The Connecticut Home Care Program for Elders (CHCPE) can pay a live-in relative who is not a "legally liable relative" to care for a parent 65 or older through its Adult Family Living service. CHCPE covers home care that helps Connecticut elders keep living at home, but it pays a family caregiver as a personal care attendant only in what the Connecticut Department of Social Services (DSS) calls very rare exceptions.

In This Guide

Who CHCPE Serves in Connecticut

Watching a parent need more help each month is hard, and CHCPE exists for exactly that stage. Connecticut's DSS sets four CHCPE eligibility tests, and an applicant must meet all of them: be 65 or older, live in Connecticut, be at risk of nursing home placement, and meet CHCPE's financial eligibility criteria. For CHCPE, at risk of nursing home placement means needing help with critical needs such as bathing, dressing, eating, taking medications or toileting.

CHCPE's nursing-facility-level category is a 1915(c) home and community-based services waiver that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) lists as approved, effective July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2030. DSS's overview page gives no income or asset dollar figures, so ask DSS for the current limits. Clients on the state-funded portion of CHCPE pay a copay, and not paying it ends their CHCPE services.

Under the CHCPE regulations, Connecticut's DSS staff make the first call from a health screen form, and the elder must need help with at least one critical need. A CHCPE access agency may then do a face-to-face assessment and build a plan of care tailored to your parent.

Which Family Members CHCPE Can Pay

Already doing this care unpaid? Whether CHCPE can pay you depends on the service.

CHCPE service Adult child or other relative Spouse Must the caregiver live there?
Personal care attendant Only in very rare exceptions No, except very rare cases Not stated
Adult Family Living Yes, if not a "legally liable relative" Ask DSS Yes
Companion, chore or homemaker No No Not stated
Self-directed personal care through Community First Choice Certain relatives, per state legislative researchers No Not stated

Personal care attendant. The CHCPE page from Connecticut's DSS says family members are NOT eligible to be paid for taking care of relatives, with very rare exceptions, so ask DSS what those exceptions are. Please don't cut your work hours on this route. The CHCPE waiver renewal Connecticut's DSS posted in 2025 adds that DSS does not pay legally liable relatives, or relatives of a Conservator of Person or Estate, and that family members must meet the same qualifications as unrelated providers.

Adult Family Living. The 2025 CHCPE waiver renewal defines Adult Family Living as personal care and support from a principal caregiver who lives in the home, for no more than 3 participants per home, and states, "The direct provider may be a relative of the client as long as they are not a legally liable relative." The older CHCPE regulation still describes Adult Family Living in a "private non-related family residence," so the regulation and the 2025 renewal conflict; get the answer from Connecticut's DSS in writing before you plan around it.

Companion, chore and homemaker. The CHCPE regulations bar relatives from companion, chore and homemaker services, and they define "relative" broadly: spouse, parent, child, sibling, adoptive parents and children, stepparents, stepchildren, stepbrothers, stepsisters, parents-in-law, sons- and daughters-in-law, sisters-in-law, grandparents and grandchildren.

Self-directing. Under the 2025 CHCPE waiver renewal, a self-directed personal care assistant is available through Connecticut's 1915(k) option, Community First Choice (CFC), while agency-based personal care stays a CHCPE waiver service. The Connecticut legislature's Office of Legislative Research says Community First Choice participants "may hire certain relatives and friends," while spouses and legal guardians are excluded from receiving compensation.

What a Family Caregiver Is Paid

Money matters when you're weighing a job against a parent's care. Home care aides in Connecticut typically earn around $18.75 an hour, a figure labeled here as an estimate based on home care aide wages (BLS, May 2025). It describes the occupation as a whole, not a rate CHCPE pays a family caregiver.

Adult Family Living pays differently. Under CHCPE's Adult Family Living service, Connecticut's DSS assesses one of four levels of care, and the caregiver receives a non-taxable stipend based on that level; neither MyPlaceCT's Adult Family Living page nor DSS's CHCPE page lists the amount, so ask DSS in writing. On federal taxes, IRS Notice 2014-7 lets a care provider exclude qualified 1915(c) waiver payments for care in the provider's own home where the care recipient lives, and DSS identifies CHCPE as a 1915(c) waiver (more on taxes).

How a Family Member Starts Getting Paid Through CHCPE

1
Step 1

Call DSS

at 1-800-445-5394 (toll-free) or 860-424-4904 in the Hartford area and choose option 4, or send a referral online through the CHCPE program page.

2
Step 2

Ask money questions early

Option 2 on the same line handles financial eligibility questions. If your parent also needs Medicaid, see how to apply for Connecticut Medicaid.

3
Step 3

At the assessment,

ask the access agency whether Adult Family Living fits, which level applies, and whether you can be the paid caregiver.

4
Step 4

If your parent wants to hire you directly,

ask about Community First Choice and read our CFC guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I be paid to care for my spouse through CHCPE?

It isn't clear, and the sources lean against it. The CHCPE waiver renewal Connecticut's DSS posted in 2025 bars pay to "legally liable relatives" without defining the term; one Connecticut public-assistance law defines "liable relative," for its own purposes, as a husband or wife. Ask DSS, and see our spouse caregiver guide.

My parent is a veteran. Is there another way to be paid?

Possibly. VA's Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers pays an approved Primary Family Caregiver a monthly stipend; one test is a VA disability rating of 70% or higher.

What if DSS says no?

You can ask for a fair hearing. For Connecticut's DSS programs other than SNAP, a fair hearing request generally must be made within 60 days of the DSS Notice of Action.

Learn More

CaregiverHow to Get Paid as a Family Caregiver in ConnecticutConnecticut's Adult Family Living pays a live-in caregiver, often a relative, a stipend. What DSS publishes on who can be hired, the costs, and VA routes. CaregiverAdult Family Living in ConnecticutAdult Family Living pays a stipend to a live-in caregiver in Connecticut. DSS's draft rules let a relative be paid if not a legally liable relative. Here's how. CaregiverHow to Get Paid to Care for Your Spouse in ConnecticutConnecticut Medicaid rarely pays a spouse as a caregiver, but the VA does. How PCAFC pays a husband or wife, and where VDC and Aid and Attendance fit. CaregiverConnecticut Caregiver ProgramsConnecticut caregiver programs for 2026: Adult Family Living stipends, Community First Choice, respite, NFCSP grants, VA benefits, how to apply, and taxes. MedicaidConnecticut Medicaid HCBS Waivers and the CHCPEConnecticut Medicaid HCBS waivers pay for home care through the Connecticut Home Care Program for Elders (CHCPE): who qualifies, what it covers, how to apply.

Find personalized help with CHCPE and getting paid as a family caregiver in Connecticut 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.

Still have questions?

Brevy answers from this guide and every other guide here, and can check what you qualify for.

BC

Brevy Care Team

Expert eldercare guidance from Brevy's team of healthcare professionals and researchers.