Caregiver Programs in Arkansas: Paid, Respite & Support (2026)

Arkansas caregiver programs include a Medicaid waiver for in-home care and respite, respite through local Area Agencies on Aging, and VA programs that can pay a spouse.

If you are caring for an aging parent, a spouse, or an adult child with a disability in Arkansas, the hard part is rarely whether help exists. It is knowing what is there and where to start. This guide maps every major caregiver program in the state for 2026: who each one pays, what it costs you, and the first call to make.

You don't have to figure this out alone, and you don't have to fund all of it from your savings.

In This Guide

• Arkansas Caregiver Programs at a Glance
• Can You Get Paid to Be a Caregiver in Arkansas?
• How Do You Get Respite Care in Arkansas?
• Where to Get Help in Arkansas
• VA Caregiver Benefits in Arkansas
• Taxes for Arkansas Caregivers
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Learn More

Arkansas Caregiver Programs at a Glance

Can You Get Paid to Be a Caregiver in Arkansas?

If the person you care for may qualify for Arkansas Medicaid home care, two programs are worth knowing before you call. Both can pay a relative who is not legally responsible for the participant, such as an adult child, and neither pays a spouse.2,6

ARChoices in Homecare Waiver. ARChoices is a 1915(c) Medicaid home and community-based services waiver for people aged 65 or older and adults aged 21 through 64 with a physical disability. An applicant must meet all three requirements, not just the age or disability one: the age or disability test, established financial criteria, and the nursing home admission level of care criteria, meaning the state determines the person would otherwise need the care a nursing facility provides. Services include attendant care (direct help with eating, dressing, bathing, meal planning, laundry, and shopping for essentials), adult day health, and respite care, furnished under a written person-centered service plan that the Medicaid agency must approve.1 ARChoices services may be provided by a participant's relative, but Medicaid will not pay for any waiver service rendered by the participant's spouse, legal guardian of the person, or attorney-in-fact granted authority to direct their care. A paid relative must meet the same ARChoices provider certification and Arkansas Medicaid enrollment requirements as any other provider.2

IndependentChoices. In some situations, beneficiaries can hire and choose their own providers for personal care services through a separate self-direction program called IndependentChoices.1 It covers State Plan personal care for Medicaid beneficiaries and attendant care for ARChoices participants, and the participant is the employer of record who hires the personal assistant. Arkansas's IndependentChoices manual says family members, other than those with legal responsibility to the beneficiary, may serve as personal assistants, and that a court-appointed legal guardian, spouse, power of attorney or income payee may not.6 Self-direction is not a way around the spouse rule, because the ARChoices bar on paying a spouse reaches self-directed attendant care too.2 To confirm how either pathway applies to your family, contact the Arkansas DHS Choices in Living Resource Center.

Agency personal care. Arkansas Medicaid's ordinary State Plan personal care must come from a certified personal care aide who is not a member of the beneficiary's family, and Arkansas defines family for this rule to include a spouse, a legal guardian of the person, and an attorney-in-fact granted authority to direct the beneficiary's care. For beneficiaries 21 and older, personal care aide services are limited to 64 hours a month, a firm cap with no extensions or exceptions.6 If you are caring for your husband or wife, see How to Get Paid to Care for Your Spouse in Arkansas.

For the full guide to who can be paid and how, see: How to Get Paid as a Family Caregiver in Arkansas.

How Do You Get Respite Care in Arkansas?

Even if the person you care for is not on Medicaid and has no veteran connection, you may still have options. The National Family Caregiver Support Program (NFCSP), authorized under Title III-E of the Older Americans Act of 1965, makes grants to states, and its services are provided by Area Agencies on Aging or the entities they contract with. The caregivers it serves include adult family members or other informal caregivers of people 60 and older, and of people of any age with Alzheimer's disease and related disorders. It funds five categories of caregiver services: information, help accessing services, counseling, support groups and training, respite care, and limited supplemental services. For these family caregivers, though, respite care and supplemental services are available only when the person cared for is an older person who is frail, meaning unable to perform at least two activities of daily living without substantial human assistance, or needing substantial supervision because a cognitive or other mental impairment makes their behavior a serious health or safety hazard. The first three categories carry no such condition, so a caregiver of a younger person with Alzheimer's disease can still get information, help accessing services, counseling, support groups and training, but not NFCSP respite.3

If the person you care for is on the ARChoices waiver, respite care is one of its services, furnished under the approved service plan. For the full respite guide, see: Respite Care in Arkansas. To reach your regional Area Agency on Aging, use the contacts in the next section.

Where to Get Help in Arkansas

Arkansas's Area Agencies on Aging, or the entities they contract with, provide NFCSP services: information about available services, help gaining access to them, counseling and caregiver training, and respite care. The contacts below can point you to the right office.3

VA Caregiver Benefits in Arkansas

If the person you care for is a veteran, an entirely separate set of benefits opens up, and it is often more generous than the Medicaid path. Veterans enrolled in VA health care in Arkansas can access caregiver support programs that stand apart from Medicaid.

VA Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers (PCAFC)

The PCAFC pays a monthly stipend to the Primary Family Caregiver of an eligible veteran. The stipend is calculated from the federal GS-4, Step 1 annual rate for the veteran's locality, divided by 12, then multiplied by a factor set in 38 CFR 71.40(c)(4)(i). In the current program (§ 71.20(a)) the factor is 0.625, or 1.00 when VA determines the veteran is unable to self-sustain in the community. For a legacy participant or legacy applicant (§ 71.20(b) or (c), a household already in PCAFC under the pre-October 2020 rules), the factor comes from the sum of the veteran's 2019 clinical ratings instead, with no self-sustain determination required: 1.00 at a sum of 21 or higher, 0.625 at 13 to 20, and 0.25 at 1 to 12. A veteran who qualifies under both is paid the higher amount, and the legacy schedule lapses October 1, 2028. Do not treat 0.625 as your ceiling; the Arkansas paid family caregiver guide walks through which schedule applies and the legacy floor for pre-2020 households. The caregiver must be at least 18 and either a family member of the veteran, including a spouse, or someone who lives full time with the veteran (or is willing to if VA designates them), related or not. VA lists four requirements for the veteran, and all of them must be true: a VA disability rating (individual or combined) of 70% or higher, a discharge from the U.S. military or a date of medical discharge, a need for at least six months of continuous, in-person personal care, and enrollment in VA health care. Those four are a first screen rather than the decision; you and the veteran apply together, and VA decides eligibility through its application process. Once approved, the Primary Family Caregiver must be enrolled in direct deposit through the VA customer engagement portal before the monthly stipend is paid.4,8

VA Aid and Attendance Pension

Wartime veterans and surviving spouses who meet the functional criteria and have countable assets and income under the net-worth limit ($163,699 in 2026) may receive the Aid and Attendance pension. VA sets these as annual maximums, and the maximum is a ceiling rather than a flat award: VA pays the difference between the claimant's countable income and the applicable maximum, so a veteran or survivor with other income receives less than the amount shown. A single veteran with Aid and Attendance receives up to $29,093 a year; a veteran with one dependent up to $34,488 a year. These are annual figures; VA computes the monthly payment from the annual maximum less countable income, divided by 12. The pension goes to the veteran, who typically pays a family caregiver from it.5

The Arkansas state veterans agency and county or town Veterans Service Officers help file at no cost. To speak with a VA Caregiver Support Coordinator, call the VA Caregiver Support Line listed in Where to Get Help in Arkansas.

Taxes for Arkansas Caregivers

Taxes are the part most families dread, but here the news is often gentler than you would expect: money you receive to care for a loved one is frequently treated more kindly than an ordinary paycheck. Here is what to know before you file.

IRS Notice 2014-7

If you live in the same home as the person you care for and are paid through a Medicaid program, your wages may be excluded from federal gross income under IRS Notice 2014-7. The notice covers Medicaid waiver payments, such as ARChoices, for care given in the home where you and the person you care for both live; it does not cover care you give in a home where you do not live. For a Medicaid program that is not a home and community-based services waiver, such as State Plan personal care, the IRS says the treatment depends on the nature of the payments and the purpose and design of the program.9 Talk to a tax preparer familiar with the rule before filing.

Arkansas State Income Tax

State income tax treatment of caregiver wages varies. Confirm the current rate and how it applies to Medicaid waiver payments with the Arkansas state revenue department or a tax preparer.

VA PCAFC Stipend

The PCAFC payment is a monthly stipend to the Primary Family Caregiver, not an hourly wage from an employer. As a benefit paid under a law administered by the VA, it is exempt from taxation under 38 U.S.C. 5301. Confirm how to report it with a tax preparer familiar with VA benefits.

Learn More

Find personalized help navigating Arkansas caregiver programs 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.