In Washington, an adult child can be paid to care for a parent who qualifies for Medicaid long-term care through Apple Health, with 35 hours of training to complete.,

The employer is Consumer Direct Care Network Washington (CDWA). In Washington, CDWA employs paid family caregivers as Individual Providers, who give personal care and respite to Medicaid-qualified people in their homes, and CDWA runs their payroll, while your parent stays in charge of choosing, scheduling and supervising you. A Washington Individual Provider completes five of those 35 training hours before the first paid shift and the rest within 120 days of hire. Your parent's paid hours are set by an assessment of her needs from the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS), and most Washington Individual Providers can work up to 40 hours a week.

In This Guide

Who Employs a CDWA Individual Provider

Becoming your mom's paid caregiver means you answer to two parties at once, and Washington law spells out who is who. Under RCW 74.39A.500, the consumer directed employer is the legal employer of individual providers, and the person receiving care is the managing employer, who keeps "the primary right to select, dismiss, assign hours, and supervise the work" of their providers.

DSHS contracts with CDWA as that single statewide employer. DSHS describes CDWA as employing caregivers as Individual Providers to support Medicaid-qualified people in their homes, including paid family caregivers. As of 2026, DSHS says CDWA employs about 46,000 Individual Providers who give in-home personal care and respite, and CDWA manages credentialing, payroll and other administrative employer duties. Washington law also requires CDWA to verify each provider's training and conduct background checks.

CDWA has two duties that can affect a family hire. CDWA must reject a client's request to assign a specific person if it has reason to believe that person will be unable to appropriately meet the client's care needs. CDWA must also end a provider's assignment to a client when it has reason to believe, or DSHS or the Area Agency on Aging has reported, that the client's health, safety or well-being is in imminent jeopardy because of the provider's performance. CDWA must offer clients a dispute resolution process for both decisions.

How to Get Hired, Step by Step

DSHS says family members can become paid caregivers if the person receiving care qualifies for Apple Health long-term services and supports.

  1. Your parent gets assessed. Her service hours come from the DSHS CARE assessment, the assessment Washington uses to determine how many service hours a client gets.
  2. You apply directly to CDWA. DSHS's Individual Provider page says to apply directly to Consumer Direct Care Network Washington. CDWA's main number is 866-214-9899.,
  3. Meet the employment requirements. DSHS lists a background check, a valid photo identification, authorization to work in the United States, and completing caregiver training.
  4. Sign up for training. After you apply with CDWA, you get information on how to sign up. Training is provided through SEIU 775 Benefits Group, and you complete five hours of orientation and safety training during hiring.
  5. Finish your Washington basic training within 120 days of hire. A Washington Individual Provider who misses the training deadlines cannot be paid.

How Many Training Hours You Need

Training hours are one of the places where being family genuinely helps you. Washington's training rule, WAC 388-71-0523, sets hours by your relationship to the person you care for. WAC 388-71-0523 was amended effective April 25, 2026.

Who you care for Orientation Safety Basic training
Only your parent, child, sibling, aunt, uncle, cousin, niece, nephew, grandparent or grandchild (including by marriage or domestic partnership) 2 hours 3 hours 30 hours
Only your spouse or registered domestic partner 2 hours 3 hours 16 hours from July 1, 2026 (30 hours before)
Anyone, as a non-exempt worker hired by CDWA or a licensed home care agency 2 hours 3 hours 70 hours, plus Home Care Aide certification

That adds up to the 35 hours DSHS says most paid family caregivers must complete. A parent caring for an adult child with a developmental disability falls under a separate category of WAC 388-71-0523.,

For a Washington Individual Provider caring only for a parent, child, sibling or other relative listed in WAC 388-71-0523, continuing education is not required until January 1, 2027. From January 1, 2027, Washington Individual Providers caring only for a relative listed in WAC 388-71-0523 need 12 hours of continuing education every year.

Please put your basic-training deadline on your calendar the day you're hired. DSHS is blunt about the consequence: "You cannot be paid as an Individual Provider if your training is not finished on time."

How Many Hours You Can Work

Your hours start with your parent's assessment. DSHS's CARE assessment produces the maximum number of hours that can be used to build your parent's plan of care, and those hours can go to a home care agency provider, an Individual Provider, or both. If your parent has more than one Individual Provider, CDWA works with her to assign the assessed hours among them and reviews work week limits and overtime.

Your own cap is the work week limit, the total service hours an Individual Provider can provide in a work week. For most Washington Individual Providers that limit is 40 hours. DSHS counts required training and approved travel time in the overtime rule: all hours worked over 40, including those, are paid as overtime. If your parent's assessed hours run past what one caregiver can work in a week, that is where a second Individual Provider comes in, with CDWA assigning the hours between you as described above.

If you live with your parent, you may wonder whether that cuts her hours. The assessment does adjust base hours for informal supports, and family members and housemates count as informal support. But DSHS rules say the department "will not consider an individual provider to be a source of informal support."

Living together also changes how you record time. Individual Providers who live with their client claim their time in the CDWA portal, while those who don't use CDWA's electronic visit verification app, CareAttend.

What a CDWA Individual Provider Earns

If you are cutting back other work to care for your parent, the pay rate may be the first number you need, and it deserves a straight answer about what we know. In Washington, BLS estimates the median hourly wage for the home health and personal care aide occupation at $22.95 (May 2025). That is an estimate based on home care aide wages, not a rate CDWA or the state publishes, so your actual pay as a Washington Individual Provider may differ. Protect yourself by asking CDWA for your rate when you apply, before you plan your household budget around this income.

CDWA also handles the money side of the arrangement. If your parent owes Client Responsibility toward her care, she pays it directly to CDWA, not to you.

For how this pay is reported for taxes, see our guide to W-2 versus 1099 for Medicaid-paid caregivers.

Why a Home Care Agency Usually Can't Pay a Relative

Having a home care agency hire the relative instead rarely works. Under RCW 74.39A.326, DSHS shall not pay a licensed home care agency for in-home personal care or respite when a family member of the client provides the care. "Family member" is read broadly to include a parent, child, sibling, aunt, uncle, cousin, grandparent, grandchild, grandniece or grandnephew, or those relatives by marriage.

The statute has exceptions. To the extent federal law permits, the RCW 74.39A.326 bar on paying a home care agency for a relative's care does not apply when the family member is older than the client. DSHS may, case by case based on the client's health and safety, make an exception to the RCW 74.39A.326 bar and pay a home care agency for a family member's care, or pay during a transition of up to three months. Within available funds, the RCW 74.39A.326 bar also does not apply to a client who is an enrolled member of a federally recognized Indian tribe or lives in the household of one.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I be a CDWA Individual Provider for my spouse?

Not under Apple Health. DSHS says that under Apple Health and the Long Term Services and Supports program "you cannot be paid to provide care for your spouse." It names Veteran-Directed Care and the WA Cares Fund as Washington programs that do allow a paid spouse, each with its own conditions. See getting paid to care for your spouse in Washington.

Do I need Home Care Aide certification?

The 75-hour Home Care Aide track is DSHS's contrast to the 35-hour family caregiver track. Home Care Aides apply for certification with the Washington State Department of Health within 14 days of hire and pass both exams within 365 days. In the training rule, Home Care Aide certification is listed as required for the non-exempt worker hired by a licensed home care agency or the consumer directed employer, the last row of the table above.

Can I be Mom's representative and her paid caregiver?

DSHS's care-planning chapter says a representative who is also the client's paid caregiver can sign the Service Summary for the client. Another person must then assist the client as representative for care planning, as needed.

Learn More

CaregiverHow to Get Paid as a Family Caregiver in WashingtonGet paid to care for a family member in Washington in 2026: Community First Choice individual providers, CDWA, the WA Cares spousal pathway, and VA options. CaregiverGetting Paid to Care for Your Spouse in WashingtonCan you get paid to care for your spouse in Washington? Apple Health says no, but WA Cares (live since July 2026) and VA programs pay a husband or wife. CaregiverCaregiver Programs in Washington StateEvery caregiver program in Washington: paid family caregiver pathways, the new WA Cares spousal benefit, MAC/TSOA, NFCSP grants, VA benefits, and taxes. CaregiverElectronic Visit Verification for Family CaregiversElectronic visit verification records six things per visit. Federal rules require location only at clock-in and clock-out; your state may require more. CaregiverCan Apple Health Pay a Family Caregiver in Washington?Yes. Washington Apple Health personal care can pay a family member as an Individual Provider through CDWA. Spouses can't be paid. Here's how to start. CaregiverWashington COPES Waiver: How a Family Caregiver Gets PaidOn Washington's COPES waiver, a relative (not a spouse) can be paid as a CDWA Individual Provider through Community First Choice. Who qualifies, how to apply.

Find personalized help getting hired as a paid family caregiver in Washington 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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