Helping Illinois Families Navigate the Community Care Program — Including Spouse Caregivers
Illinois' Community Care Program allows a family member to be hired and paid as the in-home caregiver for an eligible loved one age 60 or older — and since 2024, in some cases that caregiver may be a spouse. We help you check if you qualify and match you with an approved Illinois in-home service agency — free to families.
You are likely eligible if you have Medicaid. Fill out the form to see how fast you can get started.
or call us at (929) 460-3141
Two Ways to Get Started
Since 2024, Illinois allows a spouse (or another legally responsible individual) to be the paid caregiver when the care is extraordinary — above and beyond ordinary family help. The spouse is hired by the approved in-home service agency, completes the same training as any caregiver, and eligibility is determined during enrollment.
Approved in-home service agencies may hire relatives recommended by the person receiving care — an adult child, sibling, grandchild, or close family friend. The agency employs, trains, and supports the caregiver. Prefer a professional? The agency provides one.
Eligibility
Final eligibility is determined by IDoA — we help you check in seconds.
Under the Community Care Program, approved in-home service agencies may hire relatives, legal guardians, or caregivers recommended by the person receiving care. A spouse (or other legally responsible individual, such as a power of attorney) may be hired when the care is extraordinary — above and beyond what a family member would ordinarily provide — as determined during assessment. Every caregiver is employed by the agency, completes pre-service training, and passes a background check. Eligibility for any caregiver is determined by the program during enrollment.
What's Covered
Why Families Use Us
We're not an agency — we're the free service that gets your family to the right Medicaid-approved agency, faster.
You never pay us a cent. We're paid a flat marketing fee by the partner agency — never by you, and never tied to enrollment.
We connect you with a licensed, Medicaid-approved provider agency that serves your area and handles enrollment and caregiver setup.
Our team helps you check eligibility for Illinois's Community Care Program (CCP) and points you to the right next step — at no cost.
How It Works
Three easy steps to get your family the care they need.
Take our free eligibility check or call us to see if you qualify through Illinois's Community Care Program (CCP).
We connect you with a Medicaid-approved home care agency in your area that handles enrollment, paperwork, and caregiver setup.
Once approved, your chosen caregiver is paid through Medicaid — and your loved one gets care at home.
The Program
Funded by Medicaid through IDoA — helping families care for loved ones at home.
We help eligible Illinois families connect with an approved in-home service agency.
Eligible families pay nothing out of pocket for enrollment help.
Approved caregivers — including qualifying family members — are employed by the agency and paid through the state program.
Source: Illinois Department on Aging (IDoA), Community Care Program (CCP).
Already Enrolled?
If you already have Illinois Medicaid coverage and are receiving services, call for a free consult to see if switching to a different partner agency is right for you.
Call (929) 460-3141We help Illinois families understand the Community Care Program (CCP), check eligibility, and connect with a Medicaid-approved home care provider agency in their area. The provider agency we match you with handles enrollment paperwork, caregiver onboarding, and ongoing program support.
The Home Care Agency is an enrollment matching service. We are not a Medicaid provider agency. We connect eligible Illinois families with licensed Medicaid-approved provider agencies that deliver care. This service is free to families.
Questions
Program Guide
The Community Care Program (CCP) is Illinois' in-home care program for seniors, established in 1979 and operated by the Illinois Department on Aging. For Medicaid-eligible participants it runs as the state's Persons who are Elderly waiver, with the Department of Healthcare and Family Services as the Medicaid agency. It pays for in-home services — personal care, homemaker services, and more — so that Illinoisans age 60 and older can stay at home instead of entering a nursing facility.
What makes Illinois notable for families: the caregiver is employed by an approved in-home service agency, and those agencies may hire the family members the participant chooses — including, since 2024, a spouse in defined circumstances.
CCP serves Illinois residents age 60 and older who meet a need threshold measured by the Determination of Need (DON) assessment and the program’s financial guidelines, including an asset limit. Applicants who qualify for Medicaid enroll in it as part of the process; the program also serves some seniors who are not Medicaid-eligible.
The DON is completed by a care coordinator from the local Care Coordination Unit and measures impairment and unmet need — it determines both eligibility and the amount of service. Financial eligibility is determined by the program, not by us and not by any agency. Adults under 60 with disabilities are served by a different program (the Home Services Program).
Illinois rules allow approved in-home service providers to hire relatives, legal guardians, and caregivers recommended by the participant. Since January 1, 2024, that extends to legally responsible individuals — a spouse, or the holder of a power of attorney — when the care is extraordinary, meaning beyond what would ordinarily be provided for someone of the same age without a disability, or where no other qualified caregiver is available.
Every caregiver, family or not, is a real agency employee: they apply with the agency, complete pre-service training and annual continuing training, pass a background check, and log visits through the state’s electronic visit verification. A paid legally responsible individual cannot also serve as the participant’s authorized representative. The care plan sets the hours. Eligibility for any caregiver is determined by the program during enrollment.
Enrollment starts with the local Care Coordination Unit, which completes the DON assessment and builds the plan of care; participants in a Medicaid health plan coordinate through their plan’s care coordinator. Provider agencies serve defined areas, so which agencies can serve you depends on where in Illinois you live.
Our free service matches you with an approved in-home service agency in your area that welcomes family caregivers, helps you through enrollment, and supports you after services start. We are a matching service — the provider agency employs the caregiver and delivers the care.
Program facts on this page last reviewed October 6, 2026. Program rules change — eligibility is always determined by the state program.
Related guide: Can a spouse be paid to be a caregiver? Medicaid rules, state by state
No cost, no obligation — check Illinois's Community Care Program (CCP) today.
Call (929) 460-3141