Our Wayne County Home Help guide walks through the whole process.

MI Choice Waiver

If your loved one needs a nursing-home level of care, the MI Choice Waiver adds services beyond what Home Help covers, such as adult day care, home-delivered meals and emergency response systems. For the city of Detroit, Hamtramck, Highland Park, Harper Woods and the Grosse Pointes, the waiver agent is the Detroit Area Agency on Aging (Region 1-A). Our MI Choice Waiver page explains the level-of-care test.

Private pay

Households that do not qualify for Medicaid can hire a caregiver directly and pay by the hour. We will tell you plainly which route fits before you spend anything.

How to apply for Home Help in Wayne County

1. Confirm Medicaid. The person receiving care must have active Michigan Medicaid. Run our free eligibility check first, then apply through MI Bridges if needed.
2. Ask for an adult services assessment. Contact the MDHHS office assigned to your Detroit address and say you want Home Help. A worker schedules a home visit.
3. Complete the in-home assessment. The worker scores how much help is needed with activities of daily living such as bathing, toileting and moving around, and that score sets monthly hours.
4. Get the medical needs form signed. A physician or other approved provider confirms the need for care. Henry Ford, DMC and Ascension clinics across Detroit fill these out routinely.
5. Enroll the caregiver. The person providing care registers in CHAMPS as an individual provider and clears a background check. We sit down and finish this paperwork with you.

Get paid to care for a family member in Detroit

Thousands of Detroiters already look after a parent, spouse or adult child for free. Home Help lets that same person become the paid provider once the care recipient is approved. Sons, daughters, siblings, grandchildren, friends and neighbors all qualify. A spouse cannot be paid through Home Help, but other options may apply, and we will explain the rule that applies to your household.

Through Supportive Solutions, caregivers earn a minimum of $18 per hour. The minimum applies statewide, so a caregiver on the east side of Detroit earns at least as much as one in any other county. Hours are approved per month from the assessment. Pay is issued through CHAMPS, and each visit is logged with electronic visit verification (EVV) on a phone app.

Under IRS Notice 2014-7, payments to a caregiver who lives in the same home as the person they care for may be excluded from federal income tax as difficulty-of-care payments. Read the details on our get paid to care page, or begin at become a paid caregiver. If you are looking for caregiver work in the city rather than caring for a relative, see caregiver jobs in Detroit.

Home care services we provide in Detroit

• Personal care: bathing, grooming, dressing, toileting and transfers
• Senior home care for older adults who want to stay in the house they own
• Alzheimer’s and dementia care, including hands-on help with bathing, dressing and meals
• Respite care so a family caregiver can take a break
• Disability home care for adults under 65
• Meal preparation, light housekeeping, laundry, shopping and medication reminders
• Recovery support at home after a hospital stay

Care is available in English, Arabic and Spanish.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a home care agency charge in Detroit?

Private-pay agencies in metro Detroit bill by the hour, and the total depends on how many hours a week you need and whether the aide provides personal care or only companionship. Medicaid pays the caregiver directly through CHAMPS.

Which Detroit neighborhoods and suburbs do you serve?

All of Detroit, including Southwest, Midtown, the North End, the east side and the west side, plus Hamtramck, Highland Park, Harper Woods and the Grosse Pointes. Across Michigan we also serve Dearborn, Warren, Sterling Heights, Ann Arbor, Flint, Lansing and Grand Rapids. Call us if your address is not listed.

Which MDHHS office handles Home Help for my Detroit address?

Wayne County has several MDHHS district offices, and Detroit residents are assigned by address. The Conner Center on the east side (4733 Conner Street) serves a large part of the city; use the office locator at michigan.gov/mdhhs to confirm yours. If you are not sure which office is yours, call us and we will point you to the right one and help you request an assessment.

Can I get paid to care for my mother in Detroit?

Yes, if your mother has Michigan Medicaid and the MDHHS assessment shows she needs help with daily activities. You enroll in CHAMPS as her individual provider, pass a background check, and receive payment for the approved hours. Adult children are the most common Home Help caregivers in Wayne County.

How long does Home Help approval take in Wayne County?

The timeline depends on how quickly the assessment visit is scheduled and how fast the medical needs form comes back from the doctor. Wayne County offices are busy, so incomplete paperwork is the most common cause of delay. We track each step and follow up with the adult services worker for you.