Illinois's Home Services Program (HSP) pays a Personal Assistant $20.00 an hour, $20.75 from January 1, 2027, for personal care and household help for someone under 60 with a severe disability.,

Whether a relative can be the paid Illinois Home Services Program Personal Assistant depends on the relationship: Illinois rule 89 Ill. Adm. Code 684.30 bars the HSP customer's own minor child from HSP pay, and for a spouse, two official Illinois sources disagree.

In This Guide

Which Relatives Can Be an Illinois Home Services Program Personal Assistant?

If you already help a family member every day, here's whether HSP can pay you. In the Illinois Home Services Program (HSP), run by the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) Division of Rehabilitation Services (DRS), customers select, employ and supervise their own Personal Assistants (PAs).

Your relationship Can you be paid as the PA? What the sources say
Spouse Unsettled The July 2026 waiver allows it for extraordinary care; 684.30 says a spouse shall not be paid
Parent, stepparent, foster parent or guardian of a customer under 18 Unsettled 684.30 bars them; the July 2026 waiver treats them like a spouse, allowing extraordinary care
The customer's minor child No 684.30 bars a minor child (under 18)
Adult child, sibling or other relative Not stated 684.30's bar list doesn't name them, and the HSP customer chooses the PA
Legal guardian of an adult customer Not stated for the PA role The waiver lets them provide listed services such as Homemaker or Respite, supervised by an authorized representative

Each "bars" above comes from Illinois rule 89 Ill. Adm. Code 684.30, last amended effective July 22, 2021, which says the people it lists "shall not be paid through HSP" to be a customer's service provider. For other relatives, Illinois's Persons with Disabilities waiver allows Homemaker, Respite, Home Health Aide and other listed services, but only when the HSP counselor or managed care coordinator finds the customer able to supervise the relative.

Adult children and siblings should ask the DRS rehabilitation counselor before starting. If HSP doesn't fit, our guide to getting paid as a family caregiver in Illinois covers the other programs.

Can a Spouse Be Paid? Two Official Sources Disagree

If you've read both "yes" and "no" about paying a husband or wife through Illinois's Home Services Program, you weren't misreading.

The yes comes from Illinois's Persons with Disabilities 1915(c) waiver IL.0142.R08.00, effective July 1, 2026, which the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services posts as its current active waiver. Illinois's Persons with Disabilities waiver pays a spouse for personal care only as extraordinary care: care beyond what the spouse would ordinarily do in the household if the customer had no disability or chronic illness, and needed for the customer's health and welfare and to avoid institutionalization.

  • Illinois's Persons with Disabilities waiver requires the HSP counselor or managed care coordinator to first document that no other viable provider is available before a spouse is paid.
  • Illinois's Persons with Disabilities waiver requires the HSP customer's person-centered plan to list the extraordinary-care tasks and allowable hours for each.
  • Illinois's Persons with Disabilities waiver pays a spouse the current bargaining-agreement rate, like any HSP individual provider, up to the person-centered plan's extraordinary-care hours.
  • The July 2026 renewal of Illinois's Persons with Disabilities waiver removed a 40-hour weekly cap on spouses and other legally responsible relatives.

The no comes from 89 Ill. Adm. Code 684.30, which still says a spouse shall not be paid through HSP. Neither Illinois source is shown to govern, so ask the DRS rehabilitation counselor: "Does the current waiver let me be paid as my spouse's Personal Assistant for extraordinary care, and for how many hours?"

What an Illinois Home Services Program Personal Assistant Earns

If you've cut back at work for caregiving, this is a real paycheck. Illinois sets one statewide base wage for every HSP Personal Assistant under the State's bargaining agreement with the Service Employees International Union, which runs July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2027.

Pay element Amount Effective
Base wage $20.00 an hour July 1, 2026
Base wage $20.75 an hour January 1, 2027
Seniority add-on, 10,000 career hours $1.00 an hour more July 1, 2025, or federal approval if later
Seniority add-on, 20,000 career hours $2.00 an hour more Same
Seniority add-on, 30,000 career hours $4.00 an hour more Same

Career hours are every hour worked and paid by HSP while you've served as an individual provider.

Illinois runs HSP payroll on a published Individual Provider Payroll Schedule, the Illinois Office of the Comptroller issues the payments, and W-2s are mailed to your address on file. In 2026, Illinois withholds its flat 4.95% income tax from employee pay. Federally, IRS Notice 2014-7 lets a caregiver exclude qualifying Medicaid 1915(c) waiver pay from gross income only when the care happens in a home the caregiver shares with the person. More in our explainer on whether Medicaid waiver payments are taxable.

How to Apply for the Home Services Program

1
Step 1

Check the age line

If your relative is 60 or older, call the Illinois Department on Aging Senior HelpLine at 1-800-252-8966 instead.,

2
Step 2

Make the referral

Use the online Rehabilitation Services Web Referral, or contact the local DRS office: (800) 843-6154, TTY (866) 324-5553.

3
Step 3

Meet the counselor and build the plan

Illinois Legal Aid Online says a DRS counselor evaluates whether the applicant is eligible. The customer and the counselor then build the service plan that PA hiring is based on.

Frequently Asked Questions

What if HSP denies the application or cuts services?

Appeals of Illinois Home Services Program decisions go to the IDHS Bureau of Hearings at 1-800-435-0774 (TTY 1-877-734-7429) or DHS.BAH@illinois.gov.

Didn't Illinois let spouses be paid during COVID?

Illinois rule 89 Ill. Adm. Code 684.30(b) let the relatives it otherwise bars be paid through HSP for personal care during the COVID-19 disaster proclamations, subject to federal approval, if the pandemic required it. The cited sources don't show those proclamations in force today.

Learn More

CaregiverHow to Get Paid as a Family Caregiver in IllinoisHow to get paid to care for a family member in Illinois: the Community Care Program (providers may hire a spouse), the Home Services Program, and VA pathways. CaregiverHow to Get Paid to Care for Your Spouse in IllinoisCan you get paid to care for your spouse in Illinois? CCP (age 60+) may pay a spouse for extraordinary care, and the VA can pay a qualifying veteran's spouse. CaregiverCaregiver Programs in IllinoisEvery caregiver program in Illinois: CCP spouse pay, HSP for disability, NFCSP through 13 AAAs, VA PCAFC stipends, Aid and Attendance rates, and 2026 tax rules.

Get help setting up paid Personal Assistant care through Illinois's Home Services Program 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.

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