Dementia Care in Arkansas: Help, Respite, and Who Pays

Dementia care in Arkansas falls largely to family, and you do not have to carry it alone or pay for all of it yourself. More than 60,000 Arkansans 65 and older are living with Alzheimer's, cared for mostly by relatives at home.1

Dementia caregiving is its own kind of hard: the long arc, the behavioral changes, the safety worries, the grief that starts before any loss. This guide maps the Arkansas-specific help available in 2026, from the free 24/7 helpline to Medicaid respite to the programs that can pay you for the care you already provide.

You do not have to navigate this alone, and you do not have to fund all of it from your savings.

In This Guide

• Arkansas Dementia Caregiving, by the Numbers
• Where to Start With Dementia Care in Arkansas
• Where Can You Get Help in Arkansas?
• Keeping a Loved One With Dementia Safe
• Who Pays for Dementia Care in Arkansas
• Respite for Dementia Caregivers
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Learn More

Arkansas Dementia Caregiving, by the Numbers

An estimated 60,400 Arkansans age 65 and older are living with Alzheimer's dementia, about 11 percent of the state's senior population. More than 175,000 Arkansans provide unpaid care, contributing an estimated 268 million hours each year, valued at approximately $5.0 billion.1

If the work feels overwhelming, that is not a personal failing. It is the reality of a condition that demands more, for longer, than almost any other.

Where to Start With Dementia Care in Arkansas

When a diagnosis lands, or when caregiving starts to outpace what you can manage alone, two contacts open most doors in Arkansas:

1. The Alzheimer's Association 24/7 Helpline: 1-800-272-3900. Staffed around the clock, it offers confidential emotional support, crisis assistance, dementia-specific guidance, and referrals to local Arkansas programs, in more than 200 languages. There is no cost and no eligibility test.2
2. Your local Area Agency on Aging. Arkansas's AAAs help you understand what Medicare and Medicaid cover, connect you to respite, and provide caregiver counseling and training. Find yours through the federal Eldercare Locator or by calling 1-800-677-1116.2

Where Can You Get Help in Arkansas?

Arkansas's Area Agencies on Aging, overseen by the Department of Human Services Division of Aging, Adult, and Behavioral Health Services, provide caregiver counseling, support groups, training, and respite, including through the Family Caregiver Support Program. The Alzheimer's Association Arkansas chapter offers support groups, education, and care consultations.2

Keeping a Loved One With Dementia Safe

Some of the hardest moments in dementia care are the ones where you have to take something away (the car keys, the front-door latitude, the checkbook) while your loved one can still feel the loss. There is no painless way to do it, only a kinder-and-sooner one. Dementia raises issues other caregiving does not: wandering, driving, sundowning, and the legal and financial planning that needs to happen while your loved one can still participate. The Alzheimer's Association 24/7 Helpline (1-800-272-3900) can walk you through behavioral strategies and connect you to local resources. Early legal planning (a durable power of attorney, advance directives, and a long-term-care plan) is far easier done sooner than later, before dementia progresses far enough to raise questions about capacity.2

Who Pays for Dementia Care in Arkansas

No single payer covers everything dementia care demands. Most Arkansas families assemble a plan from several sources, and which ones apply depends on income, assets, and whether the person you care for is a veteran.

Arkansas Medicaid (ARChoices in Homecare)

For Arkansans who qualify, the ARChoices in Homecare waiver provides home and community-based dementia care for seniors and adults with physical disabilities at risk of nursing-home placement, including adult day care, in-home and facility-based respite, attendant care, home-delivered meals, and personal emergency response systems. Functional eligibility is assessed through the local Area Agency on Aging or the Department of Human Services. Arkansas also operates an IndependentChoices self-direction option that can pay a family caregiver, and offers caregiver respite through its Arkansas Lifespan Respite program.3,4 Long-term-care Medicaid also carries income and asset limits that a dementia diagnosis alone does not waive; for the current Arkansas thresholds and how a spouse's income and assets are treated, see Arkansas Medicaid income and asset limits and Arkansas Medicaid and nursing home care.

Getting Paid to Care for a Loved One With Dementia

Many Arkansas dementia caregivers can be paid for the care they provide, through Medicaid self-direction or, for veterans' families, VA programs. The pathways, who can be hired, and the pay are covered in the Arkansas paid family caregiver guide.

VA Benefits (for Veterans)

If the person you care for is a veteran, two VA programs can help. The Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers (PCAFC) pays an approved Primary Family Caregiver a tax-free monthly stipend, and a spouse can serve as that caregiver. PCAFC serves veterans who have a VA disability rating (individual or combined) of 70% or higher, need at least six months of continuous, in-person personal care, and are enrolled in VA health care; it also provides caregiver training, counseling, and at least 30 days of respite care a year. The stipend is not a flat national figure: it is set by regulation as the federal Office of Personnel Management General Schedule (GS) grade 4, step 1, annual pay rate for the veteran's local area, divided by 12, and a Primary Family Caregiver receives 62.5 percent of that monthly rate (or 100 percent if the VA determines the veteran is unable to self-sustain in the community). Because it is tied to the veteran's locality, the dollar amount varies by where the veteran lives.5 Separately, Aid and Attendance (A&A) is an increased monthly pension for veterans and surviving spouses who already qualify for a VA pension and need help with daily activities like bathing, dressing, and feeding (needs common in dementia), so it can offset the cost of in-home or facility care.5 Call the VA Caregiver Support Line at 1-855-260-3274.

Medicare

Under Medicare Part B, if a routine or yearly "Wellness" visit turns up signs of cognitive impairment, Medicare covers a separate visit to fully assess cognitive function and build a written care plan, a service that can help diagnose dementia, including Alzheimer's disease. After the Part B deductible, you pay 20% of the Medicare-approved amount. Medicare also covers, when a person qualifies, part-time or intermittent skilled home health care and hospice. But Medicare does not pay for long-term custodial care (the ongoing, non-medical help with bathing, dressing, and using the bathroom that dementia eventually requires) or for a family caregiver's time; families typically cover that out of pocket, through Medicaid if eligible, or with long-term-care insurance.6 Where it operates, the GUIDE Model, a nationwide CMS program that began July 1, 2024, adds dementia care navigation, a 24/7 support line, caregiver training, and up to $2,500 a year in respite per eligible patient; the person must have a Medicare provider enrolled in the model. Ask your neurologist or the Alzheimer's Association helpline whether a GUIDE provider operates near you.6

Respite for Dementia Caregivers

Respite is what makes the long haul survivable. In Arkansas, respite comes from Medicaid for eligible members, the National Family Caregiver Support Program through your Area Agency on Aging (free, no income test), and adult day programs.2 For the full picture, see Respite Care in Arkansas.

A few days a week at a dementia-capable adult day program often does double duty: it gives you reliable hours back, and the structure, activity, and social contact frequently improve sleep, mood, and behavior for the person with dementia.

Learn More

Find personalized help caring for a loved one with dementia in Arkansas at brevy.com.

The information on Brevy.com is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional legal, financial, or medical advice. Rules vary by state and program and change frequently. Always verify with the relevant agency or a qualified professional. Brevy is not a law firm, financial advisor, or healthcare provider.