A Georgia child with cerebral palsy who has full Medicaid can receive care at home through GAPP, the Georgia Pediatric Program, when that care is medically necessary. Depending on your child’s needs, that can be skilled nursing, personal support with daily care such as bathing, dressing, feeding and moving, or both. A parent who lives with the child can be paid for approved personal support hours.
Cerebral palsy looks different in every child, and so does the help a family needs. This page explains how GAPP looks at a child with cerebral palsy, how nursing and personal support divide the care, where a paid parent fits, and which other Georgia programs fill the gaps GAPP leaves.
How GAPP looks at a child with cerebral palsy
GAPP does not approve care by diagnosis. It approves care that is medically necessary, judged on your child’s overall medical condition, the equipment they use and the level and frequency of care they need (GAPP manual §702.1.1). The state’s nursing evaluation form, the DMA-6(A), asks the physician about the needs that most often come with cerebral palsy:
- Mobility: splints, a prosthesis, or a child over 18 months who cannot walk and uses a wheelchair.
- Neurological status: seizures, neurological deficits and paralysis.
- Nutrition: tube feeding and medications given through the tube.
- Skin and continence: a child who is bedridden, pressure sores, and incontinence after age 3.
- Behavioral status: including developmental delay.
- Surgeries and therapy: how many surgeries, and how often your child has therapy visits.
The strongest application describes the care in practice: how your child is moved and positioned, how long feeds take, what happens at night. The physician’s orders and statement of medical necessity should carry that detail. If your child also has seizures, our page on seizure care at home explains the seizure log GAPP requires.
Nursing and personal support
- Skilled nursing is the care in your child’s physician’s orders that needs a licensed nurse, such as medications, tube feeding care, respiratory care or seizure response, depending on the orders.
- Personal support is hands-on help with the everyday care your child cannot do alone: bathing, dressing, hygiene, feeding, meals, help with moving and walking, and light housekeeping around your child’s space (§604.2). Personal support staff must be trained in helping with transfers, walking, exercises and the use of adaptive aids and equipment within 90 days of starting care (§909.3).
A child can be approved for personal support without skilled nursing (§601). Which tasks belong to which service follows the physician’s orders and the plan of care. Our personal care support page explains the service in detail.
Can a parent be paid?
Through GAPP’s Family Caregiver Option, a parent or other legally responsible adult who lives with the child can be paid for providing the child’s approved personal support hours, as an employee of a GAPP agency (§604.2). The agency hires you like any other caregiver, with fingerprinting, a background check, CPR certification and training (§604.3). It does not cover skilled nursing, and foster parents are not eligible.
For many parents of children with cerebral palsy, who already do this care every day, this is the most important thing on this page. Our Village Care Program is how ARZN supports families who qualify.
How hours are decided
- Hours are based on your child’s specific medical treatment needs and on the training needs of the primary caregiver (§702.1.4).
- They are approved as a monthly maximum, for up to six months at a time, and renewed. The renewal is due 30 days before the approval ends (§819.4, §804.2, §817).
- There is no published number of hours for cerebral palsy. Anyone who quotes one before the state’s review is guessing.
When things change
Surgery, a growth spurt that changes how your child is moved, new equipment or a new feeding plan can all change the care your child needs. A change in condition goes to the state as a change request within five days, and the review team expedites these when necessary (§827). An increase in hours needs documentation from the physician and updated orders.
Your training
One of GAPP’s stated goals is to teach parents and caregivers to care for their child safely when a nurse is not there (§825.5), recorded in a teaching plan and caregiver skills checklist (§918). If there are parts of your child’s care, such as lifting, positioning or feeding, that you cannot yet do safely on your own, make sure the checklist says so.
What GAPP does not cover
GAPP pays for care in the home: skilled nursing, personal support and behavioral support aide services. It does not pay for care at school, which comes through your child’s IEP (§604, §703.2.3), and it does not fund respite care (§925.7). Equipment and home adaptations come from elsewhere: Georgia’s NOW and COMP waivers, for example, list specialized medical equipment, home and vehicle adaptations and respite among their services.
Other programs that help
- Katie Beckett can give a child 18 and under Georgia Medicaid without counting the parents’ income, based on the level of care the child needs. Once your child has Medicaid, GAPP is requested as usual. See our Katie Beckett guide.
- NOW and COMP serve people with an intellectual disability or a closely related condition, such as cerebral palsy, who meet an ICF-ID level of care. You apply through DBHDD, and people found pre-eligible go onto a planning list prioritized by need, so it is worth applying early.
- At 21, GAPP ends, and the state assesses young adults for Georgia’s adult program before then. Our GAPP guide explains what happens at 21.
How these fit together is laid out in Georgia programs for children with disabilities, compared.
What to ask an agency
- Have your caregivers in my county worked with children who need lifting, positioning and help with every meal?
- Which parts of my child’s care would a nurse do, and which could personal support cover?
- Do you hire parents through the Family Caregiver Option, and how long does hiring take?
- What happens when my child’s caregiver calls out? Agencies must have provisions for back-up staffing (§609.4).
In short
- GAPP looks at your child’s care needs, not the diagnosis of cerebral palsy.
- Personal support covers daily hands-on care; skilled nursing covers what the physician orders a nurse to do.
- A parent who lives with the child can be paid for approved personal support hours.
- Equipment, adaptations and respite come from other programs such as NOW and COMP.
If your child has cerebral palsy and needs care at home, tell us about your child and we will tell you honestly what GAPP may cover. The full program rules are in our GAPP guide.
Common questions
Can a child with cerebral palsy get care at home through GAPP?
Yes, if the child has full Georgia Medicaid and GAPP approves the care as medically necessary. Depending on the child's needs, that can be skilled nursing, personal support with daily care such as bathing, dressing, feeding and moving, or both.
Does cerebral palsy qualify a child for GAPP?
GAPP does not approve care by diagnosis. It looks at the child's overall medical condition, equipment and the level and frequency of care needed. The state's nursing evaluation form asks about mobility, feeding, neurological needs such as seizures, skin, continence, surgeries and therapy visits.
Can I get paid to care for my child with cerebral palsy in Georgia?
Possibly, for personal support. Through GAPP's Family Caregiver Option, a parent or other legally responsible adult who lives with the child can be paid for approved personal support hours, as an employee of a GAPP agency. It does not cover skilled nursing, and foster parents are not eligible.
What other Georgia programs help children with cerebral palsy?
Katie Beckett (TEFRA) can provide Medicaid for children 18 and under when family income is too high. The NOW and COMP waivers serve people with intellectual disabilities or closely related conditions such as cerebral palsy, with long-term supports including respite, specialized equipment and home and vehicle adaptations, from a planning list prioritized by need.
Sources
- Georgia Department of Community Health, Part II Policies and Procedures for Georgia Pediatric Program (GAPP) In-Home Nursing, July 1, 2025 edition, published on GAMMIS under Provider Manuals.
- Georgia Department of Community Health, Georgia Pediatric Program (GAPP) provider presentation, June 2023, published on the Georgia Medicaid Management Information System portal.
- Georgia Medicaid, Waiver Programs.
- Georgia Department of Community Health, Community Based Services.
- Georgia Medicaid, New Options Waiver (NOW) and Comprehensive Supports Waiver (COMP).
- Georgia Medicaid, TEFRA/Katie Beckett.
Please read. This article is general information about a public program, not medical, legal or financial advice, and it is not a decision about your child. Program rules change. Confirm anything that matters with the Georgia Department of Community Health or with a GAPP participating agency before you rely on it.