Yes, you can get paid to take care of your disabled child in Florida, but only through specific Medicaid-funded programs with their own eligibility rules, training, and, in one case, a long waitlist. Two routes matter: the Consumer Directed Care Plus (CDC+) option inside the iBudget waiver, and the Family Home Health Aide Program for medically fragile children. Which one fits depends on your child’s diagnosis and needs, not on which you prefer.
The Two Programs That Actually Pay Parents
Consumer Directed Care Plus (CDC+)
CDC+ is a self-directed option within the iBudget waiver, Florida’s Home and Community-Based Services waiver for people with developmental disabilities. The Agency for Persons with Disabilities (APD) runs the iBudget waiver and lets enrollees choose services that meet their health and safety needs.1Agency for Persons with Disabilities. iBudget Florida CDC+ goes further by allowing the enrollee, or their representative, to hire and manage caregivers directly, including family members.
As a parent, you can be paid to provide companion services under CDC+, which cover supervision, socialization, and help with daily activities.2Agency for Persons with Disabilities. Questions and Answers – Consumer Directed Care Plus (CDC+) One structural rule catches families off guard: the person managing the CDC+ plan (the “representative”) cannot also be the paid provider. If you want to be paid as the caregiver, another adult, such as your spouse or another family member, has to serve as the representative. Background screening and training are required for family providers.
CDC+ is not a standalone program. Your child must first qualify for and enroll in the iBudget waiver, then elect the CDC+ option. There is no direct entry.
Family Home Health Aide Program
The Family Home Health Aide (FHHA) Program, run by the Department of Children and Families, serves a different population: medically fragile children who need hands-on medical and personal care at home.3Florida Department of Children and Families. Home Health Aide for Medically Fragile Children Program A developmental disability diagnosis is not required. This route is built for children with conditions like tracheostomies, feeding tubes, or seizure disorders that require ongoing skilled intervention.
You complete a 75-hour home health aide training course covering both general home care and child-specific tasks such as G-tube feeding support, seizure monitoring, and tracheostomy care.4Florida Agency for Health Care Administration. Home Health Aides A registered nurse delivers the child-specific instruction, and you must demonstrate competency before performing those tasks. Current CPR certification is required at all times, and additional training follows any change to the child’s care plan.
Once trained, you get hired by a licensed, Medicaid-enrolled home health agency. The agency bills Medicaid and pays you. You do not bill the state directly. Finding a participating agency willing to employ parent caregivers can take some persistence.
Why the Standard iBudget Waiver Alone Won’t Pay You
If your child is on the iBudget waiver but not enrolled in CDC+, the waiver’s rules treat family caregiving as “natural support,” which is unpaid. The rules also require that available natural supports be used before waiver-funded services are authorized.5Agency for Persons with Disabilities. iBudget Rule That’s exactly why the CDC+ option exists.
Who Qualifies
For the iBudget waiver and CDC+, your child must have a developmental disability as defined by Florida law. The qualifying diagnoses are intellectual disability, autism, cerebral palsy, spina bifida, Down syndrome, and Prader-Willi syndrome. The condition must have manifested before age 18 and represent a substantial limitation expected to continue indefinitely.6Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 393.063 – Definitions The waiver generally serves individuals age three and older, and your child must meet the level of care typically provided in an intermediate care facility for individuals with intellectual disabilities.
Financial eligibility matters too. Because iBudget is Medicaid, your child must meet Medicaid’s income and resource requirements. For children living at home, a portion of parental income and assets may be considered.
For the Family Home Health Aide Program, medical fragility is the trigger rather than a specific developmental diagnosis. Medicaid eligibility is still required, because the program bills Medicaid.
The iBudget Waitlist
This is where most families run into the wall. As of January 2026, roughly 16,996 people were on the iBudget pre-enrollment waiting list, with about 36,707 actively enrolled.7Florida Senate. CS/HB 565 – Agency for Persons with Disabilities Bill Analysis Enrollment is not first-come-first-served. APD assigns applicants to one of seven priority categories:
- Category 1: Crisis situations posing immediate risk
- Category 2: Children exiting the child welfare system at permanency or turning 18
- Category 3: Intensive needs
- Category 4: Caregiver age 60 or older
- Category 5: Transitioning from school
- Category 6: Age 21 and over
- Category 7: Under age 21
Categories are worked in that order, so a child in crisis moves to the front while a child under 21 with a stable home situation sits in Category 7, which can mean years of waiting.8Florida Senate. CS/CS/CS/HB 1271 – Individuals with Disabilities Bill Analysis About half of people on the waiting list receive some Medicaid State Plan services in the meantime, but those services do not include the paid-caregiver options that come with the full waiver.
There is no shortcut for non-crisis families. Get on the list as early as you can, and if your child’s situation deteriorates, contact APD immediately to request reassignment to a higher category.
How to Apply
iBudget and CDC+
Start with your local APD regional office to open an eligibility determination. You’ll need documentation of your child’s qualifying diagnosis, such as psychological assessments, medical records, or evaluations. APD uses a Questionnaire for Situational Information and other assessment tools to gauge needs and assign a waitlist category.
If your child requires funding beyond the standard tier allocation, APD asks for more specific documentation. Behavioral concerns require psychological assessments, psychiatric reports, and 12 months of behavior data. Complex medical conditions require documentation from a physician or other provider and any applicable nursing care plans.9Agency for Persons with Disabilities. Documentation Requirements Physical assistance needs require an updated Questionnaire for Situational Information.
Once your child is enrolled in the iBudget waiver, you can elect CDC+. A representative (someone other than you, if you plan to be the paid provider) then works with a consultant to build the service plan and budget, and you can be hired for companion services.
Family Home Health Aide Program
Contact the Department of Children and Families. You’ll need to establish your child’s medical fragility and current Medicaid eligibility, complete the 75-hour training, and then find a licensed, Medicaid-enrolled home health agency willing to employ you. The agency handles billing and pays you as its employee.
What the Pay Looks Like
Caregiver pay under these programs is not a full-time salary. The amount depends on the services authorized in your child’s care plan and applicable Medicaid rates. Florida’s 2025 Medicaid fee schedule for personal care services lists roughly $17.32 per hour for a single recipient. Under CDC+, you receive a monthly budget based on your child’s assessed needs and tier assignment, which you allocate across authorized services. Annual caps by tier run from about $34,125 for a Tier 3 placement, which includes many children living at home with family, up to $150,000 for Tier 1 placements involving the most intensive needs.
Under FHHA, the home health agency pays you out of its Medicaid reimbursement, so your take-home rate is lower than what the agency bills. Rates vary by agency. Either way, the hours you can bill are capped by the approved care plan, not by how many hours you actually spend caregiving. Most families find the pay covers a portion of the care they provide, not all of it.
Taxes on Caregiver Payments
Parent caregivers receiving Medicaid waiver payments may be able to exclude that income from federal taxes entirely. Under IRS Notice 2014-7, payments made through a Medicaid waiver program to an individual care provider for nonmedical support services are treated as “difficulty of care” payments excludable from gross income, provided the care recipient lives in the provider’s home.10Internal Revenue Service. Notice 2014-7 Most parents caring for their own child at home meet that condition.
The exclusion applies whether the caregiver is related or unrelated to the person receiving care, and it covers payments received on or after January 3, 2014. Caps exist, but they only bite if you’re providing care for more than ten individuals under age 19 or more than five individuals age 19 and older, which is not the situation of a parent caring for one child.
There is a tradeoff. Excluded payments don’t appear as taxable wages, but they also don’t count toward Social Security work credits. That can affect your own future retirement or disability benefits if you’re still building toward Social Security eligibility.
How Your Pay Affects Your Child’s SSI and Medicaid
If your child receives Supplemental Security Income, your caregiver earnings can reduce their monthly payment. The maximum federal SSI benefit for an eligible individual in 2026 is $994 per month.11Social Security Administration. SSI Federal Payment Amounts for 2026 For children under 18 living at home, the Social Security Administration counts a portion of parental income and resources when calculating the child’s benefit through a process called deeming.12Social Security Administration. SSI for Children Even if your caregiver income is tax-exempt under Notice 2014-7, SSI applies its own income-counting rules that don’t necessarily mirror the IRS exclusion. Call your local Social Security office before you accept caregiver employment so you know exactly how it will affect your child’s payment.
Medicaid is a better story. For children enrolled in Home and Community-Based Services waiver programs like iBudget, parental income deeming generally does not apply to Medicaid eligibility. Your child’s Medicaid coverage, which is the foundation for every waiver service, should stay intact regardless of your caregiver income. That protection matters, because losing Medicaid would mean losing waiver services entirely.
One timing note worth knowing: once your child turns 18, parental income and resources stop counting for SSI purposes.13Social Security Administration. Benefits for Children with Disabilities A child who didn’t qualify before 18 because of your income may qualify then.