Community Care Services Program Georgia: What CCSP Covers and How to Get On It
The Community Care Services Program (CCSP) is Georgia's primary Medicaid home care waiver — the program that pays for in-home personal care, adult day health, meal delivery, and emergency response systems so your parent can stay out of a nursing home. It's administered by the Department of Community Health under the federal Elderly and Disabled Waiver Program, and it's the waiver most Georgia families are trying to access when they search for "Medicaid home care."
What CCSP Actually Covers
CCSP is not a single service — it's a package of supports authorized through an individualized care plan. Here's what the waiver funds:
Personal support services: In-home aides who assist with bathing, dressing, toileting, transfers, meal preparation, and medication reminders. Hours are authorized based on the care plan — typically ten to forty hours per week depending on functional need.
Adult day health: Daytime supervised care at a licensed center, including therapeutic activities, nursing oversight, and meals. Covered in full for enrolled participants.
Home-delivered meals: Nutritionally balanced meals for homebound participants who cannot safely prepare food.
Emergency response system (ERS): A wearable alert button connected to a 24/7 monitoring center. Covered as a waiver service at no cost.
Respite care: Temporary relief for the primary family caregiver — either in-home aide coverage or short-term facility stays.
Minor home modifications: Grab bars, ramps, and accessibility adaptations needed for safe home-based care.
Structured Family Caregiving: A live-in family member can be paid approximately $80 per day (tax-free) to provide care through an SFC provider agency.
Consumer-directed care: The participant hires their own caregiver (including family members except spouses) at an hourly wage through a state fiscal intermediary.
CCSP vs. SOURCE: Which Waiver Fits
Georgia's Elderly and Disabled Waiver has two delivery models. CCSP is the mainstream option for most families:
| Feature | CCSP | SOURCE |
|---|---|---|
| Income limit | $2,982/month (Miller Trust available) | $994/month (SSI pathway) |
| Physician rules | Any doctor | Must use SOURCE-enrolled PCP |
| Spousal protections | Full impoverishment protections | Limited or none |
| Waitlist | 12-24+ months (metro) | Generally shorter |
| Best for | Most families with income above SSI level | Lower-income participants needing integrated medical coordination |
If your parent's income is above $994/month — which includes anyone receiving a typical Social Security retirement benefit — CCSP is almost always the correct waiver to pursue. The higher income limit of $2,982 accommodates most retirees, and a Qualified Income Trust (Miller Trust) handles those above the cap.
Eligibility Requirements
Financial: Gross monthly income at or below $2,982 (a Miller Trust can solve excess income). Countable assets at or below $2,000. The primary home is exempt up to $752,000 in equity. Spousal impoverishment protections allow the non-applicant spouse to retain up to $162,660 in assets.
Clinical: Must meet nursing facility level of care — scored through the Determination of Need-Revised (DON-R) functional assessment conducted in-home by a nurse from your regional Area Agency on Aging. Minimum impairment score of 15 across fifteen ADL/IADL domains.
Categorical: Must be sixty-five or older, or an adult with a qualifying physical disability.
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How to Apply
Call your regional Area Agency on Aging (find yours through the Aging and Disability Resource Connection). The intake specialist conducts an initial phone triage.
In-home assessment: If the phone screen indicates potential eligibility, a nurse schedules the DON-R evaluation at your parent's home.
Financial screening: DFCS reviews income and assets. You'll need bank statements, Social Security statements, pension documents, and property records.
Waitlist placement: If clinically and financially eligible, your parent is placed on the CCSP waitlist. Triage scoring determines priority — higher clinical acuity means faster placement.
Enrollment: When a slot opens, a care plan is developed with the AAA case manager specifying which services your parent will receive and how many hours per week.
The typical timeline from first call to enrollment is three to six months if slots are available, or twelve to twenty-four months with a waitlist — longer in metro Atlanta counties where demand consistently exceeds capacity.
The Georgia Home Care, Waivers & Support Guide walks you through each step of the CCSP application with checklists, document preparation worksheets, and a DON-R self-assessment tool so you know what to expect before the nurse arrives.
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Download the Georgia — Aging in Place Resource Checklist — a printable guide with checklists, scripts, and action plans you can start using today.