Dementia Care in Virginia: A Caregiver's Guide (2026)

About 164,000 Virginians are living with Alzheimer's, and family members provide most of their day-to-day care.1

Dementia caregiving is its own kind of hard: the long arc, the behavioral changes, the safety worries, the grief that starts before any loss. This guide maps the Virginia-specific help available in 2026, from the free 24/7 helpline to Medicaid respite to the programs that can pay you for the care you already provide.

You do not have to navigate this alone, and you do not have to fund all of it from your savings.

Virginia Dementia Caregiving, by the Numbers

About 164,000 Virginians are living with Alzheimer's disease, and the number is expected to keep growing as the population ages. About 333,000 family caregivers across the Commonwealth provide an estimated 561 million hours of unpaid care each year.1

If the work feels overwhelming, that is not a personal failing. It is the reality of a condition that demands more, for longer, than almost any other.

Where to Start

When a diagnosis lands, or when caregiving starts to outpace what you can manage alone, two contacts open most doors in Virginia.2,5

Virginia's Dementia Support Infrastructure

Virginia's Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services (DARS) and the state's Area Agencies on Aging provide caregiver counseling, support groups, training, and respite. DARS runs Dementia Services and the Dementia-Capable Virginia program with resources for navigating each stage, and can be reached at 804-662-7000; for immediate help, you can also call your local Area Agency on Aging or the Alzheimer's Association 24/7 Helpline at 1-800-272-3900. The Alzheimer's Association serves Virginia through regional chapters with support groups, education, and care consultations.2

Who Pays for Dementia Care in Virginia

Virginia's Medicaid (CCC Plus)

For Virginians who qualify, the Commonwealth Coordinated Care Plus (CCC Plus) waiver, delivered through Cardinal Care managed care, funds community-based dementia care, including personal care, private-duty nursing, assistive technology, environmental modifications, and respite care to give a family caregiver a break. Outside Medicaid, Virginia's Area Agencies on Aging, overseen by the Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services (DARS), organize the Respite Care Initiative, funded with state general funds, for caregivers of people 60 and older who have Alzheimer's disease or a related dementia, and DARS runs the Dementia-Capable Virginia initiative to help families find support.3,4

To get in, a family requests a Medicaid long-term services and supports (LTSS) screening. The screening weighs three things: functional capacity, meaning how much help the person needs with activities of daily living; medical or nursing needs; and the risk of nursing-facility placement within 30 days without community-based services. The functional rating is written up on Virginia's Uniform Assessment Instrument (UAI), and the question the screening answers is whether the person needs the level of care provided in a nursing facility, long-stay hospital, or specialized care nursing facility. There is also a financial test: waiver applicants are treated as if institutionalized, and the countable income limit is 300% of the SSI payment amount for an individual, which at the 2026 SSI rate of $994 a month works out to about $2,982 per month for a single applicant, with countable resources capped at $2,000 ($3,000 for two). Unlike Virginia's developmental-disability waivers, CCC Plus serves all ages and does not operate a statewide waiting list, so eligible members are enrolled rather than left in a queue.6

Getting Paid to Care for a Loved One With Dementia

Many Virginia dementia caregivers can be paid for the care they provide, through Medicaid self-direction or, for veterans' families, VA programs. The pathways, who can be hired, and the pay are covered in the Virginia paid family caregiver guide.

VA Benefits (for Veterans)

If the person you care for is a veteran enrolled in VA health care with a VA disability rating of 70% or higher, the VA's Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers (PCAFC) pays a tax-free monthly stipend to the primary family caregiver, including a spouse. And the Aid and Attendance (A&A) benefit, an increased monthly pension for a veteran or surviving spouse who needs help with daily activities like bathing, dressing, and feeding, can help a lower-income wartime family offset the cost of dementia care. Call the VA Caregiver Support Line at 1-855-260-3274, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET.7,8

Medicare

Medicare covers dementia-related doctor visits, a separate cognitive assessment and care-plan visit (billed under CPT code 99483), and limited short-term skilled home health and hospice, but it does not pay for long-term custodial care or a family caregiver's time. The Guiding an Improved Dementia Experience (GUIDE) Model, a voluntary CMS program that began July 1, 2024, adds dementia care navigation, a 24/7 support line, caregiver training, and respite (reimbursed up to $2,500 per year per patient) where a participating provider is available; ask your neurologist or the Alzheimer's Association helpline whether a GUIDE provider operates near you.9

Respite for Dementia Caregivers

Respite is what makes the long haul survivable. In Virginia it comes from four doors: the CCC Plus waiver for eligible Medicaid members; the National Family Caregiver Support Program through your Area Agency on Aging; two DARS programs that are not Medicaid at all (the state-funded Respite Care Initiative, for caregivers of people 60 and older with dementia, and the Virginia Lifespan Respite Voucher Program, which reimburses unpaid caregivers $595 per household per year); and licensed adult day centers. For the full picture, see Respite Care in Virginia.4

One caution if you are counting on that voucher: DARS's published application limits voucher funding to a total of $595 per household, describes that funding as running until June 30, 2026 or until funds are exhausted, and says that because funding is limited, not all eligible applicants will be approved. That date has now passed, so confirm with DARS's Division for Aging Services at 800-552-3402 that vouchers are still being issued before you build a plan around the money.4

A few days a week at a dementia-capable adult day program often does double duty: it gives you reliable hours back, and the structure, activity, and social contact frequently improve sleep, mood, and behavior for the person with dementia.

Safety, Behavior, and Planning

Dementia raises issues other caregiving does not: wandering, driving, sundowning, and the legal and financial planning that needs to happen while your loved one can still participate. The Alzheimer's Association 24/7 Helpline (1-800-272-3900) can walk you through behavioral strategies and connect you to local resources. Early legal planning, a durable power of attorney, advance directives, and a long-term-care plan, is far easier done sooner than later.2

Learn More

Find personalized help caring for a loved one with dementia in Virginia 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.