Get Paid to Care for Your Elderly Parent in Utah
Utah's New Choices Waiver offers self-directed (participant-directed) personal care and homemaker services that let the member hire and manage their own caregiver, including an adult child or other relative. Acumen Fiscal Agent serves as the financial management services vendor.
This guide covers what Utah family caregivers need to know: the program structure, pay rates, who can be paid, eligibility, how to apply, and other programs that may supplement your income.
Utah pays family caregivers $12–$18 per hour through the New Choices Waiver self-directed personal care option within the New Choices Waiver. Your parent must meet a nursing-facility level of care but prefer to remain at home.
Utah's Main Program: New Choices Waiver self-directed personal care
New Choices Waiver self-directed personal care is a self-directed option within Utah's New Choices Waiver, which provides home and community-based care for seniors and adults with disabilities who meet a nursing-facility level of need. Under self-direction, your parent (or you as their authorized representative) can hire, train, schedule, and supervise the personal-care attendant — and that attendant can be you, an adult child.
What the Program Pays For
Authorized self-directed services typically include:
- Personal care: bathing, grooming, dressing, oral hygiene
- Toileting assistance and incontinence care
- Mobility help: transferring, positioning, ambulation support
- Meal preparation and feeding assistance
- Light housekeeping directly related to health and safety
- Medication reminders (not administration, which requires a nurse)
- Supervision for individuals with cognitive impairment, including dementia
Pay Rates Across Utah
| Region | Typical Hourly Rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Salt Lake City Metro | $13–$18/hr | Member negotiates wage within the budget; Acumen pays |
| Utah / Davis / Weber Counties | $12–$17/hr | Self-directed budget set by care plan |
| Rural Utah | $12–$16/hr | Wages tend toward the lower end of the range |
Rates are set within the participant's approved plan-of-care budget and the state's limits; the figures above are typical ranges, not guarantees.
Who Can Be Paid
An adult child or other relative can be hired and paid as long as they are not the parent's legal guardian; spouses and legal guardians cannot be paid. Always confirm the current rules with Utah Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Division of Integrated Healthcare (Medicaid) before you count on a specific arrangement.
Eligibility Requirements
Your Parent Must:
- Be enrolled in full Utah Medicaid (not just a savings program)
- Meet the clinical criteria for a nursing-facility level of care
- Be enrolled in the New Choices Waiver (or its self-directed option)
- Live in Utah in a community setting (not a nursing home)
- Be able to direct their own care, or have a legal/authorized representative who can
You (the Caregiver) Must:
- Be 18 years of age or older
- Meet the program's relationship rules (see above)
- Pass a criminal background check and registry search
- Complete any required caregiver orientation and training
- Be legally authorized to work in the United States
- Submit timesheets through Acumen Fiscal Agent
How to Apply: Step-by-Step
- Apply for Utah Medicaid. Apply online at medicaid.utah.gov/apply-medicaid or call 1-800-662-9651. Your parent must meet income and asset limits.
- Request a long-term-services assessment. Contact your local Medicaid or aging office to request a comprehensive functional assessment that determines whether your parent qualifies for the New Choices Waiver.
- Enroll in the waiver. Once deemed eligible, your parent is enrolled in the New Choices Waiver and assigned a case manager or care coordinator.
- Request the self-directed (NCW) option. During care planning, ask specifically for the consumer/self-directed service model and state that you, the adult child, want to be the hired caregiver.
- Enroll with Acumen Fiscal Agent. Complete enrollment paperwork — W-4, I-9, and background authorization — so payroll, tax withholding, and timesheets are handled for you.
- Complete orientation. Finish any state-required caregiver orientation covering personal-care techniques, emergency procedures, and reporting.
- Begin care and submit timesheets. Provide care per the authorized plan and submit electronic timesheets; payroll is processed on a regular cycle with taxes withheld.
Check Your Parent's Eligibility
Our free Benefits Checker helps identify whether your parent qualifies for Utah's caregiver-pay programs and other benefits.
Check Eligibility NowOther Programs That May Pay Utah Family Caregivers
VA Veteran-Directed Care & PCAFC
If your parent is a veteran enrolled in VA healthcare, the Veteran-Directed Care program provides a monthly budget that can pay family caregivers, and the Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers (PCAFC) offers a monthly stipend for eligible primary caregivers. Contact the caregiver support coordinator at your parent's VA medical center or call 1-855-260-3274.
Personal Care Agreement (Private Pay)
If your parent does not qualify for Medicaid, a formal written Personal Care Agreement lets them pay you from their own funds at fair-market rates. Drafted with an elder-law attorney, it must be prospective and reasonable — and it keeps payments from being treated as "gifts" during the Medicaid 5-year look-back.
State Respite & Caregiver Support
Through the National Family Caregiver Support Program, Utah's Area Agencies on Aging fund respite, training, and counseling. These rarely pay ongoing wages but reduce your out-of-pocket costs. Find your local agency through the Eldercare Locator (1-800-677-1116) or 1-877-424-4640.
Tax Implications for Family Caregivers
- W-2 wages: The financial management agency issues you a W-2; federal income tax, Social Security, and Medicare are withheld.
- IRS Notice 2014-7: If you live in the same home as your parent (the Medicaid waiver participant), your self-directed wages may be excludable from federal gross income. Consult a CPA before filing — see IRS guidance on Medicaid waiver payments.
- Earned Income Tax Credit: These wages count as earned income and may qualify you for the EITC.
Maintain daily logs of services provided — date, time in, time out, and a brief description. Medicaid audits self-directed arrangements, and accurate records protect both you and your parent.
What Utah Caregivers Are Actually Earning
At 30 hours per week and about $15 per hour, you would earn roughly $1,950 per month. At 40 hours per week and $18 per hour, earnings reach about $3,120 per month — around $37,440 per year before taxes.
For comparison, a nursing home costs far more per year, and agency home care runs roughly $30–$40 per hour. A self-directed arrangement lets your parent receive care from someone they trust, while you earn income that partially replaces what you may have given up to provide care.
Contact Information
- Utah Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Division of Integrated Healthcare (Medicaid): medicaid.utah.gov | 1-800-662-9651
- Apply for Medicaid: medicaid.utah.gov/apply-medicaid
- State aging services: daas.utah.gov | 1-877-424-4640
- Eldercare Locator (find local help): eldercare.acl.gov | 1-800-677-1116
- Medicaid (federal): medicaid.gov
Frequently Asked Questions
Under the New Choices Waiver's self-directed option, the member sets the caregiver's wage within an individualized budget, commonly in the range of about $12–$18 per hour. Acumen Fiscal Agent processes the payroll and taxes.
The New Choices Waiver is a Utah Medicaid HCBS program that helps people transition out of nursing facilities and assisted living into community settings. Its self-directed option lets the participant hire, manage, and pay their own caregiver. It is not an entitlement, so a waitlist can apply.
No. Spouses and legal guardians cannot be paid to provide care under the New Choices Waiver. An adult child or other relative can be hired and paid, as long as that adult child is not the parent's legal guardian.
The New Choices Waiver allows paid family caregiving through its self-directed personal care option, and the Aging Waiver offers similar self-direction for adults 65 and older.
Call the New Choices Waiver office at 1-800-662-9651, and apply for Medicaid at medicaid.utah.gov. A case manager confirms nursing-facility level of care and helps set up self-direction. Acumen Fiscal Agent then onboards your chosen caregiver.
Yes. If your parent qualifies for the New Choices Waiver at a nursing-facility level of care, dementia care needs can support eligibility. As an adult child you can be hired as the paid caregiver, provided you are not your parent's legal guardian.
Related Guides
- How to Get Paid to Care for Your Parent (National Overview)
- How to Apply for Medicaid for an Elderly Parent
- Caregiver Tax Deductions 2026
- VA Benefits for Elderly Parents
- Power of Attorney for an Elderly Parent
- Medicaid Spend-Down Rules
This guide is general information, not legal or financial advice. Program names, pay rates, and eligibility rules change and vary by county — confirm details with Utah Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Division of Integrated Healthcare (Medicaid). Sources: medicaid.utah.gov · daas.utah.gov.