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Getting paid to care for your disabled child in Georgia
Under Georgia's Family Caregiver Option, a parent or other legally responsible family member who lives with a GAPP-approved child can be hired and paid as an employee for the child's approved personal care hours.
How it works
If your child is approved for GAPP personal care support, the person delivering those hours has to be employed by an approved agency. The Family Caregiver Option means that person can be you. You are hired as a W-2 employee of HeartPath, trained and credentialed, and paid on real payroll for the hours your child is authorized.
How the pay works
You are paid an hourly wage, as an employee, for the personal care hours Georgia Medicaid authorizes for your child and that you actually work and document. It runs through weekly payroll with taxes withheld, and your visits are recorded the same way any caregiver’s are, including Medicaid’s electronic visit verification.
Two things follow from that. The number of paid hours is set by the authorization, not by the agency, so this is not a fixed salary. And if the authorized hours change, your pay changes with them. We go over the hourly rate on the first call.
What it does not cover
This pays for personal care support, not skilled nursing. If your child needs a nurse, a nurse provides those hours. Some families have both: authorized nursing hours delivered by an RN or LPN, and personal care hours delivered by the parent.
Who is eligible
- You must be the child’s parent or another legally responsible adult family member, and live with the child. A grandparent or other relative qualifies only if they are legally responsible for the child, for example as legal guardian.
- Your child must be approved for GAPP personal care support hours.
- You must be able to become a W-2 employee, complete about 40 hours of training and pass a background check with fingerprinting.
- Foster parents are not eligible for the Family Caregiver Option.
- It is typically approved around age five and up, because reviewers expect care before that age to be mostly medical. That is an approval pattern, not a written rule, and skilled nursing has no such pattern.
One thing worth checking first
GAPP services themselves are not income and do not count against your child's SSI. But wages you earn as a paid caregiver are earned income, and household earned income can affect a child's SSI. Call your SSI caseworker before you start. We would rather you know that up front than find out on a benefits letter.
Questions families ask
Can a grandparent or other family member be the paid caregiver?
Only if they are legally responsible for the child and live with the child. Georgia's GAPP rules limit the Family Caregiver Option to a legally responsible adult family member who lives with the child, such as a parent or a legal guardian. Foster parents are not eligible.
How much does the Family Caregiver Option pay?
It is an hourly wage, paid weekly through payroll, for the personal care hours Georgia Medicaid authorizes and that you work. We go over the rate on the first call.
Can I be paid for my child's skilled nursing hours?
No. The Family Caregiver Option covers personal care support only. Skilled nursing hours are delivered by a licensed RN or LPN.
Can a parent get paid to take care of a disabled child in Georgia?
Yes, through GAPP's Family Caregiver Option, if your child is approved for GAPP personal care hours and you are a legally responsible adult who lives with the child. You are hired as a W-2 employee of an approved agency and paid hourly for the authorized personal care hours you work. Skilled nursing hours are not included.
Does this work for caring for an elderly parent or another adult?
No. GAPP serves children under 21, so the Family Caregiver Option on this page is only for a child's care. Paid family caregiving for an older adult runs through different Georgia programs; the Georgia Division of Aging Services at aging.georgia.gov is the place to start.
Find out in two minutes
The Caregiver Pay Check asks a few questions about your child and about you, and tells you honestly whether this looks like a fit. Nothing is submitted until you choose to.
Ready when you are.
Tell us about your child and a real person will walk you through what comes next. No cost, no obligation.
Check eligibility Call 678-459-2590HeartPath Home Care is an approved provider for the Georgia Pediatric Program. We are not a government agency, and this page is not an official publication of the Georgia Department of Community Health or Georgia Medicaid. It is a plain-language guide for families. Eligibility for GAPP, Medicaid and Katie Beckett is determined solely by Georgia Medicaid and the state agencies that administer them, based on your child's documented medical needs. Program rules and figures change.