Village Care Program
If your child has GAPP personal support hours, Georgia Medicaid can pay a parent or other legally responsible adult who lives with them to provide that care. ARZN hires you, trains you and supports you. That is the Village Care Program.
It covers hands-on daily care such as bathing, dressing and feeding. It never covers skilled nursing, which a licensed nurse provides.
Eligible families pay $0
Why it exists
You already know their routines, the small changes, what brings them comfort. Village Care lets that count: the state approves the hours, ARZN employs you to provide them, and you stay the person your child already trusts.
We handle the paperwork with the state, your training and your supervision, so the work fits around your family rather than the other way around.
Village Care pays for the personal support hours GAPP approves for your child, following their plan of care. Nothing else.
If your child needs nursing too, a licensed nurse provides those hours.
Source: Georgia Department of Community Health, GAPP policy manual, sections 604.2 to 604.4 and 703.2.3; federal approval for Georgia to pay legally responsible individuals, November 15, 2024.
No. Personal support is not nursing, so you do not need a nursing license. You do need CPR certification, a background check with fingerprinting, and ARZN’s training, and an ARZN nurse supervises the care every two weeks.
Foster parents are not eligible for this option.
Four steps, and we walk you through each one.
A short conversation about your child’s needs and the care you already give. We will tell you honestly whether Village Care could fit.
Your child needs full Georgia Medicaid. We submit the GAPP request, including personal support hours, for the state’s medical review. The reviewer has 30 days once the paperwork is complete.
Fingerprinting, a background check, CPR certification and ARZN’s training. We walk you through each one.
Within your child’s approved monthly hours, with supervision every two weeks and renewals at least every six months.
One-minute check
Four questions. Your answers stay on this page: nothing is saved or sent.
This is a quick guide, not a decision. Only the state's medical review decides what GAPP approves.
Most ads for getting paid to care for a family member in Georgia are about Structured Family Caregiving. It is a different program, with different rules.
Sources: Georgia Medicaid, Waiver Programs; Georgia Pathways, eligibility criteria.
Yes, if your child is enrolled in GAPP and approved for personal support hours. GAPP's Family Caregiver Option lets a parent or other legally responsible adult who lives with the child be paid, as an employee of the GAPP agency, to provide those approved hours. It covers personal support only, never skilled nursing.
Disability alone does not decide it. Your child needs full Georgia Medicaid and GAPP approval for personal support hours, which is based on medically necessary care such as help with bathing, dressing, feeding, toileting and moving. If those hours are approved, you can be the person paid to provide them.
Through GAPP, only if your child is approved for personal support hours based on medically necessary care. The GAPP manual directs members with autism to Georgia Medicaid's Autism Spectrum Disorder program, so for many autistic children GAPP will not be the route. If your child also has nursing or hands-on care needs, ask us to look at those.
No. Skilled nursing must be provided by a licensed nurse, and the Family Caregiver Option does not cover it. If your child needs both, a nurse provides the nursing hours and you can provide the approved personal support hours.
No. Personal support is not nursing, so you do not need a nursing license. You are hired like any other caregiver, which includes fingerprinting, a background check, CPR certification and ARZN's training, and an RN or LPN supervises the care every two weeks.
You are paid as an ARZN employee for the approved personal support hours you provide. The number of hours is set by the state's review of your child's needs, so no one can honestly quote a monthly figure before that review. We explain our pay rate on the first call.
The Family Caregiver Option is for legally responsible adult family members who live with the child, such as a parent or legal guardian. Foster parents are not eligible. If you are another relative, tell us about your family and we will explain what is possible.
No. Structured Family Caregiving is part of Georgia's Elderly and Disabled Waiver Program, which serves frail elderly and disabled Georgians who need a nursing facility level of care. It has its own rules and application. Village Care is for children under 21 enrolled in GAPP.
GAPP ends on the 21st birthday, and Village Care with it. Georgia's adult programs have their own rules and applications, so start planning six months to a year ahead.
Start here
Tell us about your child and what your family needs. We will help you understand what is possible, whether that is nursing support, help with everyday care, or getting paid to care for your child yourself.
Eligible families pay $0
