Get Paid to Care for a Family Member in Colorado: CDASS, IHSS, and CFC Programs

You're Already Doing the Work — Colorado Can Pay You for It

If you're bathing a parent, managing their medications, driving them to appointments, and helping them dress every morning, you're performing the same tasks that licensed home care agencies commonly charge private-pay clients $35 to $45 per hour for. Colorado is one of the states that allows family members — including spouses and adult children — to receive Medicaid-funded compensation for providing non-skilled personal care. The challenge is navigating the two programs that make it possible.

The Two Paths to Paid Family Caregiving

Consumer Directed Attendant Support Services (CDASS)

Under CDASS, the Medicaid member (your parent) or their designated Authorized Representative acts as the direct employer of their care attendants. You hire yourself — or another family member — as the paid caregiver. A Financial Management Services (FMS) provider like Palco or Public Partnerships handles payroll, tax withholding, and timesheet processing.

The CMA case manager determines the monthly budget allocation based on your parent's assessed functional needs. You control how to spend that allocation: how many hours, which tasks, which attendants.

Spouses can be paid under CDASS. Parents of minor children are generally excluded from this specific model.

In-Home Support Services (IHSS)

Under IHSS, a Medicaid-certified home care agency serves as the employer of record. The agency handles payroll, nursing oversight, and regulatory compliance. Your family member is hired as a W-2 employee of the agency, and the family directs day-to-day care and scheduling.

IHSS is the simpler route administratively — the agency manages the paperwork — but the agency takes a portion of the Medicaid reimbursement as its administrative fee, which can reduce your effective hourly rate.

What the Pay Looks Like

The statewide direct care base wage floor is $17.00 per hour (effective January 2026). Local minimum wage ordinances push rates higher in certain municipalities:

• Denver: $19.29/hr
• Edgewater: $18.17/hr

Depending on the care tier and agency fee structure, family caregivers typically earn between $18.00 and $24.20 per hour. Under CDASS, where there's no agency taking a cut, rates trend toward the higher end.

Eligibility Requirements

Your parent must be enrolled in Health First Colorado (Colorado Medicaid) and qualify for either the EBD waiver or Community First Choice. That means:

• Monthly gross income at or below $2,982 (or a Miller Trust in place for higher incomes)
• Countable assets at or below $2,000 (single) or protected by spousal impoverishment rules
• Nursing facility level of care, assessed through the Colorado Single Assessment by the regional CMA

Once your parent is enrolled, they select CDASS or IHSS as their service delivery model. The CMA case manager walks through the differences and helps with the election.

For CDASS specifically, the member or their Authorized Representative must complete a CDASS orientation training and select an FMS provider. Attendants undergo a CAPS (Colorado Adult Protective Services) registry background check before starting.

The New Caregiver Hour Limits

HCPF is phasing in strict weekly hour caps that directly affect family caregivers:

• July 1, 2026: 84 hours per week maximum per caregiver
• January 1, 2027: 70 hours per week
• July 1, 2027: 56 hours per week

No caregiver can work more than 16 hours in a single 24-hour day. Spouses providing homemaker services face an additional cap of 7 hours per week.

If your parent needs more care than one person can provide under these limits, you'll need to onboard additional attendants — or the agency/CDASS employer can submit a formal exception request to the CMA based on extraordinary clinical need or workforce barriers in rural areas.

How to Get Started

1. Confirm Medicaid enrollment: Your parent needs active Health First Colorado coverage. Apply through Colorado PEAK if they're not yet enrolled.
2. Complete the CMA intake: The regional Case Management Agency conducts the functional assessment. They need a signed Professional Medical Information Page (PMIP) from your parent's doctor.
3. Choose CDASS or IHSS: CDASS gives more control; IHSS requires less paperwork.
4. Complete training and background checks: CDASS requires orientation. All attendants need a CAPS registry check.
5. Start getting paid: The FMS provider (CDASS) or agency (IHSS) processes timesheets and issues payments, typically biweekly.

The whole process takes 30 to 60 days from initial CMA contact to first paycheck, assuming Medicaid eligibility is already confirmed.

It's Complicated — Here's How to Stay Organized

Between the CDASS election, the FMS vendor setup, the CAPS background check, and the hour cap compliance, the paperwork can bury you. The Aging in Place in Colorado guide includes a caregiver hour log, a CMA intake checklist, and a financial self-assessment worksheet designed for families navigating exactly this process.

See more Colorado guides →