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How to Get Paid to Care for a Parent in Indiana (2026): SFC and Attendant Care

How to get paid to care for a parent in Indiana: Structured Family Caregiving and self-directed Attendant Care both pay family. Who qualifies and how to apply.

By ElderHearth Editorial Team · July 30, 2026 · Updated August 30, 2026 · 8 min read

A warm Indiana home where a family caregiver can be paid to help a parent stay safely at home

ElderHearth offers general information, not financial, tax, or legal advice. Program rules and pay change, so confirm the details with the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA) or your parent's waiver case manager.

If you are caring for an aging parent in Indiana, there are two real Medicaid routes to be paid for it, and which one fits depends on whether you live with your parent. To get paid to care for a parent in Indiana, most families use either Structured Family Caregiving (SFC), a daily stipend for a live-in caregiver, or self-directed Attendant Care, an hourly option where your parent hires and directs you. Both run through Indiana Medicaid, and an adult child can be the paid caregiver. This guide covers how each works, who qualifies, what they pay, and how to apply.

How to get paid to care for a parent in Indiana: two options

Indiana Medicaid, through its Home and Community-Based Services waivers (most older adults now go through the PathWays for Aging program), offers two ways to pay a family caregiver:

  • Structured Family Caregiving (SFC). A daily stipend paid to a family caregiver who lives with the parent and provides their care. It is arranged through a contracted agency that handles training and payment.
  • Self-directed Attendant Care (AC). Your parent (or their representative) becomes the employer and hires their own hourly attendant, which can be a family member. This does not require living together, but it excludes a spouse or other legally responsible individual.

An adult child can be the paid caregiver under either route.

This pairing of a live-in daily stipend with an hourly self-directed option shows up in several states, but the fine print differs enough to matter. Missouri runs both as well, and its structured family caregiving program is capped by statute at 300 participants statewide, which makes the waiting list the first thing to ask about there. See how the two routes work in Missouri if you are comparing across state lines.

What Indiana's programs pay

Indiana publishes what it pays, and reading it correctly means keeping two numbers apart: what the state pays the agency, and what the agency must pass on to you. Families who find only the first number online come away expecting roughly double what arrives.

The state's rates, from the Medicaid bulletin effective 1 July 2025, are for the provider. Its table gives "the rate the state pays the waiver provider (the agency contracted with the FSSA)? $34.36/hour $77.54/day Level 1 $99.71/day Level 2 $133.44/day Level 3", the hourly figure being Attendant Care and the three daily ones Structured Family Caregiving by care level.

What has to reach you is set as a floor, in law rather than by negotiation:

These are minimums, not entitlements to the whole rate, and the agency decides the rest. Ask the agency two questions before you sign: what hourly wage or daily stipend they are offering, and what percentage of the state rate that works out to. An agency at the floor and an agency well above it are both compliant, and the difference is yours to shop for.

Structured Family Caregiving stipends are generally tax-free under an IRS rule for Medicaid caregiver payments.

Who qualifies

Eligibility runs through your parent, with the caregiver meeting the program's rules:

  • Your parent must be on Indiana Medicaid and enrolled in an HCBS waiver (such as PathWays for Aging), which requires a nursing-facility level of care. For 2026, that generally means income up to about $2,982 a month and assets under $2,000 for an individual. That income figure is three times the federal SSI benefit rate, and the Social Security Administration published the rate itself: "The maximum Federal Supplemental Security Income (SSI) monthly payment amounts for 2026 under title XVI of the Act will be $994 for an eligible individual". Three times $994 is $2,982, so the arithmetic is yours to check rather than ours to assert.
  • For SFC, you must live with your parent full-time as the primary caregiver.
  • For Attendant Care, you can be a family member but not a spouse or legally responsible individual, and you do not have to live together.
  • You complete the program's enrollment, including a background check and any required training.

How to apply in Indiana

The process runs through Medicaid and the waiver:

  1. Apply for Indiana Medicaid for your parent if they are not already enrolled, through the Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA).
  2. Contact your Area Agency on Aging (Indiana has 16), which screens for PathWays and starts the assessment.
  3. Choose the route: ask about Structured Family Caregiving if you live with your parent, or self-directed Attendant Care if you prefer an hourly arrangement.
  4. Enroll as the caregiver through the agency or financial management service, completing the background check and paperwork so you can be paid.

Other ways to get paid to care for a parent in Indiana

The Medicaid routes are the main ones, but not the only ones:

  • VA programs, if your parent is a veteran, can pay a family caregiver (including a spouse) through Veteran-Directed Care or the Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers.
  • A personal care agreement, if your parent can pay from their own savings, sets the hours, duties, and pay in writing, which matters for family clarity, taxes, and any future Medicaid application.

For the full national picture of every program and how they compare, see our main guide to how to get paid to care for an elderly parent. If a stair lift is part of the picture too, we walk through who pays for one in Indiana.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I get paid to care for my parent in Indiana? Often, yes. Indiana Medicaid pays family caregivers two ways: Structured Family Caregiving (a daily stipend if you live with your parent) and self-directed Attendant Care (an hourly wage). Your parent must be on Medicaid and enrolled in an HCBS waiver at a nursing-facility level of care.

Can an adult child be paid to care for a parent in Indiana? Yes, under either Structured Family Caregiving (if you live together) or self-directed Attendant Care (which excludes a spouse or legally responsible individual, but allows an adult child).

How much do family caregivers get paid in Indiana? Indiana sets provider rates, and a minimum share of each has to reach the caregiver. As of 1 July 2025 the state pays the agency $77.54 to $133.44 a day for Structured Family Caregiving by care level, of which at least 60 percent must go to the caregiver stipend, and $34.36 an hour for Attendant Care, of which at least 70 percent must go to the person doing the work as wages and employee-related expenses. What you are offered above those floors is up to the agency, so ask.

Does Indiana Medicaid pay family caregivers? Yes, through Structured Family Caregiving and self-directed Attendant Care under its HCBS waivers, most commonly PathWays for Aging. The VA also pays family caregivers of eligible veterans.

Where to start

The fastest first step is to make sure your parent is enrolled in Indiana Medicaid through the FSSA, then contact your Area Agency on Aging about the PathWays for Aging waiver and ask about Structured Family Caregiving or self-directed Attendant Care. If your parent is a veteran, look at the VA programs in parallel. Getting set up to get paid to care for a parent in Indiana takes some paperwork, but it is a real way to keep aging in place affordable.

If you would like someone to read what you are dealing with, you are welcome to write to us.

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