If you are caring for a parent or spouse in Indiana and running on empty, respite care in Indiana is real, funded, and closer than most families realize. Structured Family Caregiving can pay a family member who lives with your loved one for daily care, in some cases a spouse, and the federal National Family Caregiver Support Program funds respite through local Area Agencies on Aging.

Needing a break does not mean you are failing the person you love. It is what lets you keep going. Federal health data show why it matters: nearly 1 in 5 family caregivers reports being in fair or poor health, and elderly caregivers coping with their own chronic illness face a 63% higher mortality rate than non-caregivers.

In This Guide

Which Indiana Respite Care Programs Pay Family Caregivers?

Asking for help can feel like giving up. It is the opposite. In Indiana, several funded paths can give you regular breaks, and the right one depends on who you care for and whether they have Medicaid. If you are not sure where to start, call Indiana's toll-free line for Area Agencies on Aging and Aging & Disability Resource Centers (the INconnect Alliance) at 1-800-713-9023.

1. Structured Family Caregiving (SFC): A Paid Break for a Live-In Family Member

If you already live with the person you care for, this is often the most valuable option. Structured Family Caregiving allows a caregiver living with an individual to be paid for providing daily care and support. That caregiver may be a family member or not, and must reside in the home with the individual. SFC is delivered through a certified provider agency, which trains the caregiver based on the individual's needs and completes two quarterly home visits by a Caregiver Coach (or RN)., Indiana pays the agency, not the caregiver, $77.54, $99.71 or $133.44 a day by level of need (FSSA, February 2024; the same figures in the IHCP's table effective July 1, 2025). Caregiver coach, nurse supervision and respite costs count inside the 60% minimum the agency must spend on the caregiver side, so ask the agency what share you will be paid.

SFC is available under PathWays for Aging and the Health and Wellness waiver. Age and Medicaid are not the whole test: CMS describes the PathWays waiver as serving people 65 or older, and people 60 to 64 with a physical or other disability, who meet a nursing facility level of care.

Here is what matters for couples: FSSA lists a spouse among those who may provide structured family care. Under the PathWays, Health and Wellness and TBI waiver rules, a spouse is paid for SFC only when it is extraordinary care, meaning day-to-day care or support that exceeds what a spouse would ordinarily provide in the household for a person of the same age without a disability or chronic illness, and payment goes to an approved provider agency, never directly to the spouse. Someone holding power of attorney can also provide paid family care under SFC when they and the waiver recipient are living together. One trade-off to plan around: while someone receives SFC, FSSA states that separate payment may not be made for home and community assistance, assisted living, attendant care or adult family care. To start, ask the care manager to consider adding SFC to the service plan; FSSA says a waiver recipient whose spouse will provide SFC can do this at any time.,

2. Attendant Care (ATTC) for Other Relatives

If a relative other than a spouse gives you scheduled coverage, Attendant Care may fit. For an adult on the waiver, FSSA's guidance lets other relatives provide approved hours of attendant care, and on the Health and Wellness and Traumatic Brain Injury waivers, Attendant Care paid to a relative or legal guardian who is not a spouse or the parent of a minor is capped at 40 hours per week per paid caregiver. Every hour another relative covers is an hour you are off duty.

The rule for spouses is narrower. FSSA's 2024 guidance defines legally responsible individuals (LRIs) as a spouse or the parent of a minor child, and beginning in July 2024 FSSA's guidance said an LRI may not provide attendant care. That bar now has one exception. Under the "extraordinary care" allowance in the approved waiver, effective Dec. 31, 2025, which FSSA is implementing on the Health and Wellness and PathWays waivers, an LRI may be paid for Attendant Care only for intensive nursing needs the person cannot meet independently, such as tracheostomy care, continuous ventilator management or total parenteral nutrition (TPN), when the care is documented in the Person-Centered Plan and approved by the Individualized Support Team and FSSA on a request from the waiver case manager or service coordinator with a physician's certification (Form 450B). Under Indiana Code 12-10-17.1-10(b), an LRI cannot be paid for self-directed attendant care at all. On PathWays, the amendment effective Aug. 1, 2026 counts only a spouse as an LRI, pays the agency, not the spouse, and caps LRI Attendant Care at 40 hours a week. For most spouses, SFC is the route to be paid.

3. PathWays for Aging Health Plan Coordination

PathWays for Aging launched July 1, 2024, for Hoosiers age 60 and older who receive Medicaid or dual Medicare-Medicaid coverage and qualify for a full-coverage aged, blind or disabled category. Three managed care entities run it: Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Humana Healthy Horizons, and UnitedHealthcare. Each qualifying member has a care coordinator and a services coordinator to help them get the benefits they qualify for, and the PathWays waiver's services, as CMS describes them, include skilled respite and adult day service alongside structured family caregiving and attendant care.

SFC and Attendant Care sit inside the PathWays waiver, which has its own test. Indiana Medicaid lists four requirements: be aged, blind or otherwise disabled; live in, or be moving into, a home and community-based setting rather than an institution; have income no greater than 300% of the maximum Supplemental Security Income (SSI) amount; and meet nursing facility level of care. Indiana Medicaid states that income standard as monthly income of up to $2,982, effective March 1, 2026, counting the individual's income only and not a spouse's; the asset limit is $2,000 for a single person or $3,000 for a married person. The income standard adjusts yearly with the SSI amount, so confirm it when you apply.

To use it, start with the care coordinator at your loved one's health plan. FSSA states that the waivers have a designated number of slots, and that while there is no waitlist for the overall PathWays program, someone eligible for PathWays waiver services may be placed on one, so ask about timing and look at NFCSP respite below while you wait.

4. NFCSP Caregiver Services Through Indiana's Area Agencies on Aging

The National Family Caregiver Support Program (NFCSP), authorized by Title III-E of the Older Americans Act and administered federally by the Administration for Community Living (ACL), is a federal grant program whose services are provided by an area agency on aging or an entity the agency contracts with. Those services include information about available services, help gaining access to them, individual counseling, support groups and caregiver training, respite care, and supplemental services on a limited basis. ACL describes respite as temporary relief from caregiving responsibilities, at home or in an adult day care or institutional setting. Ask your local agency what respite it can offer and how often.

Respite comes with one federal condition the first three services do not. For a family caregiver of an older person, respite and supplemental services are available only if that person 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 leads to behavior that poses a serious health or safety hazard.

ACL lists four groups of eligible caregivers: adult family members or other informal caregivers of someone 60 or older; the same caregivers of someone of any age with Alzheimer's disease or a related disorder; relatives age 55 or older, other than parents, caring for a child under 18; and relatives age 55 or older, including parents, caring for an adult age 18 to 59 with a disability. A relative caregiver age 55 or older must also live with, and be the primary caregiver for, the child or adult. None of the sources behind this guide says these services are free of charge or free of an income test, so ask about any cost when you call.,

To start, call Indiana's toll-free line for Area Agencies on Aging at 1-800-713-9023, or use the Eldercare Locator at 1-800-677-1116 to find services near you.

5. Private-Pay Respite and Adult Day Care Without Medicaid

If your family does not qualify for a Medicaid waiver, or needs more than your local agency can fund, you can pay a respite provider or adult day program directly. Ask for rates in writing, and ask your Area Agency on Aging whether NFCSP respite, which ACL says can be provided at home or in an adult day care or institutional setting, could cover part of the cost.

A short stay away from home for your loved one can give you room to travel, recover from your own surgery, or simply rest. To find services near you, use the Eldercare Locator, a public service of the Administration for Community Living, at 1-800-677-1116.

6. VA Respite for Veteran Families

If the person you care for served in the military, the VA runs a parallel respite track. Veterans enrolled in VA Health Care can access respite through VA medical facilities serving Indiana, including in-home aide services, adult day health care, and short-term facility respite; ask the Caregiver Support Coordinator at your medical center what is authorized.

The clearest respite benefit sits inside the Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers (PCAFC): an approved Primary Family Caregiver receives at least 30 days of respite care per year, plus a monthly stipend and other supports. VA's first screen has four requirements for the veteran, and all four must be true: a VA disability rating of 70% or higher, 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 necessary but not the whole test: you and the veteran apply together, and VA also assesses the regulation's further conditions, including that the same personal care is not already being provided simultaneously and regularly by another person or entity. A spouse can be the caregiver.

Veteran-Directed Care (VDC) is a second path, and one to ask about with your eyes open. VDC gives a veteran at risk of nursing-home placement a budget that the veteran or their representative manages, used to hire their own workers, which the VA says might include "their own family member or neighbor," so the hours that budget buys can be your break. Indiana does have approved providers. ACL's Veteran Directed Care program page lists four VA medical centers under Indiana, each with approved agencies beneath it: Jesse Brown VA Medical Center, VA Northern Indiana Health Care System (Marion Campus), Richard L. Roudebush VAMC in Indianapolis, and VA Northern Indiana Health Care System (Fort Wayne Campus). Under Roudebush, CICOA Aging & In-Home Solutions (Area 8) is listed as a subcontractor under the Pennyrile Area Agency on Aging, the agency that holds the Veteran Care Agreement.

An approved provider does not by itself make the program reachable, because VDC is purchased by the VA and reached by referral from a VA medical center. ACL's page says 95 VA medical centers have made at least one veteran referral to VDC and that the 48 that have not are marked with an asterisk, but the copies of the page we hold carry no asterisk markers, so we cannot say whether any Indiana VA medical center has yet referred a veteran. Treat the referral gateway as unconfirmed rather than closed, and ask. Enrolled veterans are eligible "if they are eligible for community care, meet the clinical criteria for the service, and it is available," and "services may vary by location," so confirm with your own VA medical center before you count on a VDC budget to pay for respite: the VA's instruction is to "talk with your VA social worker and find out if it is available in your location."

To ask about either track, call the VA Caregiver Support Line at 1-855-260-3274, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern Time. It is not a crisis line: anyone in crisis or having thoughts of suicide can reach the Veterans Crisis Line at any hour by calling 988 and pressing 1, texting 838255, or chatting at VeteransCrisisLine.net.

How Much Respite Does Each Indiana Option Cover?

None of the program documents behind this guide sets a single Indiana respite allowance, so confirm with each program what it can pay or provide. This table shows who each option can pay or serve, the main conditions, and how to reach it.,

Program Who can be paid or served Main conditions How to access
Structured Family Caregiving A caregiver who lives in the home, family or not, including a spouse PathWays or Health and Wellness waiver; the PathWays waiver requires nursing facility level of care; a spouse is paid only for extraordinary care, through the agency, under PathWays and Health and Wellness waiver rules PathWays care coordinator or waiver case manager
Attendant Care (ATTC) Other relatives of an adult; a spouse or parent of a minor only under the extraordinary care allowance Waiver eligibility; no pay to a spouse or parent of a minor for self-directed attendant care PathWays care coordinator or waiver case manager
NFCSP respite Eligible family and informal caregivers, through local agencies Respite only if an older care recipient is "frail" under federal law Area Agency on Aging line, 1-800-713-9023
VA (PCAFC / VDC) An approved caregiver, including a spouse PCAFC: VA's four screening requirements plus further conditions; VDC: VA medical center referral and local availability VA Caregiver Support Line, 1-855-260-3274 (weekdays); confirm VDC with your own VAMC

Medicare is the narrow one in this guide: it covers inpatient respite care within the hospice benefit, for someone who has chosen hospice. If the hospice team determines your loved one needs short-term inpatient respite that the team arranges, Medicare covers the stay in the facility; you may pay 5% of the Medicare-approved amount, and that copayment can't be more than the inpatient deductible amount.

How to Start Respite Care in Indiana

You do not have to understand every program before you act. One phone call opens most of these doors, and a counselor on the other end will help you sort the rest.

1
Step 1

Call Indiana's Area Agency on Aging line at 1-800-713-9023

It is the toll-free number for Indiana's Area Agencies on Aging and Aging & Disability Resource Centers, the local agencies that provide NFCSP caregiver services such as counseling, training and respite.,

2
Step 2

Talk to the care coordinator at your loved one's PathWays health plan

If your loved one is on the PathWays or Health and Wellness waiver, ask whether SFC or Attendant Care fits your family and how long approval usually takes. FSSA states that separate payment may not be made for attendant care while someone receives SFC, so plan on one or the other.,

3
Step 3

If you are a spouse or other family member living in the home, ask specifically about SFC

It runs through a certified provider agency and can pay a caregiver who lives with the person, a spouse included; under both waivers' rules, a spouse's SFC pay goes to the agency, not the spouse. Attendant Care is open to a spouse only under the extraordinary care allowance.,,

4
Step 4

Open the VA track if your loved one is a veteran

Call the VA Caregiver Support Line at 1-855-260-3274, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET, to ask about PCAFC respite and Veteran-Directed Care in Indiana.

5
Step 5

Use 211 for anything local

Dial 211 for adult day referrals and emergency respite while a waiver application is pending.

Where to Get Respite Help in Indiana

Indiana Area Agencies on Aging (INconnect Alliance) Helps with: reaching Indiana's Area Agencies on Aging and Aging & Disability Resource Centers, the local agencies that provide NFCSP caregiver services. The FSSA Division of Aging's own toll-free number is 1-888-673-0002., 1-800-713-9023 www.in.gov/fssa/ddars/bba/contact-us
2-1-1 Indiana Helps with: round-the-clock referrals to local social services, adult day programs, and emergency respite. 211 www.in211.org
Eldercare Locator Helps with: a public service of the Administration for Community Living that connects you to services for older adults and their families anywhere in the country. 1-800-677-1116 eldercare.acl.gov
VA Caregiver Support Line Helps with: information on VA caregiver support services and a direct connection to your local VA Caregiver Support Program team, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET. It is not a crisis line; in a crisis, call 988 and press 1 for the Veterans Crisis Line. 1-855-260-3274 www.caregiver.va.gov

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Indiana Medicaid cover respite care?

Indiana's Medicaid waivers fund services that can give a family caregiver a break. SFC pays a caregiver who lives with your loved one for daily care and support, Attendant Care can pay another relative of an adult for approved hours, and the PathWays waiver's services, as CMS describes them, include skilled respite and adult day service. Ask the care coordinator at your loved one's PathWays health plan which of these fit the service plan.,,

Can a spouse be paid for respite in Indiana?

Yes, through SFC. FSSA lists a spouse among those who may provide structured family care, and the caregiver must reside in the home. Under the PathWays, Health and Wellness and TBI waiver rules, a spouse is paid only for extraordinary care, meaning care beyond what a spouse ordinarily provides for a person of the same age without a disability or chronic illness, and the payment goes to an approved provider agency rather than to the spouse. Attendant Care is far narrower: from July 2024 a spouse could not provide it at all, and since the waiver changes effective Dec. 31, 2025, a spouse can be paid for it only under the extraordinary care allowance for intensive nursing needs, and never when the person directs the care themselves.,,

Is there respite in Indiana without Medicaid?

Yes. The federal NFCSP funds respite through local Area Agencies on Aging, and ACL sets its eligibility by who the caregiver is and who they care for. For a caregiver of an older person, respite requires that the person be "frail" under federal law. None of the sources behind this guide says NFCSP services are free or free of an income test, so ask about cost. Call Indiana's Area Agency on Aging line at 1-800-713-9023 or the Eldercare Locator at 1-800-677-1116.,,

How soon can I get respite started in Indiana?

It depends on the path. SFC and Attendant Care sit inside Medicaid waivers, so eligibility, including nursing facility level of care, has to be confirmed first, and FSSA states that the waivers have a designated number of slots, so someone eligible for PathWays waiver services may be placed on a waitlist. Ask the care coordinator about timing, and ask your local Area Agency on Aging about NFCSP respite in the meantime.

What is the difference between SFC and ATTC in Indiana?

SFC pays a caregiver who lives with your loved one for daily care and support, runs through a certified provider agency, and can be provided by a spouse. Attendant Care is a separate service: from July 2024 a spouse or the parent of a minor child could not provide it, and since the waiver changes effective Dec. 31, 2025, they can be paid for it only under the extraordinary care allowance, and never for self-directed attendant care, while other relatives of an adult can provide approved hours. FSSA states that separate payment may not be made for attendant care while someone receives SFC.,,

Learn More

CaregiverRespite Care for Family Caregivers: The 50-State GuideWhat respite care is and how to pay for it in 2026: the main types, NFCSP respite with no income test, Medicaid and VA respite, and every state guide. CaregiverHow to Get Paid as a Family Caregiver in IndianaHow to get paid caring for a family member in Indiana: Structured Family Caregiving, PathWays for Aging, who can be hired, spouse rules, and VA options. CaregiverCaregiver Programs in IndianaEvery caregiver program in Indiana: Structured Family Caregiving, Attendant Care, PathWays respite, NFCSP support, VA benefits, and taxes explained for 2026. CaregiverCaregiver Burnout: Signs, Stages, and How to Get SupportHow to recognize caregiver burnout, why it happens, and what actually helps, from respite care to evidence-based programs like REACH II and Powerful Tools. VA BenefitsVA Senior Care Benefits in IndianaVA benefits in Indiana cover home care, nursing homes, an Aid and Attendance pension of up to $34,488 a year, and the Indiana Veterans' Home. How to use each. MedicaidMedicaid Planning StrategiesSee which assets you keep, how the 5-year look-back works, and the legal moves that qualify you for Medicaid long-term care without losing the house.
Your next step Find personalized help matching your family to Indiana respite 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.

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