Caregiver Allowance or Stipend in Georgia:What SFC Pay Is Called and How It Works

In Georgia, the money a family caregiver receives through Structured Family Caregiving (SFC) is often called an allowance, a stipend or compensation, but the state does not use any of those as an official name. SFC is a service inside the Elderly and Disabled Waiver Program (EDWP). Medicaid pays an approved SFC agency for each day of service. The agency then pays the caregiver who lives with the member.

The words matter when you search or call for help. "Caregiver allowance" can lead you to the wrong program. This guide sorts out the vocabulary and explains how the money actually moves.

SFC caregiver pay at a glance

• Official name: Structured Family Caregiving, an EDWP Medicaid waiver service
• How Medicaid pays: a daily rate (per diem) to the SFC provider agency
• Who pays the caregiver: the SFC agency, not the state directly
• How A1-GA pays: paid by direct deposit every two weeks; the amount is set by the loved one's assessed level of care
• Tax term to know: "difficulty of care payments," from IRS Notice 2014-7
• Not the same thing: the Medicaid "personal needs allowance," which belongs to the member

Who can receive SFC caregiver pay in Georgia?

Whatever you call it, the pay follows the SFC rules. Both the person receiving care and the caregiver have to fit.

• The member is enrolled in EDWP. That means Georgia Medicaid and a nursing-home level of care, as Georgia.gov explains.
• The member needs significant daily help. DCH describes SFC as a service for members who need significant help with activities of daily living.
• The caregiver lives in the same home. SFC is built around a live-in family caregiver.
• The caregiver is not a spouse or legal guardian. Georgia's waiver excludes both from SFC pay.

If those points fit your family, our eligibility form is the quickest next step.

Is it an allowance, a stipend or a wage?

People use all three words for SFC pay. Each one also has its own meaning somewhere else. That is why searches for "caregiver allowance Georgia" turn up such mixed results.

The A1 Name Decoder for caregiver pay

Why "allowance" causes the most confusion

Georgia's DFCS Medicaid policy on cost share deductions uses the word "allowance" for the member, not the caregiver. The personal needs allowance is money the member may keep for incidental personal expenses. It is part of how DFCS works out the member's cost share. It has nothing to do with paying a family caregiver.

So if a letter about your parent's Medicaid mentions an allowance, read it as your parent's money. Your SFC pay comes from the agency, on its own schedule.

How does SFC caregiver pay actually work?

SFC is billed as a daily service. A DCH public notice on EDWP rates lists the SFC payment unit as daily. DCH's original SFC notice describes the daily rate as an offset to the personal support hours the member would otherwise use. Here is the path from assessment to paycheck.

1. 1

   Assessment

   A care coordinator assesses the member's needs and level of care during EDWP intake.

2. 2

   Care plan

   SFC is added to the member's care plan, with an approved SFC agency chosen by the family.

3. 3

   Daily service

   The live-in caregiver gives daily care and completes a short daily note for the agency.

4. 4

   Medicaid pays the agency

   Georgia Medicaid pays the SFC agency at the state's daily rate for each day of service.

5. 5

   The agency pays you

   At A1-GA, caregivers are paid by direct deposit every two weeks; the amount is set by the loved one's assessed level of care.

We do not publish pay figures, because the state sets the rate and it can change. To see who sets it and where to find the current number, read how Structured Family Caregiving pay is set in Georgia.

Is the SFC stipend taxable income?

This is where the IRS term from the table comes in. IRS Notice 2014-7 treats certain Medicaid waiver payments as "difficulty of care payments." The IRS says these may be excludable from the care provider's income in some cases.

• The IRS focuses on whether the person receiving care lives in the provider's home.
• Its examples include an adult child who moved into a parent's home and has no other home.
• A provider who keeps a separate home and returns there on weekends does not fit, in the IRS's example.
• The IRS also lets some providers choose to count these payments as earned income for certain credits.

Your situation decides how this applies. Confirm with a tax professional before you file. For a fuller walk-through, see whether the SFC stipend is taxable under IRS Notice 2014-7.

Does the stipend affect my loved one's benefits?

SFC pay goes to the caregiver, not to the member. But households often share benefits, so it is fair to ask. We cover SSI, SNAP and Medicaid reporting in detail in does the SFC stipend affect SSI, SNAP or Medicaid.

Is there a Georgia caregiver allowance outside of Medicaid?

Not one that works like SFC pay. Georgia's Division of Aging Services says every Area Agency on Aging helps caregivers. That help includes information, respite care, adult day care and counseling. It is support for the caregiver, not a paycheck.

Veterans' families may see a true "stipend." The VA's Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers pays a monthly stipend to eligible primary family caregivers. It is a federal VA program with its own rules and application. It is separate from SFC.

To compare every option side by side, see which Georgia caregiver programs pay family members.

How A1-GA Healthcare Agency helps

A1-GA Healthcare Agency is a Georgia DCH-approved Medicaid home care provider in Norcross. We have provided in-home care since 2008 and staffed caregivers since 2004. We are an approved provider of Structured Family Caregiving in Atlanta.

We explain how SFC pay works for your family in plain language, before you commit. Our caregivers are paid by direct deposit every two weeks; the amount is set by the loved one's assessed level of care. Start with our SFC eligibility form, or call us.

• Phone: 678-446-1832
• Hours: Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm
• Email: [email protected]
• Office: 4505 Peachtree Industrial Blvd, Suite K, Norcross, GA 30092