Individualized Funding for Home Care in Saskatchewan

Standard SHA home care comes on a schedule you don't control — a worker shows up when the agency has availability, not necessarily when your parent needs help most. If that rigidity doesn't work for your family, Saskatchewan's Individualized Funding program offers an alternative that most families never hear about.

How It Works

Instead of receiving scheduled SHA home care visits, the family receives a monthly budget based on the parent's assessed care needs. You use that budget to hire your own caregivers — a family friend, a private agency worker, or anyone else you choose — on a schedule that fits your parent's actual routine.

The budget amount is determined by the same SHA Care Needs Assessment that allocates standard home care hours. If your parent qualifies for 20 hours per week of personal care support, the Individualized Funding amount reflects that level of need.

What It Covers — and What It Doesn't

Individualized Funding covers personal care and support services — the same category as standard SHA home care: bathing assistance, dressing, meal preparation, medication reminders, light housekeeping.

It does not cover:

• Professional nursing care
• Physical therapy or occupational therapy
• Medical equipment or supplies

Those clinical services continue to be provided directly by SHA staff at no charge, regardless of whether the family uses standard home care or Individualized Funding for support services.

Why Families Choose This Option

Scheduling control. Your parent needs help at 7 a.m. to get ready for the day and at 8 p.m. to prepare for bed. Standard SHA scheduling might send a worker at 10 a.m. instead. With Individualized Funding, you set the schedule.

Consistency. Standard SHA home care rotates workers. Your parent may see a different person every visit. With Individualized Funding, you can hire one consistent caregiver your parent knows and trusts.

Long-distance management. Families coordinating care from another province find it easier to hire and manage a single local caregiver than to navigate SHA scheduling from 2,000 kilometres away.

Cultural or language matching. You can hire a caregiver who speaks your parent's first language or understands their cultural preferences — something the SHA's general pool can't always accommodate.

How to Access the Program

Individualized Funding requires an existing SHA relationship. Your parent must:

1. Be assessed by an SHA Client Care Coordinator through the CPAS intake process
2. Be approved for publicly funded home care support services
3. Request the Individualized Funding option specifically — it's not offered by default

Ask the care coordinator directly: "Does my parent qualify for the Individualized Funding program?" If they qualify for standard home care hours, they likely qualify for the equivalent budget through Individualized Funding.

Managing the Budget

Families receiving Individualized Funding are responsible for:

• Finding and hiring their own caregiver(s)
• Managing the schedule and ensuring coverage
• Tracking expenses against the monthly budget
• Reporting to the SHA on how funds are used

This isn't a hands-off arrangement. It trades the inconvenience of SHA scheduling for the responsibility of employer-like management. For families with an organized primary caregiver or a hired care manager, it works well. For families already overwhelmed, the added administrative burden may not be worth the flexibility.

The Saskatchewan Elder Care Decision Guide covers both standard SHA home care and the Individualized Funding pathway, including how to evaluate which option fits your family's situation.

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