Questions Georgia families actually ask.

Structured Family Caregiving (SFC) is a Georgia Medicaid program that pays a family member — usually an adult child, grandchild, sibling, niece, nephew, or in-law — to live with and care for a loved one at home instead of moving them into a nursing facility. The caregiver receives a weekly tax-free stipend, a dedicated care coach, monthly check-ins, and training. Georgia is one of a small number of states that runs SFC as a full service option.

EDWP is the umbrella Georgia Medicaid uses for home- and community-based long-term care. It's delivered through two waivers — CCSP (Community Care Services Program) and SOURCE (Service Options Using Resources in a Community Environment). SFC is one of the services offered inside both. Your loved one enrolls in one of the two waivers; you enroll as their paid caregiver through an approved provider agency like A1.

It's a real Georgia Medicaid program, funded through the state's Elderly and Disabled Waiver Program. It exists because keeping someone at home costs Georgia far less than paying for a nursing home bed. A1 Georgia Healthcare Agency is an approved provider through the Georgia Department of Community Health — you can verify our status with DCH directly, and we'd recommend you verify any provider that way.

Because the alternative — a nursing facility — costs the state several times more per month than SFC does. You're not gaming anything or taking money that belongs to someone else. You're providing the exact care Medicaid would otherwise have to pay a facility for, and the program is built to make that possible without your family going broke.

No — SFC is a *service* inside those waivers, not a separate program. Your loved one enrolls in either CCSP or SOURCE (based on their income and benefits situation), and once enrolled, SFC becomes one of the services they can choose. Most families don't need to memorize the distinction — figuring out which waiver applies is our job on the first call.

A home health aide is an outside worker paid hourly to come to the house for shifts. SFC pays a family member who already lives with and cares for the person full-time — no shifts, no stranger in the home. The caregiver receives a daily stipend, not an hourly wage, and the arrangement includes a professional care coach and training instead of a rotating agency staff.

Up to $67 per day, depending on your loved one's assessed level of care and which waiver they're on. That's the daily stipend, paid weekly by direct deposit. We'll give you a realistic estimate for your situation on the first call — before you commit to anything.

At the top of the range, roughly $469 per week, paid by direct deposit. The exact amount is set by your loved one's assessed level of need and which waiver they're enrolled in — not by us and not by the agency. Lower assessed acuity means a lower stipend.

After full approval, which typically takes 60 to 90 days from when we begin. Payments are weekly from that point on, by direct deposit. There is no back pay for the caregiving you did before approval, which is the main reason not to wait to start the enrollment process.

Direct deposit, weekly. You give us your account details during enrollment, and payments arrive on the same day each week once you're approved. No paper checks to chase and no delay for mail.

Here's how the math actually works, and it's the same at every SFC provider in Georgia: Medicaid pays the provider agency a daily rate. Roughly 50–65% of that goes to you as the caregiver stipend. The remainder funds the required services around you — your care coach, monthly visits, RN oversight, training, and the staff who handle the paperwork. What differs between providers isn't the math; it's how well they actually deliver on that support.

Generally, yes. Under IRS Notice 2014-7, Medicaid waiver payments to a live-in caregiver are treated as "difficulty of care" payments and excluded from federal gross income under Section 131 of the Internal Revenue Code. We're not tax advisors, so we give you the documentation to bring to yours — but for most SFC caregivers, the stipend doesn't count as taxable income.

Payments that qualify for the difficulty-of-care exclusion under IRS Notice 2014-7 generally shouldn't be reported as taxable wages. If you receive a W-2 or 1099-MISC covering excludable amounts, the IRS's guidance is to notify the payer and, if needed, still exclude them on your return. Bring your tax documentation to your tax preparer — this is one place a real preparer is worth their fee.

The stipend is paid to you, the caregiver — not to your loved one — so it doesn't count as their income. Their Medicaid, SSI, and other means-tested benefits shouldn't be affected. If *you* receive benefits yourself, that's worth a specific conversation on the first call; we'll walk through it honestly rather than guess.

It might, and it depends on which benefit. SSI has strict income and asset limits, so a stipend can affect eligibility even when it's federal-tax-exempt. SSDI has different rules around substantial gainful activity. If you're receiving either, tell us on the first call and talk to the Social Security Administration or a benefits counselor before enrolling. Report any income change to SSA to avoid overpayment penalties.

Possibly — means-tested programs count income differently than the IRS does, and the federal tax exclusion under Notice 2014-7 doesn't automatically carry over to state benefit programs. Before enrolling, ask your DFCS or housing caseworker how they treat difficulty-of-care Medicaid waiver payments in your specific case. We'll flag this on the first call so it doesn't surprise you.

In some cases, yes. The IRS allows caregivers to *choose* to include otherwise-excludable Medicaid waiver payments as earned income for EITC or the Additional Child Tax Credit — an all-or-nothing election, not partial. Whether it helps or hurts depends on your full tax picture, so run the numbers with a tax preparer before deciding.

Medicaid pays the approved provider agency a daily rate for each enrolled family — the exact number depends on the waiver and the participant's assessed acuity tier. From that daily rate, the caregiver stipend (roughly 50–65%) is paid out, and the remainder funds the required care coach visits, RN oversight, training, and administrative work Medicaid requires the agency to provide.

No. Enrolling in SFC costs the family nothing — no application fee, no assessment fee, no paperwork fee. If a provider asks you to pay to apply, walk away. Medicaid funds the entire program, including the agency's work getting you enrolled.

Yes — adult daughters and sons are the most common SFC caregivers in Georgia, as long as you live in the same home, you're not employed outside the home, and your mother has Georgia Medicaid and qualifies for the CCSP or SOURCE waiver. Take the 60-second self-check for a quick read on your situation.

Yes, adult children caring for a parent — mother or father — are the largest single group of paid SFC caregivers in Georgia. The same requirements apply: shared home, primary focus on caregiving (no outside job), and your father meets Medicaid and waiver criteria.

Yes — grandchildren caring for a grandparent are eligible SFC caregivers in Georgia. Same rules: you live in the same home, caregiving is your primary focus, and your grandparent is on Georgia Medicaid and qualifies for CCSP or SOURCE.

Yes. Georgia's SFC program allows adult relatives by blood or marriage — siblings, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins, and in-laws all qualify — provided you live together and meet the other requirements. Adopted family members qualify the same way as biological relatives.

Yes — daughters-in-law, sons-in-law, brothers- and sisters-in-law, and mothers- and fathers-in-law can all be paid SFC caregivers in Georgia. Relation by marriage counts the same as relation by blood.

No. Georgia excludes spouses from SFC — it's a state rule, not an agency rule, and there are no exceptions. Any site suggesting otherwise is wasting your time. That said, call us anyway. Sometimes another relative in the household can serve as the paid caregiver, or a different arrangement fits. We'd rather have that conversation than have you leave the site thinking there's nothing.

No — parents of a minor child are excluded from being the paid SFC caregiver under Georgia's rules. Different Medicaid waivers (NOW, COMP, Katie Beckett) may serve children with disabilities, but SFC as structured in the EDWP is for adult recipients. Call us if you're navigating a child's care situation and we'll point you to the right program.

In many cases yes — parents caring for an *adult* child with disabilities can qualify as the paid SFC caregiver, as long as the adult child is on Georgia Medicaid, meets the waiver's medical requirements, and the household meets the shared-home and primary-focus rules. The bar on parent caregivers only applies to *minor* children.

No — legal guardians and conservators are excluded from being the paid caregiver under SFC. If you were considering becoming your loved one's guardian, weigh that against the caregiver-pay question first, because the two decisions can conflict. Talk it through with an elder-law attorney or with us before you file for guardianship.

You must be legally authorized to work in the United States. Green card holders and other work-authorized residents can be paid caregivers. Your loved one — the care recipient — must be a US citizen or qualified immigrant to be Medicaid-eligible.

No. SFC requires caregiving to be your primary focus, with no outside employment. This is the single most common surprise for families, so we say it upfront on every page. If you need to keep working, the paid-caregiver arrangement won't fit — but another adult relative in the household sometimes can, and that's worth a call.

In practice, no — the rule is that caregiving is your primary focus with no outside employment, and "remote job" still counts as outside employment. The reasoning is that daily hands-on care of someone at a nursing-home level of need can't realistically be delivered alongside a full workday. Call us to talk through your situation before making job changes.

18 or older, and able to provide daily hands-on personal care. There's no upper age limit — plenty of paid SFC caregivers in Georgia are themselves seniors caring for a parent or sibling.

No formal certification or CNA license is required to be a paid SFC family caregiver. The program is built for family members who are already doing the caregiving. A1 provides training and a care coach after enrollment — you don't need to arrive with credentials, only with the willingness and ability to do the work.

Yes. Georgia requires a criminal background check on every paid SFC caregiver as part of the enrollment process. We run it as part of the paperwork we handle. Most family caregivers pass without issue; if you have concerns about something on your record, tell us early so we can address it rather than have it surface late in the process.

In some cases, yes — if two Medicaid-eligible relatives (say, both parents) live in the same home and each qualifies for the waiver, a single caregiver can receive a stipend for each. The exact rules and daily rates depend on both people's assessed acuity. This is a conversation for the first call — we'll walk through what's realistic.

No — Medicare alone is not enough, regardless of what any mailer or ad claims. Georgia Medicaid is required, and specifically enrollment in the CCSP or SOURCE waiver. If your loved one might be eligible for Medicaid but hasn't applied, that's a solvable problem and part of what we help with on the first call.

Dual-eligible seniors (Medicare + Medicaid) are actually the most common SFC recipients in Georgia. Medicare covers acute medical care and short-term rehab; Medicaid covers the long-term home-based care that SFC delivers. You don't have to choose between the two — they coordinate.

Also called Nursing Facility Level of Care (NFLOC), it means your loved one needs substantial daily help — roughly five or more hours a day — with things like bathing, dressing, eating, mobility, medication reminders, or supervision for memory issues. A nurse or care professional makes the assessment during enrollment. If you're already providing that level of care, you probably recognize it.

ADLs (Activities of Daily Living) are the basics: bathing, dressing, toileting, transferring, eating, mobility. IADLs (Instrumental Activities of Daily Living) are the tasks around living independently: meal prep, managing medications, housework, shopping, transportation. The assessment nurse evaluates how much help your loved one needs with both to determine level-of-care eligibility.

Often, yes — dementia, Alzheimer's, and other cognitive conditions can qualify someone for NFLOC when they need supervision or hands-on help with daily activities. The assessment focuses on functional need, not diagnosis, so it's the daily reality of care that determines eligibility, not the label on the chart.

Yes. EDWP (which contains CCSP and SOURCE) serves adults 18 and older with a functional level of need equivalent to nursing facility care — it's not restricted to seniors. Younger adults with severe physical disabilities may also qualify for the Independent Care Waiver Program (ICWP) instead of EDWP; we'll help you figure out which fits.

For 2026, CCSP applicants generally need monthly gross income under about $2,982 and countable assets at or below $2,000. SOURCE is stricter on income — tied to SSI, around $994/month — but many SOURCE participants qualify automatically because they already receive SSI. Married couples have separate rules. Being over the income limit doesn't automatically disqualify — a Qualified Income Trust (Miller Trust) can preserve eligibility.

Over-the-limit doesn't mean over and out. Georgia allows a Qualified Income Trust (also called a Miller Trust) that can preserve Medicaid eligibility for applicants whose gross monthly income exceeds the cap. Setting one up is a legal step, not a DIY project — but families do it all the time. We'll flag whether it applies and connect you to elder-law resources if so.

No — most families we work with aren't yet on CCSP or SOURCE when they contact us. Getting your loved one enrolled in the appropriate waiver is the majority of the enrollment work. That's what we handle. You don't need to sort out the waiver first and then come to us; come to us first.

That's fine and very common — it doesn't affect eligibility. What matters is that you share the same residence full-time, not whose name is on the deed. Whether the caregiver lives in the recipient's home or vice versa, both meet the shared-home requirement.

Not for SFC as it stands — SFC requires the caregiver to live with the recipient. But families do move in together for this, and it's a legitimate path. If you're considering it, call before you make the move so we can walk you through the order of operations. Other Medicaid options may also serve someone living alone.

Both are Georgia Medicaid waivers inside the Elderly and Disabled Waiver Program, and both deliver SFC. The main differences: CCSP allows higher income (around $2,982/month in 2026) and gives more flexibility on primary care choice, but has a limited number of slots and can waitlist. SOURCE is tied to SSI-level income (around $994/month) and includes coordinated primary-care oversight, which suits people with complex chronic conditions. Figuring out which fits is our job on the first call.

It's rarely a preference — it's a function of your loved one's income and benefits. If they're on SSI, SOURCE usually fits. If their income is between the SSI cap and the CCSP cap, CCSP is usually the path. Above the CCSP cap, a Miller Trust may be needed. We tell you which one applies during your first call so you're not guessing.

CCSP has a waitlist — it's not an entitlement, and slots are capped by federal agreement. Historically the list has ranged from about 1,500 to 3,500 Georgians. SOURCE typically moves faster. The state prioritizes by severity of need and imminent risk of institutional placement, not first-come-first-served. We'll tell you honestly on the first call whether a waitlist is likely to affect you.

It varies by region and by how quickly current participants leave the program. Your position depends on the severity of your loved one's assessed need, so a family in genuine crisis can move faster than someone whose situation is stable. We'll give you a realistic read on the first call rather than a generic number that may not apply to you.

Yes, and it's often the right move. Getting placed on the list is a starting point, not a commitment — you can continue exploring SOURCE, ICWP, or private options in parallel. If your loved one's situation deteriorates, you can request an expedited review through the local Area Agency on Aging.

In some cases yes — usually when a change in your loved one's income or medical situation makes the other waiver a better fit. Switching involves reapplying and a new assessment. It's not fast, but it's possible. Talk to your care coach before initiating a switch so services aren't interrupted.

It's a home visit by a nurse or care professional from the case management side of Georgia's waiver system. They evaluate how much daily help your loved one needs — bathing, dressing, eating, moving safely, memory and supervision needs — using Georgia DCH's standardized assessment tool. The result determines both eligibility and the daily stipend tier.

Typically 2 to 3 hours. The nurse asks questions, watches your loved one perform basic tasks, reviews medications and medical history, and talks to you as the caregiver about what daily life looks like. It's a conversation and observation — not a test to pass or fail.

Describe the hardest days honestly, not the good days. Families understate need out of pride all the time — and it costs them stipend dollars and sometimes eligibility itself. Have current medications, diagnoses, and any recent hospital or specialist reports available. Don't clean up or dress your loved one "nicely" for the visit; let the nurse see the real picture.

The waiver won't approve enrollment, and SFC can't proceed. If you disagree with the finding, you have appeal rights — request a fair hearing in writing. If needs increase later, the assessment can be redone. Sometimes what looks like a "no" is actually a "not yet," and we'll help you understand which.

Yes — the stipend is tied to assessed acuity, so a significant change in your loved one's needs can trigger a reassessment. Improvements (rare but possible) can lower the rate; declines can raise it. Tell your care coach about hospitalizations, new diagnoses, or noticeable changes; they'll help decide whether a reassessment is warranted.

Not A1. Assessments are done by staff from the case management side — typically your local Area Agency on Aging for CCSP, or a SOURCE site's care coordinator for SOURCE. It's deliberately separate from the provider agency, so the finding isn't influenced by anyone who profits from the outcome. We coordinate the scheduling; the case manager conducts it.

Worth gathering before your first call, but don't wait if you don't have them all: Georgia Medicaid card or Medicaid number; photo ID for both caregiver and care recipient; proof you share an address (utility bill, lease, or ID); a list of diagnoses and current medications; and income/benefits info for your loved one (Social Security award letter or similar). Missing pieces are normal — chasing them down is part of what we do.

Then applying for Medicaid is the first step — before the waiver application, before the assessment. We can guide you through that too. The Medicaid application goes through Georgia's Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS), and depending on your loved one's situation, may involve a Qualified Income Trust or other planning steps.

In most cases, no. For straightforward eligibility, we handle the paperwork and coordinate with the case management agency. If your loved one's income or assets are close to or above the limits, or if guardianship or estate-planning questions come up, an elder-law attorney is worth the money. We'll tell you honestly if we think you need one.

In rough order: (1) intake call with A1 to confirm eligibility; (2) Medicaid application if needed; (3) waiver application to the Area Agency on Aging or SOURCE site; (4) the Level of Care assessment; (5) DCH review and slot allocation (this is where CCSP can waitlist); (6) care plan approval; (7) SFC enrollment paperwork with A1; (8) background check and direct-deposit setup; (9) first weekly payment.

You have the right to appeal. Denials often come down to a missing document, an assessment that didn't capture the full picture, or a technicality on the Medicaid side. Call us before you decide the answer is final — many denials are correctable, and reapplying isn't always the right next step. Sometimes a fair-hearing request is.

Most families complete enrollment in 60 to 90 days from when we start. Three to five months isn't unusual, because multiple agencies and assessments are involved, and because CCSP has limited slots that can waitlist. What we promise isn't a magic timeline — it's that you'll always know where your application is and what's next. You will never have to wonder.

Because SFC enrollment touches Medicaid eligibility (DFCS), waiver eligibility (DCH), a case management agency (your AAA or SOURCE site), a Level of Care assessment (a separate clinician), a background check on the caregiver, and finally the provider agency's own onboarding. Any of these steps can stall; keeping all of them moving in parallel is the actual work of enrollment.

Sometimes — when your loved one is already Medicaid-enrolled, already on the waiver, and the assessment slots are open in your region, some families move faster. But we won't promise a fast timeline to close a lead. If we can accelerate a step in your case, we will; if we can't, you'll know.

No — payments begin only after full approval. There is no back pay for the caregiving you did during the application period. This is one more reason to start the process before a crisis, not during one.

For CCSP, yes — being placed on the waitlist is often the right first step even while other paperwork is in progress. For SOURCE, the pathway usually doesn't queue the same way. We'll tell you on the first call which applies to your situation.

It's the IRS guidance that treats qualified Medicaid waiver payments — the kind SFC caregivers receive — as "difficulty of care" payments excludable from federal gross income under Section 131 of the Internal Revenue Code. In plain English: when a live-in caregiver is paid by a state Medicaid HCBS program to care for someone in the same home, that payment is generally federally tax-exempt.

Three things generally have to be true: (1) the payment comes from a Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) waiver program (CCSP and SOURCE both qualify); (2) the caregiver and care recipient share the same home; and (3) the care allows the recipient to remain at home instead of an institution. If those apply to your situation, the exclusion should apply. Confirm with a tax preparer.

Filing requirements depend on your total income, not just SFC pay. If SFC is your only income and it's fully excludable, you may not be required to file federally — but filing can still be worth it (for example, to claim EITC by electing to treat the payments as earned income). Talk to a tax preparer.

Georgia generally starts from federal taxable income, so amounts excluded federally under Notice 2014-7 are usually excluded at the state level too. This isn't formal state guidance for every scenario, though, so confirm with your tax preparer for your specific situation.

FICA treatment of Notice 2014-7 payments is one of the messier corners of tax law and can vary. Some providers withhold FICA and issue a W-2; others don't. Whether FICA applies to your specific stipend depends on how the agency is structured as your employer and how the payments are classified. A1's payroll approach and any withholding we do is something we'll walk you through in enrollment.

The ACA subsidy calculation uses Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI), which starts from federally taxable income. Excludable difficulty-of-care payments generally aren't part of MAGI, so they usually don't reduce your subsidy — but corner cases exist. If you're on a marketplace plan, verify with your marketplace navigator or a tax preparer before enrolling.

Possibly — SNAP counts income under its own rules and doesn't automatically follow the IRS's federal exclusion. Some states treat difficulty-of-care Medicaid waiver payments as excluded for SNAP; others count them. Ask your DFCS caseworker specifically how they treat Medicaid HCBS waiver payments before you enroll.

Housing programs generally use HUD's income definition, which is separate again from the IRS. Some HUD guidance excludes difficulty-of-care payments; local housing authorities can vary in practice. If you're in Section 8 or public housing, ask your housing authority directly and get the answer in writing before you enroll.

Medicaid uses either MAGI or non-MAGI income rules depending on the category. Difficulty-of-care payments are often excluded from MAGI Medicaid income; non-MAGI eligibility (for example, if you're on Medicaid due to age or disability) has different rules. If you personally receive Medicaid, ask DFCS how they treat it before you enroll.

Only if it counts as earned income. There's a specific IRS rule that lets caregivers elect to treat Notice 2014-7 payments as earned income for retirement contribution purposes — which lets you contribute to an IRA even though the income is otherwise excluded. This is a live area of tax planning, so run it by a preparer if it's something you want.

Practically, no. Georgia Medicaid pays for SFC through a licensed provider agency by design. The agency is the employer of record for the caregiver, handles the ongoing services Medicaid requires (care coach, RN oversight, training, monthly visits), and manages compliance. You can pick which agency, but you can't opt out of having one.

Every SFC provider is paid the same way and delivers the same required services. What differs is how the services are actually delivered — whether calls get returned, whether the care coach is a real person you know or a rotation, and whether the agency stays with you when something goes wrong at 4pm on a Friday. Talk to us and to two other agencies before you sign. That's the honest advice.

We're at 4505 Peachtree Industrial Blvd, Suite K, Norcross, GA 30092, and we serve families across metro Atlanta and beyond. If you're not sure whether we cover your county, call 678-446-1832 — we'll tell you honestly and, if we can't serve you, point you to a provider who can.

Phone: 678-446-1832, Monday–Friday 9am–5pm. Email: info@gahac.com. A real person answers the phone or returns messages within one business day. Or use the eligibility check form and we'll call you.

Yes — A1 Georgia Healthcare Agency is a Georgia Department of Community Health-approved Structured Family Caregiving provider. You can verify our provider status through DCH directly. We've been in home care in Georgia since 2008 (staffing since 2004).

A1 has been serving Georgia families with in-home care since 2008 and has been involved in healthcare staffing since 2004. That's most of the history of Georgia's home-based Medicaid waiver programs.

Yes — families are allowed to change SFC provider agencies. If you're enrolled somewhere and unhappy with the support you're getting, call us and we'll explain what a transfer involves for your specific situation. Transferring doesn't usually restart the whole waiver application, but there are steps to coordinate so payments don't pause.

A small team, on purpose. When you call back, you get the same intake coordinator who took your first call, and the same care coach after enrollment — not a new voice reading your file. Real names and direct contacts are on our About page.

Yes, and we prefer that outcome to enrolling a family we shouldn't have. If SFC isn't the right fit, or if a different provider is closer to you, or if your situation calls for a program we don't run, we'll say so on the first call and point you where to go next.

Checks in with you monthly, helps you problem-solve the hard parts of caregiving, coordinates training and resources, tracks whether your loved one's needs are changing, and serves as your day-to-day point of contact at the agency. It's not surveillance — it's the support layer the program is funded to provide, so you're not doing this alone.

Monthly, at minimum, as a formal care coach visit. Additional visits happen when something changes — a hospitalization, a new diagnosis, a shift in medications, a caregiver crisis. Between visits, your care coach is reachable by phone.

Caregiver training is built into the SFC program — a mix of onboarding materials and ongoing modules based on your loved one's condition (dementia care, fall prevention, medication management, etc.). It's not certification-level and it's not busywork. The goal is to give you specific, practical guidance on the parts of caregiving that get hardest.

Yes. Respite is a covered service under both CCSP and SOURCE — a fill-in caregiver comes for a defined period so you can rest, travel, or handle other obligations without leaving your loved one uncovered. Talk to your care coach to arrange it. Don't just stop providing care without arranging respite; that creates problems for enrollment.

Report the hospitalization to your care coach right away. Short hospital stays have specific rules — the stipend may pause during inpatient care depending on the length and the waiver. Longer stays or a nursing-facility placement can trigger a reassessment when your loved one comes home. The care coach walks you through it as it happens, not hypothetically now.

Tell your care coach. Significant changes can prompt a reassessment, and the stipend follows assessed acuity — declines usually mean a rate increase, improvements can mean a decrease. Waiting to report changes doesn't help anyone, so err on the side of flagging things early.

Call your care coach. Respite exists exactly for this. Short-term illness is manageable; longer-term illness that changes your ability to provide care may require re-evaluating the arrangement. Don't try to hide it and don't try to power through — the agency and the care team can help figure out coverage.

Notify your care coach and the case management agency as soon as possible. Payment stops as of the date of death; you may be entitled to any earned stipend up to that date. The agency will guide you through the small amount of closing paperwork. This is one of the hardest moments in caregiving; A1 stays with you through it.

Yes, at any time. No contracts, no penalties from us. If your loved one's needs outgrow home care, we'll say so and help you think through what's next — a higher level of care, assisted living, or a nursing facility. The program is built to serve your family, not to trap you in it.

Sometimes yes. Depending on your loved one's diagnosis and age, the Independent Care Waiver Program (ICWP) may serve adults 21–64 with severe physical disabilities or TBI. NOW and COMP waivers serve people with intellectual or developmental disabilities. Katie Beckett (TEFRA) serves children with significant disabilities regardless of family income. The VA has caregiver programs for eligible veterans. We'll point you to the right one on the first call.

ICWP is a Georgia Medicaid waiver that funds home care for adults 21 to 64 with severe physical disabilities or traumatic brain injury — a different population than EDWP's older-adult focus. Eligibility, services, and self-direction options work differently from CCSP/SOURCE. If your loved one is younger and has a qualifying physical disability, ICWP may be a better fit than SFC.

Yes — the VA runs several caregiver-support programs, including the Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers (PCAFC) for eligible post-9/11 (and now some older-era) veterans with service-connected disabilities. Eligibility is separate from Medicaid and can stack in some cases. If your loved one is a veteran, mention it on the first call — VA support can significantly change the picture.

Not in the New York CDPAP sense. Georgia's self-direction options inside CCSP and SOURCE are agency-mediated rather than fully consumer-directed, and hiring family members through them has restrictions. SFC is the closest thing to a paid-family-caregiver arrangement Georgia offers — that's why it's the main route we work in.

Some long-term care insurance policies allow family members to be paid as caregivers. Terms vary widely — some pay only licensed aides, others allow family. Ask your insurer in writing what their policy allows. LTC insurance and SFC can sometimes coordinate; it depends on the policy language and the specifics of the SFC enrollment.

When someone enters hospice, their care structure often changes, and how it interacts with SFC depends on the waiver they're on and the specifics of the hospice benefit. Sometimes SFC can continue alongside hospice; sometimes services shift. Talk to your care coach and the hospice provider together — don't try to figure this out solo.

Fill out the eligibility check or call 678-446-1832 — a real intake coordinator responds within one business day. The first conversation is about 10–15 minutes. You'll walk away knowing whether SFC likely fits, which waiver applies, and what the realistic timeline is. No obligation.

Not really — an honest description of your situation is enough. If you happen to have your loved one's Medicaid number, that helps, but it's not required. We'll ask about the daily care you're providing, who lives in the home, and where your loved one is with their Medicaid and Medicare status. Everything else we sort out from there.

About 10 to 15 minutes for the initial eligibility conversation. If you'd like to keep going and start the paperwork, expect another 20–30 minutes on top. We don't stretch calls to seem thorough. Once we know whether it's a fit, we get on with it.

A phone conversation with our intake coordinator to confirm the basics — shared home, relationship, your loved one's Medicaid status, and rough level of care. Based on that, we tell you which waiver path applies and what the next document or contact is. Nothing gets signed on that call; you leave with information, not a commitment.

Yes — 678-446-1832, Monday–Friday 9am–5pm. Most families prefer calling. The form is there for people who want to reach out after hours or would rather have us call them back.

That's exactly what the phone call is for. Ten minutes with our intake coordinator and you'll know whether SFC fits, which waiver applies, and what the realistic timeline is for your family. No pressure to enroll, no obligation to continue. Many of the families we've helped most are ones we never enrolled — we just pointed them the right way.