Get Paid To Care For A Family Member In Illinois

Yes — but only through the Community Care Program (CCP), and only as of 2026. Illinois changed its rules so that spouses can now be paid caregivers under CCP, which serves people 60 and older. This was a major shift, because for years a husband or wife could not be paid for caring for their partner. To do it, the spouse must be hired and supervised by a licensed In-Home Services agency, pass a background check, and complete the required pre-service training. The Home Services Program (HSP), which serves people under 60, still does not allow spouses to be paid — under HSP a spouse is considered a "legally responsible relative," and DRS cannot pay legally responsible relatives. So the age of the person needing care decides your path: if your spouse is 60 or older, CCP is your route; if they are under 60, you would need a different arrangement, such as a private-pay or veteran-directed option.

It depends on which program you are in. Under the Home Services Program (HSP), Personal Assistants are paid a statewide base wage set by the SEIU Healthcare Illinois union contract: $19.50 per hour as of January 1, 2026, scheduled to rise to about $20.00 per hour on July 1, 2026. PAs with years of service can earn more through seniority add-ons, reaching roughly $20.75 per hour or higher. Under the Community Care Program (CCP), the state reimburses In-Home Services provider agencies about $30.80 per hour of care, but the caregiver is an employee of that agency — so your actual take-home wage (typically the mid-teens up to around $20 per hour) is set by the agency after it covers payroll taxes, supervision, and overhead. Ask any CCP agency directly what it pays its aides. Across both programs, most family caregivers land somewhere between about $16 and $21 per hour.

Plan on roughly 60 to 90 days from your first call to your first paycheck, though it can move faster or slower depending on your situation. Illinois generally issues an eligibility decision within about 60 days of a complete application. The steps that take the most time are scheduling the in-home Determination of Need (DON) assessment, confirming Illinois Medicaid enrollment, and — for the caregiver — completing a background check and any required training. If your loved one is not yet enrolled in Medicaid, add time for that application. You can speed things up by gathering documents in advance: proof of Illinois residency, a photo ID, Social Security number, and financial records showing non-exempt assets are $17,500 or less. Calling early and staying in close contact with your Care Coordination Unit (CCP) or DRS counselor (HSP) is the best way to keep things moving.

You do not need a nursing license, a CNA certificate, or prior professional experience for either program. Under the Home Services Program (HSP), the Personal Assistant is trained by the customer on the specific tasks that person needs help with — Illinois deliberately keeps this consumer-directed, so there is no clinical exam. You will complete standard employment and payroll paperwork and sign off on materials about reporting hours and recognizing abuse or neglect. Under the Community Care Program (CCP), because you are hired by a licensed In-Home Services agency, the agency handles training. That commonly includes a pre-service training requirement (often around 24 hours) plus a background check before you can start. Neither program expects you to arrive as a trained professional — the whole point is to let a trusted family member or friend do the caregiving with proper support behind them.

The main difference is age. The Community Care Program (CCP), run by the Illinois Department on Aging, serves people 60 and older. The Home Services Program (HSP), run by the Department of Human Services Division of Rehabilitation Services (DRS/DoRS), serves people under 60 who have a severe, long-term disability. They also work differently: HSP is consumer-directed, meaning the person receiving care hires and supervises their own Personal Assistant and the state pays that PA directly through a payroll system. CCP delivers most in-home care through licensed In-Home Services agencies that employ and supervise the caregiver. Finally, the family rules differ — CCP allows a spouse to be paid (new in 2026), while HSP does not. Both programs use the same Determination of Need (DON) assessment, require a DON score of at least 29, and share the same $17,500 non-exempt asset limit for adults.

The Determination of Need, or DON, is Illinois's standardized assessment of how much help a person needs to stay safely at home. A care coordinator (for CCP) or a DRS rehabilitation counselor (for HSP) visits the home and scores the person's ability to handle activities of daily living — bathing, dressing, transferring, toileting, eating — and instrumental tasks like preparing meals, managing medications, and housekeeping. Both programs require a minimum DON score of 29 to qualify. The score does more than open the door: it also drives how much paid care is authorized. In HSP, the DON score sets a monthly dollar budget called the Service Cost Maximum, which the customer spends on Personal Assistant hours and other services. In CCP, a higher score similarly supports more authorized in-home service hours. So the more assistance a person genuinely needs, the higher the score and the more paid caregiving hours the family can receive.

Usually not for the reasons families fear. The asset test looks at non-exempt (countable) assets, which must be $17,500 or less for an adult. Critically, the primary home does not count, one vehicle does not count, and personal belongings and household furnishings do not count. So a parent can own their home and still qualify. On income, there is no simple income cap that automatically disqualifies you — HSP charges customers nothing for services, and CCP eligibility is tied to the DON assessment and Medicaid rules. Because both programs are Medicaid-funded, your loved one does need to enroll in Illinois Medicaid, and Medicaid's own financial rules (including any spend-down for people with higher income or savings) are handled during that enrollment. If assets are over the limit, a benefits counselor or elder-law attorney can often help with legitimate planning. Do not assume you are disqualified until an assessment is done.

The Community Care Program is administered by the Illinois Department on Aging, which delivers it locally through a network of Area Agencies on Aging and Care Coordination Units (CCUs). To start CCP, call the Department on Aging Senior HelpLine at 1-800-252-8966 (TRS 711); they will route you to the CCU that covers your area, and that CCU handles your DON assessment and care plan. The Home Services Program is administered by the Illinois Department of Human Services through its Division of Rehabilitation Services (DRS, also branded DoRS), which operates local offices across the state. To start HSP, contact your local DRS office, use the online DRS Web Referral, or call 1-877-581-3690 (or 1-800-843-6154 Voice / 1-866-324-5553 TTY). For CCP, the caregiver is hired through a licensed In-Home Services agency; for HSP, the customer hires the Personal Assistant directly and the state handles payroll.