WA Cares Paid Family Caregiver: Who Qualifies and How to Start (2026)

Families in Washington can now be paid to care for a parent, spouse or other relative out of a long-term care benefit that person earned while working in the state. The WA Cares Fund pays a relative, even a spouse, for approved personal care, hired through a home care provider, once the person receiving care has earned benefits and been approved.1,2 Becoming a WA Cares paid family caregiver starts with your loved one's application.

In This Guide

• Can WA Cares Pay a Family Caregiver?
• Has Your Loved One Earned WA Cares Benefits?
• How Much WA Cares Pays
• How to Start as a WA Cares Paid Family Caregiver
• Choosing CDWA or a Home Care Agency
• If Your Loved One Also Has Apple Health

Can WA Cares Pay a Family Caregiver?

Yes. Washington's WA Cares law says qualified family members may be paid for approved personal care services in the same way as individual providers or through a licensed home care agency, and it defines a qualified family member as a relative of the person receiving WA Cares benefits who is qualified to meet DSHS requirements for the service they provide.1

WA Cares can pay a husband or wife too. Washington's Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) says WA Cares will allow spouses to be paid caregivers if the person receiving care has earned WA Cares benefits and meets the required level of need.2 For a spouse, that matters a great deal, because Washington's regular Medicaid home care won't pay a spouse (more on that below).2

To be paid for care, you become an employee of CDWA or a registered home care agency, you're paid through that employer rather than by your loved one, and WA Cares pays the provider directly for the services your loved one receives.1

Has Your Loved One Earned WA Cares Benefits?

Settle this first. Workers pay into WA Cares through a payroll premium collected by the Employment Security Department, and your loved one qualifies by meeting a contribution requirement and a care-needs requirement. Your loved one must also be 18 or older and live in Washington.1

Two details trip families up. A year counts toward a WA Cares contribution pathway only if your loved one worked at least 500 hours that year, so part-time years may not count. And someone who holds an approved WA Cares exemption cannot qualify for benefits at all.1

The care-needs test comes at application. For WA Cares, DSHS must find that your loved one needs help with at least three activities of daily living, a need expected to last at least 90 days.1 The activities WA Cares lists are bathing, bed mobility, eating, medication management, mobility, transferring and toileting, and needing supervision to complete one counts as needing help with it.1

How Much WA Cares Pays

WA Cares is a capped lifetime benefit, not an open-ended one. State law limits each person to the dollar equivalent of 365 benefit units over their lifetime. A benefit unit is up to $100, adjusted each year for inflation with the change taking effect the following January 1, and WA Cares states that the full benefit amount in 2026 is $36,500.1 WA Cares calls the benefit amount the lifetime total your loved one can use, and paying you draws it down, so it helps to talk as a family about how to stretch it.1

Typical pay: about $22.95 an hour (estimate based on home care aide wages in Washington, BLS, May 2025). That is an occupation-wide wage estimate for home health and personal care aides, not a WA Cares rate, so ask CDWA or the agency for your hourly wage.3

How to Start as a WA Cares Paid Family Caregiver

1. Your loved one applies. They create a WA Cares benefits account and apply online, or call 844-CARE4WA for help applying by phone. The local Area Agency on Aging can help in person, but may require an appointment.
2. WA Cares confirms contributions. A contribution determination letter says whether your loved one met the requirement and the benefit amount they earned.
3. They discuss care needs. A WA Cares team member meets with them in person or by phone, then sends a letter saying whether they're approved. If WA Cares finds they don't qualify, they can appeal by requesting a hearing within 30 days from the date of the eligibility denial notice. A denial can feel like a door closing on help your loved one needs every day, but it is not the last word: the 30 days count from the date on the notice, so mark it the day the letter arrives.1
4. You apply to work as their caregiver. Apply to CDWA (866-214-9899, option 4 for WA Cares) or to a home care agency listed in the WA Cares Provider Network Directory.
5. Your loved one approves a pre-authorization. This formal agreement with the provider about the costs and details of the services must be approved in their benefits account before services begin. Then you start providing paid care.1

One caution while you help with paperwork: WA Cares says it cannot pay an authorized user, someone set up to help manage another person's application or benefits, to provide that person's care. If you plan to be the paid caregiver, your loved one may want to name someone else as the authorized user.1

Choosing CDWA or a Home Care Agency

The employer you work through changes who directs your work.1

• CDWA: your loved one is your day-to-day supervisor, and you go through the same hiring process as any other individual provider.
• Home care agency: you have an assigned agency supervisor, who creates a plan of care you follow.1

Before deciding, read WA Cares' side-by-side comparison of the two employers.

Plan for training either way, and know that Washington's training rule sets different hours for different categories of worker. Under that rule, a worker caring only for a parent, sibling, grandparent or other listed relative (a parent caring for an adult child with a developmental disability falls under a separate category) completes two hours of orientation, three hours of safety training and 30 hours of basic training. A worker providing approved services only for a spouse or registered domestic partner completes the same five hours plus 16 hours of basic training, starting July 1, 2026. By contrast, a non-exempt worker hired by a licensed home care agency or the consumer directed employer to provide personal care completes two hours of orientation, three hours of safety training and 70 hours of basic training, and needs Home Care Aide certification.4 For individual providers, DSHS says orientation and safety come before any paid care, basic training is due within 120 days of hire, and if the deadlines are missed, payment to provide personal care is terminated.4 DSHS also says training requirements vary based on your relationship to the person you care for, so ask CDWA or the agency which training track and deadlines apply to you before you start.2

If Your Loved One Also Has Apple Health

Apple Health, Washington's Medicaid program, has different family rules from WA Cares. Under Apple Health and its Long Term Services and Supports program, DSHS says you cannot be paid to provide care for your spouse. An adult child is treated differently: DSHS says family members who care for a relative can become paid caregivers when that relative qualifies for Medicaid Long Term Services and Supports.2 Our Washington get-paid guide covers the Apple Health route.

Learn More

Find personalized help using WA Cares to pay a family caregiver 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.