Updated September 3, 2026. Quick answer: yes, through Structured Family Caregiving (SFC) / CD-PSS, Elderly and Disabled Waiver. Most adult family members can be hired and paid to provide the care. Whether a spouse specifically qualifies is not clearly stated in the materials reviewed this session.
How Georgia pays a family caregiver
| Program | Structured Family Caregiving (SFC) / CD-PSS, Elderly and Disabled Waiver |
|---|---|
| Can a family member be paid? | Yes. “Consumer-Directed Personal Support Services… Consumer hires and supervises worker(s) of choice… Structured Family Caregiver… Live-in family member works with SFC provider’s health coach while supporting the member.” |
| Can a spouse be paid? | Not clearly addressed in the materials reviewed this session. |
Why the spouse question is different
Federal Medicaid rule treats a spouse (and a parent paying for a minor child) as a “legally responsible relative”, someone already assumed to owe the care for free, so paying them is barred by default. A state has to build an explicit exception into its waiver or state-plan option to pay a spouse at all; the rule for any other relative (an adult child, a sibling, a grandchild) is looser and usually allowed. That is why the two rows above can carry different answers on the same page.
The going rate
Not published by the state in the materials reviewed this session.
How it works
Contact your local Area Agency on Aging or SOURCE site for a functional and financial eligibility screening; Structured Family Caregiving requires there already be a live-in, unpaid family caregiver in the home and an assessed need for at least five hours of personal support daily, while CD-PSS requires choosing a Financial Management Services provider to act as employer of record.
What this doesn’t answer
Third-party sources state a spouse, legal guardian, parent of a minor, or conservator cannot be the paid SFC caregiver, but this could not be independently confirmed on an official Georgia .gov page this session (the state rules site blocked automated access), so spousal eligibility is Unclear rather than No. No official per-diem/hourly rate was found on a .gov page. Current wait-list length was not published.
Sources
- Georgia Medicaid: Elderly and Disabled Waiver Program (EDWP) overview
- GA Dept. of Community Health: Community Care Services Program (CCSP) overview
- GA Dept. of Community Health: Structured Family Caregiving public notice
Read September 3, 2026.
Same question, other states: Hawaii · Idaho.
Related: the private-pay caregiver-agreement rule · the household-employee tax rules once you’re being paid · what family caregiving actually costs unpaid.
General information drawn from each state’s own Medicaid agency and public program materials, not legal, tax or financial advice. Medicaid self-direction programs are administered state by state and change by budget cycle and waiver renewal; this page cannot see your own state’s current program status or your family’s eligibility. We are not a law firm, a benefits counselor, or a fiduciary, and this is not personalized advice. We sell nothing on this page and earn nothing from it.