Respite Care in Connecticut: A 2026 Guide for Family Caregivers

Respite care for Connecticut family caregivers can come through the federal National Family Caregiver Support Program and the state's Statewide Respite Program for dementia caregivers.1,2 The state's CHCPE home care program also lists services such as adult day health, companion and homemaker services.2

You cannot pour from an empty cup, and the federal data bear that out. During 2021 to 2022, frequent mental distress among family caregivers rose to 20.5%, compared with 13.6% for non-caregivers, and roughly one in four caregivers reports a lifetime diagnosis of depression. When a caregiver reaches a breaking point, nursing facility placement for their loved one often follows sooner than anyone planned. Respite is not a luxury. It is the investment that keeps home care going.3

This guide maps the funded respite care options in Connecticut for 2026, who each one serves, and how to reach it. To ask what you may qualify for, call an Aging and Disability Resource Center at 1-800-994-9422.2

Why Respite Care Takes Planning in Connecticut

You may have already learned the hard way that respite help does not arrive on its own. Connecticut's respite programs are real and funded, but each has its own door. An Aging and Disability Resource Center, reached at 1-800-994-9422, is a good first call: it can check what benefits you may qualify for and give advice about your care options.2

If caring for someone with dementia has reached a crisis, the Alzheimer's Association 24/7 Helpline at 800.272.3900 connects you with a live person who can provide crisis assistance and emotional support.2 If you or the veteran you care for is in crisis or having thoughts of suicide, call 988 and press 1, text 838255, or visit VeteransCrisisLine.net for more resources.5

Funded Respite Care Options in Connecticut

1. CHCPE and Community First Choice In-Home Services

What they are: The Connecticut Home Care Program for Elders (CHCPE) is DSS's home care program for older adults. To be eligible, applicants must be 65 or older, be a Connecticut resident, be at risk of nursing home placement, and meet the program's financial eligibility criteria. Being at risk of nursing home placement means needing help with critical needs such as bathing, dressing, eating, taking medications, or toileting. CHCPE services may include care management, adult day health, companion services, home-delivered meals, homemaker services, Adult Family Living, chore assistance and personal care attendant services.2

Community First Choice (CFC) is a separate program: an optional Affordable Care Act State Plan service that lets eligible individuals access personal attendant care and other services and supports through self-direction. To apply by phone, dial 2-1-1 between 8:30 AM and 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday.2 The DSS CFC page also posts a document titled "CFC Proposed Participant Transition to Waivers FAQs," so ask DSS how enrollment works today before you plan around CFC.6 That DSS FAQ says the Governor is proposing to move CFC participants to a Medicaid waiver or other authority, with a proposed effective date of April 1, 2027.7

Can a family member be paid? It depends on the program. For CHCPE Personal Care Attendant Services, DSS states that family members are NOT eligible to be paid for taking care of relatives, with very rare exceptions.2 CFC is described differently. The Connecticut General Assembly's Office of Legislative Research (OLR) says CFC participants may hire certain relatives and friends, but spouses and legal guardians are excluded from receiving compensation; an older OLR report also excludes legally liable relatives and conservators. Those reports are the legislature's research summaries, not DSS's rules, and DSS's own CFC page does not say who may be hired, so confirm in writing with DSS that your relative can be paid before you change your work hours.7

How to access: If your loved one is already enrolled in CHCPE, ask which of its listed services can cover the hours you need off. To apply for CFC by phone, dial 2-1-1.2

Best for: Families of a Connecticut resident 65 or older who needs daily help at home.

2. Adult Family Living (AFL): Formalizing Live-In Care

What it is: Adult Family Living (AFL) is a housing-and-care model DSS offers under CHCPE and the Personal Care Assistance (PCA) Waiver, so the participant must be eligible for one of those programs. A caregiver who lives in the home provides personal care and support, in either the participant's home or the caregiver's, whichever the participant prefers; DSS's draft PCA Waiver does not tie the service to who owns the home. The caregiver is often a family member or friend.4 DSS's draft waiver renewals, which the sources we hold don't show CMS has approved, say the AFL caregiver "may be a relative of the client as long as they are not a legally liable relative," and the CHCPE draft says DSS does not pay relatives of a conservator to provide care. The drafts don't define "legally liable relative" or say in words whether a spouse can be the AFL caregiver. The PCA Waiver draft does say a legally responsible individual typically includes a spouse, and that such a person may not be paid for personal care they would ordinarily provide except at the state's option and in extraordinary circumstances; it doesn't show which option Connecticut chose. Connecticut's older CHCPE regulation still bars any relative from that role, so the rules conflict; confirm your case with DSS or the intermediary agency.8,9

While AFL is a paid-caregiving arrangement rather than scheduled respite, it can make live-in care sustainable. There are four levels of care, set by the complexity of care DSS assesses, and MyPlaceCT says the caregiver receives a non-taxable stipend based on the level provided. Neither DSS page publishes a stipend amount, so confirm the figure with DSS or the sponsor agency before you count on it. An intermediary agency authorized by the state oversees the services and provides training and support for the caregiver. The AFL payment does not cover room and board; if your loved one lives in your home, the two of you agree on that amount between yourselves. Separately, DSS's CHCPE fee page says that as of July 1, 2015, clients on the state-funded portion of CHCPE are required to pay a 9% copay, and that failure to pay it ends CHCPE services. That date is old, so ask DSS what copay applies today.4

Best for: A live-in caregiver providing daily care for someone eligible for CHCPE or the PCA Waiver.

3. NFCSP and Connecticut's Statewide Respite Program

If you have been putting off asking for help, start here.

What it is: The National Family Caregiver Support Program (NFCSP), authorized under Title III-E of the Older Americans Act, makes grants to states to fund five kinds of caregiver support: information about available services, help gaining access to them, counseling, support groups and caregiver training, respite care, and supplemental services on a limited basis. An Area Agency on Aging, or an entity it contracts with, provides the services.1

Connecticut also runs a Statewide Respite Program through the Department of Aging and Disability Services. It offers relief to stressed caregivers by providing information, support, the development of a plan of care, and services for the person with Alzheimer's disease or a related dementia. The state lists a second route, Support for Family Caregivers, which provides information, referrals to support groups and short-term respite in the home.2

Payroll for Connecticut's self-directed programs runs through a fiscal agent assigned by program rather than statewide, and the regional respite programs each have one. The state's prior fiscal intermediary, Allied Community Resources, lists these agents: for the Southwest or Southcentral respite programs, Aris Solutions at 800-798-1658 ext. 4; for the North Central, West or East respite programs, CD Choices at 855-597-3596. That list is the outgoing vendor's own page, not a DSS publication, and DSS re-bids the payroll contract periodically, so confirm the current agent with your respite program before you rely on these numbers.6

Who qualifies for NFCSP: Adult family members or other informal caregivers of people 60 and older; adult family members or other informal caregivers of a person of any age with Alzheimer's disease or a related disorder; and relatives age 55 and older who live with and are the primary caregiver for either a child under 18 (relatives other than parents) or an adult age 18 to 59 with a disability (parents included). For a family caregiver, respite and supplemental services also require that the person cared for be an older individual who is "frail": 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 information, access-help and counseling services carry no such condition.1

How to access: Call an Aging and Disability Resource Center at 1-800-994-9422.2 You can also use the Eldercare Locator at 1-800-677-1116 (Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET), a free, nationwide service of the Administration for Community Living that connects older adults, families, and caregivers to services in their community, including their local Area Agency on Aging.10

Best for: Family caregivers of a frail older adult, and families caring for someone with dementia.

4. Adult Day Services

Some caregivers hesitate here, worried that a day program means handing their loved one to strangers. In practice it is often the opposite: a good program gives the person something to look forward to and gives you your weekdays back.

What they are: Adult day programs provide structured daytime care in a community setting, typically 4 to 8 hours per day, with meals, activities, social engagement, and nursing oversight. For caregivers of people with dementia, regular adult day participation often reduces behavioral symptoms and restores consistent weekday hours.

Finding programs: An Aging and Disability Resource Center at 1-800-994-9422 can give advice about your care options.2 The Eldercare Locator at 1-800-677-1116 connects families to services in their community.10

Who pays:

• NFCSP respite through your Area Agency on Aging can be given at home or in an adult day care setting, for a family caregiver whose loved one meets the "frail" condition above.1
• CHCPE services may include adult day health for eligible enrollees.2
• Long-term care insurance often covers adult day under the home and community-based services (HCBS) rider.
• Private pay rates vary; confirm directly with individual centers.

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

5. VA Respite for Veterans

If your loved one served, this is where you should start, because it can open respite the other programs cannot.

What it is: Veterans enrolled in VA health care can access respite through the VA Connecticut Healthcare System (West Haven and Newington campuses), including in-home aide services, adult day health, and short-term placement in VA Community Living Centers or contracted facilities.

PCAFC: Primary Family Caregivers in the Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers (PCAFC) receive respite care as part of the benefit package; confirm authorized days and any co-pay with the VA Caregiver Support Coordinator.

How to access: Call the VA Caregiver Support Line at 1-855-260-3274, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET. It provides information on support services and can connect you directly to your local VA Caregiver Support Program team. For a crisis, VA lists the Veterans Crisis Line on the same page: call 988 and press 1, or text 838255.5

Best for: Families of veterans enrolled in VA health care, particularly those in PCAFC.

6. Short-Term Facility Respite and In-Home Respite

Short-term facility respite places the care recipient in an assisted living community or nursing facility for a few days to several weeks. Many Connecticut assisted living and memory care facilities offer short-stay options; call facilities in your area for current pricing.

Short-term in-home respite is one of the services Connecticut lists under Support for Family Caregivers, alongside information and referrals to support groups.2 Call an Aging and Disability Resource Center at 1-800-994-9422 to ask how to reach it.2

How to Start Respite Care in Connecticut

Learn More

Find personalized help navigating respite care options 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.