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Getting paid to care for a parent in Washington

Updated 2026-08-10 · Every figure below is dated and sourced · Rules change — confirm with the agency
The short answer: Washington's door is Community First Choice (CFC) and the COPES waiver, with the family caregiver hired as an "Individual Provider" (IP) employed through Consumer Direct Care Network Washington (CDWA), run by Washington State Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS), Aging and Long-Term Support Administration (ALTSA) — Home and Community Services (HCS) division; Medicaid eligibility runs through the Health Care Authority (Apple Health). Pay: $23.54-$27.28/hr right now. That is the July 1, 2026 step of the SEIU 775 union contract with Consumer Direct Care Network Washington (CDWA), and it replaced the $22.63-$26.22 scale that ran from Jan 1 through June 30, 2026. This is your actual gross hourly wage as a CDWA employee before taxes, not a Medicaid billing rate that gets split with an agency. Where you land in the range depends on your lifetime career hours, not on your county: brand-new caregivers start at $23.54, and the top step of $27.28 takes 40,000+ hours. The next raise is already scheduled for Jan 1, 2027, to $23.68-$27.44. On top of the hourly wage you get paid time off, six paid holidays in 2026, health insurance eligibility, mileage reimbursement, and employer retirement contributions (rising to $1.65/hr for caregivers with 8,000+ career hours as of July 1, 2026). Rates are set statewide by the 2025-2027 collective bargaining agreement, so they are the same in Spokane as in Seattle.

Who can be the paid caregiver

Adult children, siblings, grandchildren, other relatives, and friends can all be paid as Individual Providers — the parent chooses who to hire. Caregiver must be 18+, pass a background check, and complete required training (typically 35 hours for family caregivers, within 120 days of hire). Parents can be paid to care for an adult child 18+, but not for a minor child.

The spouse question

No — under Washington's Medicaid programs (CFC, COPES), spouses cannot be paid to care for each other; DSHS states this explicitly. Two exceptions: (1) Veteran-Directed Care allows spouse caregivers, and (2) the new WA Cares Fund benefit (payments began July 2026) explicitly allows paying a spouse, if the care recipient paid into WA Cares and meets care-need requirements.

Waitlist reality

No waitlist for the program that actually pays you. Community First Choice (CFC) is a Medicaid state-plan benefit, which means it is an entitlement: everyone who qualifies gets it, and there is no waitlist, ever. CFC is where your paid Individual Provider hours come from. COPES is a different animal - it is a capped waiver, not an entitlement, so it has a limited number of enrollment slots and a waitlist can legally form when they fill. In practice Washington has kept COPES slots open and no COPES waitlist is being reported as of August 2026, and most families on COPES get their paid-caregiver hours through CFC running alongside it. Washington is still one of the best states in the country on this point. The real delay is processing time: financial eligibility plus the in-home CARE assessment typically takes several weeks to a couple of months before your first paid hour.

Worth knowing: Disqualifiers and fine print: your parent has to qualify for Apple Health (Medicaid) both financially and functionally. On the money side, do not let the $994/month SSI figure scare you off - that is only one way in. Washington also uses the long-term-care special income level of $2,982/month (effective Jan 1, 2026) for both CFC and COPES, with a $2,000 asset limit for a single person. If your parent has a husband or wife still living at home, that spouse keeps their own income plus at least $72,529 in countable assets (Washington's spousal resource standard, effective July 1, 2025), and can ask to keep more - up to the 2026 federal maximum of $162,660 - through a fair hearing or court order. Functionally, your parent must need hands-on help with daily activities as scored by the in-home CARE assessment. Spouses are barred from Medicaid Individual Provider pay; WA Cares or Veteran-Directed Care are the two spouse workarounds. Caregivers must be 18+ and pass a background check, and certain convictions disqualify you. Training deadlines are enforced - miss the 120-day window for your 35 hours and you can lose the ability to work. Washington is arguably the best-paying state for family caregivers because of the SEIU 775 union scale, and hours are set by the assessment (often 50-280+ hrs/month depending on need). Big recent change: WA Cares started paying benefits on July 1, 2026, with a full benefit of $36,500 in 2026 that grows with inflation, opening paid caregiving - including paying a spouse - to families who are not on Medicaid. Free help navigating IP hiring: DSHS Workforce Navigators, listed on the DSHS Becoming a Paid Caregiver page.

Other doors in Washington

ProgramWhat to know
WA Cares FundWashington's first-in-nation public long-term-care insurance. Benefits began July 2026 (lifetime benefit around $36,500+, inflation-adjusted). Can pay family caregivers INCLUDING spouses, via CDWA or a home care agency, if the parent worked in WA and paid in. Not means-tested — works for parents with too much income/assets for Medicaid. wacaresfund.wa.gov.
Medicaid Alternative Care (MAC)For unpaid caregivers of a Medicaid-eligible parent who isn't using other LTSS: caregiver support, respite, supplies — support services, not wages.
Tailored Supports for Older Adults (TSOA)For parents 55+ NOT on Medicaid (income up to ~300% SSI, assets ~$72,529 for a single person in recent years): respite, caregiver training, goods/services budget. No wages, but real money for caregiving costs. Apply via Community Living Connections or HCS.
Veteran-Directed CareAvailable through Washington VA medical centers (e.g., VA Puget Sound). Veteran gets a flexible budget and can hire family — spouses allowed. Ask the VA social worker.
Home care agency employmentInstead of the IP/CDWA route, a family member can be hired by a licensed home care agency that serves Medicaid clients — the agency sets wages, usually similar or slightly different from the IP scale.

Wartime veteran or surviving spouse in the family? VA Aid & Attendance stacks on top of state programs — see the national guide.

How to apply — step by step

  1. 1. Apply for Apple Health long-term care coverage: online at washingtonconnection.org (65+ or on Medicare) or wahealthplanfinder.org (under 65), or mail paper form HCA 18-005 to Home and Community Services - LTSS, PO Box 45826, Olympia WA 98504-5826.
  2. 2. Call the DSHS Home and Community Services (HCS) intake line for your parent's county and ask for a CARE assessment. King County: (206) 341-7750. Snohomish, Whatcom, Skagit, Island: (800) 780-7094. Pierce, Kitsap, Thurston, Mason, Lewis, Grays Harbor, Pacific, Cowlitz, Clark, Clallam, Jefferson: (800) 786-3799. Everything east of the Cascades, plus Kittitas, Yakima, Klickitat and the Tri-Cities: (866) 323-9409 or (509) 568-3767.
  3. 3. A case manager comes to the home and does a functional assessment (the CARE tool) that sets your parent's monthly care hours.
  4. 4. Your parent names you as their chosen caregiver, and you apply to become an Individual Provider at consumerdirectwa.com (CDWA is the statewide employer that runs payroll). Note that whoever acts as your parent's representative in making that referral cannot be the new provider - a second person, or your parent themselves, has to make the contact.
  5. 5. Complete the background check and required training (35 hours for most family caregivers, within 120 days of hire, through SEIU 775 Benefits Group), then CDWA issues an Okay-to-Work date and you start logging paid hours.

Where to start: DSHS Home and Community Services (HCS) regional intake - call the one for your parent's county. King County: (206) 341-7750. Snohomish, Whatcom, Skagit, Island: (800) 780-7094. Pierce, Kitsap, Thurston, Mason, Lewis, Grays Harbor, Pacific, Cowlitz, Clark, Clallam, Jefferson: (800) 786-3799. Everything east of the Cascades, plus Kittitas, Yakima, Klickitat and the Tri-Cities: (866) 323-9409 or (509) 568-3767. Mail: Home and Community Services - LTSS, PO Box 45826, Olympia WA 98504-5826. Caregiver hiring and payroll: Consumer Direct Care Network Washington, consumerdirectwa.com, call (866) 214-9899 or text (877) 532-8568.

Do it yourself vs. get help

Free, accredited help first, always: your Area Agency on Aging (eldercare.acl.gov) walks families through these applications at no charge, and your county Veterans Service Officer files VA claims free. Where Resbit fits: if you're working a job and don't have hours for hold music, Resbit finds what your family qualifies for, fills out the paperwork down to the signature line, and does the chasing — flat $49/month, and the screener that starts it is free.

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Sources & dates checked: Program rules and payment rates change. Everything here is educational — real eligibility is decided by the agencies, based on your family's details.