Respite Care in Colorado: A 2026 Guide for Family Caregivers

If you are caring for a parent or spouse in Colorado and the days are starting to run together, respite care is a funded break worth asking about. Colorado families can find funded help through four doors: federally funded National Family Caregiver Support Program (NFCSP) respite at local Area Agencies on Aging, respite under the Medicaid Elderly, Blind, and Disabled waiver, Medicaid self-direction that can pay a spouse or relative as an attendant for hands-on care (pay for care, not respite), and two VA programs for veterans' families.

Respite is not stepping away from your responsibility. It is part of what makes caring at home sustainable over the long run.

This guide maps the funded respite options in Colorado for 2026, including what to do if you qualify for none of the means-tested programs.

Why Respite Care Matters

Family caregiver burnout is not a personal failing. Federal data show family caregivers fare worse than non-caregivers across most health indicators, and nearly 1 in 5 reports fair or poor health. Elderly caregivers who already have a chronic illness and are under caregiving-related stress have a 63% higher mortality rate than their non-caregiving peers. Planned breaks are one way to look after your own health while you keep caring for your loved one at home.9

In Colorado, Medicaid self-direction adds a real option: under CDASS a spouse can be hired and paid as the member's attendant, subject to conditions, including that a member of the household may be paid only for extraordinary care as determined by the Case Manager. That matters for families where the primary caregiver is a husband or wife.4

If you are not sure where to start, call Aging and Disability Resources for Colorado (ADRC) at 1-844-265-2372. The Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS) describes ADRC as a source of information on the full range of long-term services and support options for older adults, including options counseling.10

Who Pays for Respite Care in Colorado?

Colorado families can find funded help through four main doors. NFCSP and the EBD waiver pay for respite itself; CDASS and IHSS pay a family member as an attendant for hands-on care rather than for respite; and VA programs serve veterans' families. NFCSP depends on who you care for rather than on Medicaid; the others depend on Medicaid enrollment or veteran status. The table below compares them, and the sections that follow explain each in detail.

1. NFCSP Respite Through Your Area Agency on Aging

If your family does not qualify for Medicaid or VA help, start here: NFCSP eligibility turns on who you care for, not on Medicaid enrollment.3

What it is: The National Family Caregiver Support Program (NFCSP), authorized under Title III-E of the Older Americans Act and administered federally by the Administration for Community Living (ACL), makes grants to states. Those grants fund five categories of service, provided by an area agency on aging or an entity it contracts with: information about available services, help gaining access to services, individual counseling, support groups and caregiver training, respite care, and supplemental services on a limited basis.1

Who qualifies: ACL lists four caregiver groups: adult family members or other informal caregivers of people 60 and older; adult family or informal caregivers of someone of any age with Alzheimer's disease or a related disorder; relatives other than parents, age 55 and older, raising a child under 18; and relatives, including parents, age 55 and older, caring for an adult aged 18 to 59 with a disability. Respite and supplemental services carry one more condition. For a family caregiver, the person cared for must be an older adult who cannot perform at least two activities of daily living without substantial human assistance, or who needs substantial supervision because a cognitive or other mental impairment makes their behavior a serious health or safety hazard.1

What to expect: NFCSP respite is grant-funded and delivered locally by area agencies on aging or the entities they contract with, so ask your local agency exactly what is available in your county before you plan around it.1

How to access: Find your local Area Agency on Aging through the Eldercare Locator at 1-800-677-1116 or eldercare.acl.gov.2 CDHS also links a Colorado Area Agency on Aging Regions Map and Contacts from its ADRC page.10

Best for: Family caregivers of an older adult who do not qualify for Medicaid or VA help, including caregivers of an older adult with dementia.

2. Medicaid Respite Through the EBD Waiver

If your loved one needs nursing-home-level help at home and meets the waiver's age or disability criteria, this waiver is one Colorado Medicaid route that lists respite by name.

What it is: The Home and Community-Based Services Waiver for the Elderly, Blind, and Disabled (EBD), administered by the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF), lists respite among its waiver-specific services, along with adult day services, alternative care facilities, home accessibility modifications and adaptations, life skills training, non-medical transportation, peer mentorship, and a wellness education benefit.3

Who qualifies: An applicant must be 18 or older and, at ages 18 to 64, be blind, have a physical disability, or have a diagnosis of HIV or AIDS, or, at 65 and older, have been determined to have a significant functional impairment. Fitting that group is not enough on its own: the applicant must also be willing to receive services at home or in the community and need long-term support services at a level comparable to a nursing facility. Income must be less than three times the current federal SSI limit per month, and countable resources less than $2,000 for a single person or less than $3,000 for a couple. HCPF says someone over those financial limits may still be eligible through the Health First Colorado Buy-In Program for Working Adults with Disabilities, so ask the Case Management Agency.3

What to expect: HCPF warns that waivers have extra program rules and sometimes have waitlists, so meeting the criteria is not the same as services starting.3

How to access: If your loved one is already enrolled in Health First Colorado, contact the local Case Management Agency to start the waiver application process.3

Best for: Adults on Medicaid who meet the EBD criteria and need a high level of care, and whose family caregiver needs planned time off.

3. Paying a Family Caregiver Through CDASS and IHSS

If your loved one is already on Health First Colorado, the care plan may be able to pay you, or another relative, for the hands-on care you already give.

What they are: Consumer Directed Attendant Support Services (CDASS) and In-Home Support Services (IHSS) are the two ways to self-direct personal care, homemaker, and health maintenance activities under Community First Choice (CFC), a Health First Colorado state plan benefit that became active July 1, 2025.4 A family caregiver is paid as an attendant for those services rather than for respite, which HCPF's CDASS and IHSS pages do not list among the covered services. CDASS members can choose family members, friends, or others, with some restrictions, as paid caregivers.3 Under CDASS the member, or their Authorized Representative, is the attendant's legal employer of record.4 Under IHSS the member selects and supervises their own attendants, including family members, with the added support of an agency.4

Who can be the paid attendant: Colorado's CDASS rule defines a family member as anyone related to the member by blood, marriage, adoption, or common law as determined by a court of law, and lets the member or their Authorized Representative employ family members and legal guardians as attendants, subject to conditions. These four matter most for families.4

• The Authorized Representative cannot be the paid attendant. An Authorized Representative shall not be employed as an attendant for the same member they represent, so if a spouse takes that role to direct the care, someone else must be the paid attendant.4
• A household member is paid only for extraordinary care. A member of the member's household, which is where a spouse living in the same home lands, may only be paid to furnish extraordinary care as determined by the Case Manager, and extraordinary care must be documented on the service plan.4
• Hours are limited per caregiver, family or not. An attendant may not be paid for more than 16 hours of care a day across all members, and HCPF is phasing in a weekly limit on the hours one caregiver may provide to one member: 84 hours from July 1, 2026, 70 hours from January 1, 2027, and 56 hours from July 1, 2027. CDASS employers can submit exception requests for members who meet HCPF's criteria.4 The same 16-hour daily limit, except in an emergency, and the same weekly limits apply under IHSS.4
• Homemaker work by a spouse is limited more tightly. Colorado's rules count a spouse as a Legally Responsible Person. The CFC state plan set a 10-hour weekly Homemaker limit for Legally Responsible Persons, and HCPF later cut it to 5 hours, but only under an emergency rule that ran through June 12, 2026 and was not approved at final reading. The rule that replaced it limits reimbursement to Legally Responsible Persons for Homemaker services to 364 total hours a year per member, one total for the member, and more Homemaker hours may be authorized from someone who is not a Legally Responsible Person. Confirm the Homemaker hours authorized with the Case Manager.4

How to access: Talk to your loved one's Case Management Agency about attendant hours in the support plan. A CDASS member chooses a Financial Management Services vendor, Palco or Public Partnerships (PPL), to process payroll and tax withholding.4

Eligibility: The care recipient must meet the financial requirements for full Medicaid benefits and qualify under one of two paths: eligible for Health First Colorado under the State Plan and meeting an institutional level of care, or enrolled in an HCBS waiver and receiving at least one waiver service per month. A waiver enrollee automatically meets the level-of-care test.4 CDASS also requires an assessed need for personal care, homemaker, or health maintenance activities, service planning with a Case Management Agency, and a desire to self-direct all aspects of in-home care.4

Not enrolled yet? CDASS and IHSS are only available once your loved one qualifies for Health First Colorado and meets one of those two paths. HCPF's timeline says that from July 2025 through 2026, waiver members transitioned to CFC and non-waiver members and new members began accessing CFC; a member still receiving IHSS through a waiver is guided through the timing by their Case Manager. If you are not yet enrolled, start the Medicaid application first, and ask the Case Management Agency how long authorization will take.4

Best for: Families where a spouse or relative already gives daily hands-on care and could be paid for it.

4. Adult Day Programs

If you need the same reliable hours every week rather than occasional relief, an adult day program can provide them.

Finding programs: Find your local Area Agency on Aging through the Eldercare Locator at 1-800-677-1116,2 and ask whether NFCSP respite can help with adult day care: NFCSP-funded respite can be provided in an adult day care setting.3

Who pays:

• NFCSP: NFCSP respite is temporary relief from caregiving responsibilities and can be provided in an adult day care setting, so ask your local agency whether it can help with adult day costs.3
• Health First Colorado: the EBD waiver lists adult day services among its waiver-specific services for enrolled members.3
• Private pay for families not using a program; rates vary by center, so confirm pricing directly. For local ranges, see The Cost of Senior Care in Colorado.

Best for: Caregivers who need consistent weekday respite and care recipients who benefit from socialization and structured activity.

5. VA Respite for Veterans

If there is a veteran in your family, check these two programs early.

Veteran-Directed Care (VDC): VDC is a self-directed VA home and community-based service for veterans of any age who are at risk of institutional placement, and their family caregivers. The veteran manages a flexible budget, decides what mix of goods and services best meets their needs, and hires and supervises their own workers, including family and friends; VA determines eligibility and the budget. In the Denver metro area, the DRCOG Area Agency on Aging works with the Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center to offer case management in Adams, Arapahoe, Broomfield, Clear Creek, Denver, Douglas, Gilpin, and Jefferson counties. Elsewhere in Colorado the approved VDC provider is not necessarily an Area Agency on Aging, so ask your local VA medical center whether VDC is available where you live.5

PCAFC: The Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers (PCAFC) gives eligible Primary Family Caregivers at least 30 days of respite care per year, along with caregiver education and training and mental health counseling. Approval is not automatic: VA lists four requirements the veteran must all meet, including a VA disability rating of 70% or higher, and the veteran and caregiver then apply together through an application process that decides eligibility.6

How to access: Call the VA Caregiver Support Line at 1-855-260-3274, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time; it can connect you to your local VA Caregiver Support Program team. It is not a crisis line: anyone in crisis or having thoughts of suicide should call 988 and press 1, or text 838255.7

Best for: Families of veterans, particularly those who may meet PCAFC's requirements.

6. Short-Term Facility Respite

Hospice respite: For someone in hospice, Medicare covers temporary care in a Medicare-approved nursing home, hospice inpatient facility, or hospital so the caregiver can rest, for up to 5 days each time. The hospice team must determine the need and arrange the stay, and you may pay 5% of the Medicare-approved amount for inpatient respite care.8

Outside hospice: Ask facilities near you directly about short stays, pricing, and availability. Before paying privately, ask your Area Agency on Aging whether NFCSP respite can help: respite care is one of the five service categories the program funds, and what is available is decided locally.1

How to Pay for Respite Care in Colorado Without Medicaid

If your income is too high for Health First Colorado and there is no veteran in the family, you are not out of options, but the math changes. Your two realistic levers are NFCSP respite and private pay.

Start with your local Area Agency on Aging and claim whatever NFCSP respite or adult day help you qualify for; eligibility turns on who you care for rather than on Medicaid enrollment.3 Because NFCSP services are delivered locally by area agencies on aging or the entities they contract with, ask what your agency can offer and how often; if it can fund regular respite, such as adult day sessions, plan around that and fill the rest with private pay only as your budget allows.1 For current local pricing on in-home and adult day care, see The Cost of Senior Care in Colorado.

How to Get Started in Colorado

Where to Get Help in Colorado

These are the front doors. Start with the first one that fits your situation.

Learn More

Find personalized help navigating respite care options in Colorado 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.