Utah DSPD Caregiver Compensation: Who Can Be Paid (2026)

If you care for a husband, wife or grown child with a disability in Utah, the Division of Services for People with Disabilities (DSPD) can pay you for that care. Its Utah DSPD caregiver compensation program pays parents, step-parents, legal guardians and spouses for extraordinary care of a family member who receives DSPD services and qualifies for living support.1,2 The first step is applying for DSPD services at 1-844-275-3773.3

In This Guide

• Who Can Get Utah DSPD Caregiver Compensation
• Which DSPD Waivers Pay Family Caregivers
• How Many Hours Utah DSPD Caregiver Compensation Pays
• Conditions for Paying a Family Caregiver
• Who Qualifies for DSPD and How to Apply

Who Can Get Utah DSPD Caregiver Compensation

DSPD calls caregiver compensation an ongoing supported living service for people who qualify for living support, a term its page doesn't define, so ask the support coordinator whether your family member meets it.1

DSPD's sources don't say whether an adult child or other relative can be hired another way: in Utah DSPD self-administered services, personal assistance and supported living bill any employee who isn't the person's spouse, parent, step-parent or guardian under general codes PA1 or SL1, without naming relatives.5,1

Caring for an aging parent? DSPD is probably the wrong door. DSPD can't serve people whose main need for help comes from conditions due to aging or from deteriorating diseases such as Alzheimer's disease and dementia.3 Utah's Aging Waiver can pay an adult child or other relative to care for a parent 65 or older. The waiver text we could check is an older edition, and the current waiver may add requirements, so confirm the rules with your Area Agency on Aging case manager.6

Which DSPD Waivers Pay Family Caregivers

DSPD says caregiver compensation is open to people receiving services through any Medicaid home and community-based services (HCBS) waiver DSPD manages.2 Utah takes applications for the Physical Disabilities Waiver and the Community Supports Waiver through DSPD.6 DSPD publishes separate caregiver compensation guidance for its Acquired Brain Injury waiver, for intellectual disabilities and related conditions, and for physical disabilities.2

In Utah DSPD self-administered services, supported living for people with an intellectual disability or related condition or adults with a brain injury uses code CM2 for a spouse and CM3 for a parent, step-parent or guardian. DSPD personal assistance uses PA2 for a spouse and PA3 for a parent, step-parent or guardian when the person receives Physical Disabilities Waiver services. These are billing codes, not pay rates.5

How Many Hours Utah DSPD Caregiver Compensation Pays

For brain injury and for intellectual disabilities and related conditions, DSPD's FY 2024 caregiver compensation guidance uses UCANS or Comprehensive Brain Injury Assessment (CBIA) scores and medical or behavioral documentation to place the person in one of four categories, each with a weekly cap on paid hours.2

Assessment scores decide only DSPD caregiver compensation Categories 1 and 2. DSPD caregiver compensation Categories 3 and 4 require the Category 2 criteria plus a healthcare provider's verification of at least 2 prescribed medical treatments, behavioral conditions or a combination that require total assistance each week. DSPD uses Category 3 when the person gets over 29 hours a week of other services, and Category 4 when they get less than 29.2

If you give round-the-clock care, the gap between DSPD caregiver compensation's 10 and 40 paid weekly hours matters, and moving above Category 2 needs a provider's verification, so gather it early. If the approved category seems too low, request a change through DSPD's Request for Services (RFS) committee.2

DSPD's FY 2024 physical disabilities guidance has no caregiver compensation categories and says there are no limits to the amount of service when its conditions, listed below, are met. That wording doesn't make physical disabilities family care uncapped: in Utah DSPD self-administered services, personal assistance from a spouse (code PA2) or a parent, step-parent or guardian (code PA3) under the Physical Disabilities Waiver can't be billed for more than 40 hours a week.2

Separate limits apply to Utah DSPD self-administered services supported living for brain injury and ID/RC: family codes CM2 and CM3 can't be billed for more than 40 hours a week or 8 hours a day, and supported living can't be billed while your family member is asleep, at school or normally scheduled to be at school, or getting other services at the same time.5

Your other DSPD services can continue alongside caregiver compensation as long as the service times don't overlap.2

Conditions for Paying a Family Caregiver

DSPD offers caregiver compensation through both a provider agency and self-administered services, where the family hires its own staff.2 In Utah DSPD self-administered services, the family codes (PA2, PA3, CM2 and CM3) all require that:5

• having you as the employee is in your family member's best interest;
• your family member chooses you, and their person-centered support team supports that choice; and
• your capacity and risk of burnout have been evaluated and don't limit the care you give.5

DSPD's family supported living codes (CM2 and CM3) also require that you can meet your family member's needs, that you aren't also the employer or legal representative for their self-administered services, and that their need goes beyond what a parent, step-parent, guardian or spouse would typically do for someone the same age without a disability.5

Under Utah Administrative Code R539-5, your family member must approve the hiring of every self-administered services employee.1

Extra conditions for physical disabilities. DSPD's FY 2024 guidance says the physical disabilities program mainly serves people who can direct their own care, and one of these must apply:2

• they live in a rural area with no other supportive resources within 15 miles, and must keep trying to recruit help other than a parent, step-parent or guardian;
• the parent or step-parent has specialized training to run health-related technology for them;
• they are functionally quadriplegic; or
• they need care critical to their health and safety outside normal work hours.2

Under DSPD's physical disabilities guidance, caregiver compensation must be in the person-centered support plan, and a paid parent, step-parent or guardian must meet the Personal Attendant Service criteria, can't be paid a higher rate than an employee would be, and must submit timesheets.2

That list is DSPD's summary, and the Physical Disabilities Waiver itself says more. In the older edition of the waiver text we could check, the rural circumstance also requires living within five miles of a population center of fewer than 2,500 people, and the health-technology circumstance covers a legal guardian too but requires showing there's no other dependable or qualified resource to do those tasks. That edition also limits a paid spouse, parent or guardian who is legally responsible for the person to no more than 40 hours a week of the service the agency approves.6 Utah's renewed Physical Disabilities Waiver took effect July 1, 2026, and its text may differ, so confirm the current conditions with your family member's support coordinator.6

Who Qualifies for DSPD and How to Apply

To get DSPD services, your family member must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, live in Utah and have an intellectual disability or related condition, a qualifying physical disability or a qualifying acquired brain injury.3 For an intellectual disability or related condition, DSPD requires that the limitations begin before age 22 and cause a need for a lot of help in at least 3 listed areas.3 For a physical disability, DSPD requires that they be 18 or older, have at least two arms or legs they can't use, and be able to direct their own care and handle their own money and legal matters.3

Learn More

Find personalized help getting paid through DSPD caregiver compensation 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.