Any GAPP-approved agency can submit your child’s request, so the choice comes down to one thing above everything else: whether the agency can actually staff your child’s hours, in your county, with nurses who can do your child’s care. Ask about staffing first, then about backup, supervision and communication.
Parents in Georgia say the same thing again and again: the hours were approved and nobody came. An approval letter is not care. This page is about telling the agencies that can staff your child’s hours from the ones that only process the paperwork.
Where to find GAPP providers
The Department of Community Health publishes the list of GAPP-approved agencies on the state Medicaid portal, GAMMIS, and the GAPP Program Specialist can help at (404) 683-5113 or GAPP.inquiries@dch.ga.gov. You choose the agency, and you confirm that choice on a Freedom of Choice form each year (GAPP manual §808).
Be wary of websites that look like a state agency but collect your details for a company they do not name. The state’s own GAPP pages are on georgia.gov addresses, and every GAPP application goes through an agency you have chosen yourself.
What every GAPP agency must have
- A Georgia Private Home Care Provider license and a Medicaid provider number (§609.3).
- Provisions for back-up staffing coverage (§609.4).
- Licensed nurses with current CPR certification, and background checks with fingerprints for staff (§604.3).
- An RN or LPN supervising personal support aides and family caregivers every two weeks (§919).
- A written statement of your rights, including the right to complain without retaliation and to review your child’s records (§621.1).
Those are the minimum. They do not tell you whether a nurse will be at your door on Tuesday night.
The questions to ask
| Ask | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Do you have nurses or aides in my county now who can cover my child’s hours? | Approval does not staff a shift. An agency that cannot staff your hours must tell you and refer you elsewhere (§822), so ask before you sign. |
| How many of your nurses have done care like my child’s? | Tracheostomy, ventilator, tube feeding and seizure care take experience. Ask for numbers, not reassurance. |
| What happens when a nurse calls out? | Agencies must have provisions for back-up staffing (§609.4). Ask how it works in practice and how much notice you get. |
| Who is my supervising nurse, and how do I reach someone after hours? | You want one name and a number that answers at 7pm on a Friday. |
| Do you provide both skilled nursing and personal support, and the Family Caregiver Option? | One agency for both avoids gaps. The Family Caregiver Option lets a parent be paid for approved personal support hours. |
| How do you handle renewals? | Renewals are due 30 days before an approval ends, and a late one leaves an unpaid gap (§817). |
| If you can staff only part of our hours, will you share them with another agency? | Skilled nursing hours can be shared between two agencies (§823). A good agency will say so rather than leave shifts empty. |
| How do you handle complaints? | You have the right to raise them without retaliation (§621.1). Ask who reviews them. |
Reading reviews
Agencies cannot discuss families in public, so reviews are one-sided by nature. Read them for patterns rather than single stories: staffing, missed shifts, communication, and how the agency replies to criticism. Other parents are often the best source, and Parent to Parent of Georgia can connect you with families who have been through it.
Red flags
- The agency offers to fill out your doctor’s orders for them to sign. The physician’s orders form must come from your child’s doctor, nurse practitioner or physician assistant. Since January 1, 2025, agencies that fill it out and send it for signature face penalties (§805).
- A promise of a specific number of hours before the review. Hours are set by the state’s medical review, not by the agency.
- A promise that a parent can be paid for nursing. The Family Caregiver Option covers personal support only.
- A request that you find your own nurse. That is an agency telling you it cannot staff your child’s hours.
In short
- Every approved agency can file the paperwork. Choose on staffing.
- Ask about your county, your child’s kind of care, backup, supervision and renewals.
- Read reviews for patterns, and ask other parents.
- You can switch later, and your approved hours move with you.
ARZN is one of the agencies you can choose. Ask us every question on this page, and if we cannot staff your child’s hours in your county, we will tell you before you sign anything. Tell us about your child, or read our GAPP guide first.
Common questions
How do I find GAPP providers in Georgia?
The Department of Community Health publishes a list of GAPP-approved agencies on the state Medicaid portal, GAMMIS, and the GAPP Program Specialist can help at (404) 683-5113 or GAPP.inquiries@dch.ga.gov. You can choose any approved agency.
What should I ask a GAPP agency before choosing it?
Start with staffing: whether they have nurses or aides in your county now who can cover your child's hours and your child's kind of care. Then ask about backup coverage when a nurse calls out, who supervises your child's care, how they handle renewals, and how you reach someone after hours.
Are all GAPP agencies the same?
They follow the same program rules, but they differ in where they have staff, how experienced their nurses are with care such as tracheostomy and ventilators, and how well they cover call-outs. Those differences decide whether approved hours are actually staffed.
Can I change GAPP providers later?
Yes. You have a right to transfer agencies, and your child's approved hours move with you. Your current agency must keep providing care for at least 30 days if you want it to.
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.
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.