Statewide Indiana service scope · Current availability varies · Call 812-521-5022
Family First Attendant Care, LLC

Beyond traditional Medicaid HCBS waivers

Other Ways to Get Help at Home in Indiana

Last reviewed: August 22, 2026

Medicaid waivers are not the only programs that may help Indiana residents remain safely at home. Depending on age, disability, veteran status, income, assets, location, care needs, and available funding, other state and federal programs may help with personal care, homemaking, respite, caregiver support, transition services, or other home and community-based assistance.

This guide covers other public programs and funding options beyond traditional Medicaid HCBS waiver services. Some options do not require Medicaid; PACE and Money Follows the Person can involve Medicaid funding or eligibility.

Important: Family First does not determine eligibility for these programs, and FFAC does not participate in every program listed below. Eligibility, funding, provider availability, and service authorization are determined by the responsible agency or program.

Not Sure Which Program May Apply?

Indiana families may have more than one potential source of support. Family First can explain the programs we currently work with and help point you toward the appropriate agency, but eligibility and funding decisions are made by the responsible government program.

Ask Family First About Your OptionsFind Your Area Agency on Aging

Program group

Indiana & Area Agency on Aging Programs

CHOICE — Community and Home Options to Institutional Care for the Elderly and Disabled

What is it?
CHOICE is an Indiana state-funded program intended to help eligible older adults and people with disabilities remain in a home or community setting instead of moving into institutional care. It is administered through Indiana’s Area Agency on Aging network and is not itself a Medicaid waiver.
Who might qualify?
An Indiana resident who is age 60 or older, or a person of any age with a disability, may be worth referring for an assessment when daily activities are becoming difficult. The local Area Agency on Aging—not FFAC—applies the current functional, financial, asset, and program rules.
Does Medicaid have to be involved?
No. CHOICE is not Medicaid. Indiana generally considers CHOICE funding after other available payment sources, including Medicare or Medicaid when those sources can meet the need.
How might it help at home?

Depending on assessed need, current program rules, local funding, and available providers, supports can include attendant care, homemaker help, respite, meals, transportation, equipment, home modifications, and other community services.

Cost sharing or a participant contribution may apply. Funding and provider availability can vary by region.

Where do I start?
Contact the Area Agency on Aging serving your county and request information about CHOICE screening or assessment. FFAC participation in CHOICE depends on contracting with the Area Agency on Aging serving the participant’s county. Contact Family First to ask whether we currently participate in your region.

Indiana FSSA CHOICE program information (official source; opens in a new tab)

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Older Americans Act / Title III Services

What is it?
The Older Americans Act supports a network of community services for older adults. In Indiana, Area Agencies on Aging coordinate locally available Title III services and related aging-in-place resources.
Who might qualify?
Generally older adults, with the exact service, priority population, assessment, and local funding rules determined by the responsible aging-network program.
Does Medicaid have to be involved?
No. Title III is not Medicaid, although a person may use aging-network services alongside other benefits when program rules allow.
How might it help at home?

Depending on the local program, supports may include homemaker or personal assistance, respite, caregiver support, transportation, meals, options counseling, and other aging-in-place services.

Services, priorities, waiting periods, participant contributions, and available funding vary locally.

Where do I start?
Call the Area Agency on Aging serving your county. Ask which Older Americans Act services are currently offered, whether an assessment is required, and whether funding is available. A Title III program does not automatically pay for FFAC services.

Administration for Community Living Older Americans Act information (official source; opens in a new tab)

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National Family Caregiver Support Program / Title III-E

What is it?
The National Family Caregiver Support Program helps family and other informal caregivers continue caring for people at home. It is a caregiver-support program, not simply an ongoing hourly home-care benefit.
Who might qualify?
The federal program identifies several caregiver groups, including adults caring for people age 60 or older and certain caregivers of people with Alzheimer’s disease or disabilities. Local staff determine whether a caregiver and requested service fit current rules.
Does Medicaid have to be involved?
No. Medicaid enrollment is not the basis of this Older Americans Act caregiver-support program.
How might it help at home?

Services may include information, help finding resources, caregiver education or training, counseling or support groups, respite, and limited supplemental services.

Where do I start?
Ask the local Area Agency on Aging for a caregiver assessment and current Title III-E services. Do not assume that every caregiver receives respite, a stipend, or paid hourly care.

ACL National Family Caregiver Support Program (official source; opens in a new tab)

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Social Services Block Grant — SSBG

What is it?
SSBG is a flexible federal funding source that states use for selected social and community services. It does not provide a direct federal grant to an individual. In Indiana, some locally administered services may be supported with SSBG funds.
Who might qualify?
Eligibility depends on the service, the population Indiana or the local administering organization has chosen to serve, and current funding. There is not one identical statewide AAA benefit called SSBG.
Does Medicaid have to be involved?
No. SSBG is not a Medicaid waiver, although a person may also have Medicaid or other benefits.
How might it help at home?

State or local allocations can support services intended to help people remain safely in the community, but the service mix and available funding vary.

Where do I start?
Contact the local Area Agency on Aging and ask whether it currently administers any SSBG-supported service that fits the person’s needs. Do not assume SSBG operates the same way in every region.

HHS Social Services Block Grant program (official source; opens in a new tab)

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Program group

Veterans Programs

VA Homemaker and Home Health Aide Services

What is it?
VA Homemaker and Home Health Aide services use trained workers from VA-contracted organizations to help eligible Veterans with personal care and daily activities. The aides are not nurses and work under VA program requirements.
Who might qualify?
An enrolled Veteran may be considered when community-care requirements, clinical criteria, and local service availability are met. The VA care team and social worker determine whether the service is appropriate and authorized.
Does Medicaid have to be involved?
No. This is a VA health-care service, not a Medicaid waiver benefit.
How might it help at home?

Based on assessed needs, an aide may help with eating, dressing, grooming, bathing, toileting, mobility, grocery shopping, and other authorized daily activities.

Where do I start?
Speak with the Veteran’s VA social worker or care team. Family First may pursue or participate in certain VA care networks or contracts over time. Contact FFAC to ask about current availability.

VA Homemaker and Home Health Aide Care (official source; opens in a new tab)

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Veteran-Directed Care

What is it?
Veteran-Directed Care is a consumer-directed VA option that can give an eligible Veteran or representative greater control over a service budget and the workers who provide approved home and community support.
Who might qualify?
An enrolled Veteran may be considered when community-care requirements, clinical need, and local program availability are met.
Does Medicaid have to be involved?
No. It is a VA program. Availability and administration depend on participating VA systems and community partners.
How might it help at home?

With counselor support and within program rules, a Veteran or representative may develop a spending plan and hire workers, potentially including a family member or neighbor.

This consumer-directed model is different from ordinary agency-provided home care.

Where do I start?
Ask the Veteran’s VA social worker whether Veteran-Directed Care is available locally and whether the Veteran meets the clinical and community-care criteria.

VA Veteran-Directed Care (official source; opens in a new tab)

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VA Respite Care

What is it?
VA Respite Care provides short-term help when an eligible Veteran’s family caregiver needs a break, needs to run errands, or needs to be away.
Who might qualify?
An enrolled Veteran may qualify when VA clinical criteria are met and the appropriate respite service is available. Community-care requirements can also apply when a community organization provides the service.
Does Medicaid have to be involved?
No. This is a VA service rather than a Medicaid waiver benefit.
How might it help at home?

Depending on VA authorization and local availability, respite may be provided in the home, through adult day health care, or in a VA or community nursing-home setting.

Where do I start?
Ask the Veteran’s VA social worker or case manager about respite eligibility, available settings, scheduling, and any applicable copay.

VA Respite Care (official source; opens in a new tab)

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VA Aid & Attendance and Housebound Benefits

What is it?
Aid & Attendance and Housebound benefits are additional monthly amounts added to a qualifying Veteran’s or survivor’s VA pension. They are financial benefits, not a VA order sending a caregiver to the home.
Who might qualify?
A Veteran or survivor must first meet the applicable VA pension requirements and then meet additional Aid & Attendance or Housebound criteria. VA determines eligibility.
Does Medicaid have to be involved?
No. These are VA pension additions, although other benefit programs may consider the payments under their own financial rules.
How might it help at home?

The added pension payment may help a household pay eligible expenses, including care, based on the family’s circumstances.

Aid & Attendance is generally an additional pension benefit. It may help a family pay for care, but it is not the same thing as the VA directly authorizing FFAC or another agency to provide services.

Where do I start?
Review VA’s current eligibility and application instructions or work with a VA-accredited representative. Avoid businesses that promise automatic approval or ask for improper fees.

VA Aid & Attendance and Housebound benefits (official source; opens in a new tab)

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VA Caregiver Support Programs

What is it?
VA caregiver programs support people who care for Veterans through education, coaching, peer support, resource navigation, and other services. Different VA caregiver programs have different requirements and benefits.
Who might qualify?
Caregivers of Veterans who meet the requirements of the particular VA caregiver program. A caregiver does not automatically qualify for every service or for a stipend.
Does Medicaid have to be involved?
No. These programs are administered by VA.
How might it help at home?

Support may include training, coaching, counseling or peer resources, caregiver navigation, respite-related assistance, and—in specific programs and circumstances—additional benefits.

Where do I start?
Contact the VA Caregiver Support Line or the Caregiver Support Program team at the Veteran’s VA medical center to identify the appropriate program.

VA services and support for caregivers (official source; opens in a new tab)

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Program group

Other Publicly Supported Care Programs

PACE — Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly

What is it?
PACE is a comprehensive, coordinated medical and long-term-care model for eligible adults. A PACE organization becomes the participant’s central care system; it is more than a standalone home-care funding benefit.
Who might qualify?
A person must generally be age 55 or older, meet nursing-facility level-of-care criteria, live in a PACE service area, and be able to live safely in the community with PACE support. The PACE organization and responsible agencies determine eligibility.
Does Medicaid have to be involved?
Sometimes / depends on eligibility and enrollment. PACE operates through Medicare and can also serve Medicaid beneficiaries; some participants may pay privately. It is not a traditional Medicaid HCBS waiver.
How might it help at home?

PACE may coordinate medical care, home and personal care, transportation, therapies, medications, adult day services, meals, social services, respite, and other supports through its own network and care plan.

Where do I start?
Confirm that the person lives in an Indiana PACE service area, then contact the local Area Agency on Aging or an authorized PACE organization. PACE participants generally receive covered care through the PACE organization and its network.

Indiana Medicaid PACE information (official source; opens in a new tab)

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Medicare Home Health

What is it?
Medicare may cover qualifying home-health services when a beneficiary is homebound, needs eligible part-time or intermittent skilled services, and meets Medicare’s other requirements. A qualified clinician must order the care and a Medicare-certified home health agency must provide it.
Who might qualify?
A Medicare beneficiary who meets Medicare’s current homebound, skilled-care, certification, and care-plan requirements. Medicare or the person’s Medicare plan makes coverage decisions.
Does Medicaid have to be involved?
No. Medicaid is not required for Medicare home-health coverage, although some people have both Medicare and Medicaid.
How might it help at home?

Covered services may include skilled nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech-language pathology, medical social services, and limited home-health aide care when the required skilled services are also being received.

Medicare generally does not pay for ongoing custodial personal care or homemaking when that is the only care the person needs. Medicare home health is not a replacement for Medicaid Attendant Care or Home & Community Assistance.

Where do I start?
Talk with the treating clinician or Medicare plan and use Medicare’s home-health coverage information. Confirm that any referred agency is Medicare-certified and ask what Medicare will and will not cover.

Medicare home health coverage (official source; opens in a new tab)

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Money Follows the Person

What is it?
Indiana’s Money Follows the Person program helps certain eligible people transition from qualifying institutional settings back into community living. It is primarily a transition program, not a general ongoing home-care payment benefit.
Who might qualify?
Indiana’s published requirements include residence in a qualifying institution, the ability to have needs met safely in the community, Medicaid eligibility before discharge, and qualification for a participating long-term-support funding source. The program determines eligibility.
Does Medicaid have to be involved?
Yes in Indiana. Current Indiana guidance requires Medicaid eligibility as part of the transition pathway.
How might it help at home?

Support can include transition planning, case management, and services or items needed to establish a safe community living arrangement. Ongoing services then depend on the participating program and authorization.

Where do I start?
Ask the institution’s discharge planner, case manager, or Indiana program contact about Money Follows the Person before discharge. This is not intended as a general application for someone already living independently at home.

Indiana Money Follows the Person eligibility information (official source; opens in a new tab)

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Program group

Your Local Area Agency on Aging

What is it?
Indiana’s Area Agencies on Aging and Aging and Disability Resource Centers provide options counseling, assessments, referrals, and access points for many aging and disability programs. Fifteen organizations serve Indiana’s 16 planning and service areas.
Who might qualify?
Older adults, people with disabilities, and caregivers seeking help understanding long-term services, community resources, or possible public funding.
Does Medicaid have to be involved?
No. An AAA is a navigation and program-administration organization. Some programs it helps people access involve Medicaid and others do not.
How might it help at home?

An AAA may help with CHOICE, Title III, caregiver support, locally funded services, meals, transportation, options counseling, and aging or disability resource navigation.

Where do I start?
Use the county finder below to identify the Area Agency on Aging serving the person’s Indiana county, or call the statewide INconnect Alliance line at 800-713-9023.

Indiana Division of Aging AAA directory (official source; opens in a new tab)

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Centers for Independent Living

What is it?
Centers for Independent Living are consumer-controlled, cross-disability, community-based nonprofit organizations led by people with disabilities. They promote choice, independence, and community living.
Who might qualify?
People with disabilities seeking information, peer support, advocacy, independent-living skills, or help with community transitions and resources.
Does Medicaid have to be involved?
No. A Center for Independent Living is not a Medicaid program or an hourly home-care payer.
How might it help at home?

Core services include information and referral, peer support, individual and systems advocacy, independent-living skills, and transition assistance.

A Center for Independent Living is generally not an hourly home-care payer. Its value is helping people live independently and navigate community supports.

Where do I start?
Use Indiana’s official Center for Independent Living directory to locate the organization serving the person’s county and ask about current services.

Indiana Centers for Independent Living directory (official source; opens in a new tab)

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At-a-glance guide

Compare Indiana home-support options

This table is a starting point, not an eligibility decision. “Sometimes” means the answer depends on the person, program, authorization, and local availability.

Comparison of public programs and supports beyond traditional Medicaid HCBS waiver services
ProgramMedicaid required?Who it primarily helpsCan it help with care at home?Where to start
CHOICENoOlder adults and people with disabilities at risk of losing independenceYes, depending on assessment, funding, and local availabilityLocal AAA
Title III / OAANoOlder adults and locally prioritized populationsSometimes; services and funding vary by regionLocal AAA
Family Caregiver SupportNoUnpaid family and informal caregivers who fit program rulesIndirectly; may include respite or limited supplemental helpLocal AAA
SSBGNoPopulations selected by state and local programsSometimes; depends on the funded local serviceLocal AAA or administering agency
VA Homemaker / HHANoEligible Veterans with authorized personal-care needsYes, when VA-authorized and locally availableVA social worker or care team
Veteran-Directed CareNoEligible Veterans seeking consumer-directed supportYes, through a participant-directed program structureVA social worker
VA Respite CareNoEligible Veterans and their family caregiversSometimes; in-home and other respite settings may be availableVA social worker or case manager
VA Aid & AttendanceNoCertain Veterans and survivors who receive VA pensionIndirectly; added pension funds may help pay care costsVA pension office or accredited representative
VA Caregiver SupportNoCaregivers of Veterans who meet program requirementsUsually support/navigation; some benefits may include respiteVA Caregiver Support Program
PACESometimes; PACE can combine Medicare and MedicaidAdults 55+ meeting level-of-care and service-area requirementsYes, as part of comprehensive coordinated careLocal AAA or PACE organization
Medicare Home HealthNoMedicare beneficiaries meeting skilled and homebound requirementsLimited; not ongoing custodial care by itselfTreating clinician, Medicare plan, or Medicare
Money Follows the PersonYes, under current Indiana eligibility rulesEligible people transitioning from qualifying institutionsTransition support; ongoing care comes through another programInstitution discharge planner or case manager
Area Agencies on AgingNo, but some programs it connects to may involve MedicaidOlder adults, people with disabilities, and caregiversNavigation and access; programs varyCounty finder or INconnect Alliance
Centers for Independent LivingNoPeople with disabilitiesNavigation and transition help—not an hourly care payerLocal Center for Independent Living

Indiana county lookup

Find Your Area Agency on Aging

Select the Indiana county where the person lives. The directory below is maintained in one editable data file and was verified against Indiana’s official Area Agency on Aging directory on August 22, 2026.

Agency boundaries and contact details can change. Confirm current information with the agency.

Choose a county to see the agency name, telephone number, website, and counties served.

FFAC program status

Which of These Programs Does Family First Accept?

Family First’s participation varies by program, payer, Area Agency on Aging region, and contract status. Some programs listed on this page are provided for education and referral purposes only.

CHOICE, Title III, and SSBG-funded services

Region-Specific

Participation depends on the contract and provider process used by the Area Agency on Aging serving the participant’s county. No statewide acceptance claim is made.

VA Homemaker/HHA and VA Respite Care

Contact FFAC for Current Status

No current statewide VA contract or network participation is claimed. Ask FFAC and the Veteran’s VA care team before relying on FFAC availability.

Family Caregiver Support, Veteran-Directed Care, VA pension and caregiver programs, PACE, Medicare Home Health, Money Follows the Person, AAA, and Centers for Independent Living

Educational Resource Only

These programs are included to help families identify the responsible agency. This page does not claim that FFAC administers or is paid by these programs.

Participation wording reviewed August 22, 2026. It is intentionally generic where the project contains no current contract or enrollment evidence.

Related FFAC information

A starting point for Indiana families

Not Sure Which Program May Apply?

Indiana families may have more than one potential source of support. Family First can explain the programs we currently work with and help point you toward the appropriate agency, but eligibility and funding decisions are made by the responsible government program.

Call 812-521-5022 or email services@ffac.care.

Ask Family First About Your OptionsFind Your Area Agency on Aging