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Family Caregiver Pay Map · Maine · Verified October 19, 2026

Maine: Who Can Be a Paid Family Caregiver Under Medicaid

Maine pays relatives and friends as Personal Support Specialists through an agency or as participant-directed attendants under its home and community benefits and consumer-directed attendant services; a spouse can be paid only as an agency-employed worker for extraordinary personal care, and the parent of a minor cannot be paid.

Spouse
In defined cases
Adult child / other relatives
Yes
Friends / neighbors
Yes
Parent of a minor child
No

Who can be paid: Adult children, siblings, other relatives, friends and neighbors through an agency or hired by the member; a spouse only as a Personal Support Specialist employed by a personal care agency when the member needs extraordinary care; not a guardian, conservator, representative or the parent of a minor child.

The Home Care Agency is a free enrollment matching service — not a home care agency, not a Medicaid plan, and not a government agency. This research is educational. Eligibility, authorized hours and payment are always determined by the state program and, where applicable, the managed care plan.

The programs behind the answer

Section 19 — Home and Community Benefits for the Elderly and Adults with Disabilities

Administered by Maine DHHS Office of Aging and Disability Services.

  • Who employs the caregiver: Agency or self-directed
  • Waitlist: Capped enrollment
  • Agency Personal Support Specialist services or the participant-directed option with a fiscal intermediary; enrollment is first-come, first-served by funding and the wait list is currently empty

Section 12 — Consumer Directed Attendant Services

Administered by Maine DHHS Office of Aging and Disability Services.

  • Who employs the caregiver: Paid through a fiscal intermediary
  • Waitlist: No waitlist
  • Type: State plan entitlement (serves everyone who qualifies)
  • Member hires, trains and schedules attendants; the state-contracted fiscal intermediary is mandatory

Section 96 — Private Duty Nursing and Personal Care Services

Administered by Maine DHHS.

  • Who employs the caregiver: Agency or self-directed
  • Waitlist: No waitlist
  • Type: State plan entitlement (serves everyone who qualifies)
  • Agency personal support services, or a family provider agency option for members under 21

How to apply in Maine

We do not yet have partner agencies in Maine. Start with the program's administering agency — Maine DHHS Office of Aging and Disability Services — using the official sources below; the state determines eligibility and enrolls participants.

Official sources

Facts on this page were last reviewed October 19, 2026 against the sources above. Program rules change; confirm with the program before making decisions. Method: how the Pay Map is verified.

Questions

Questions About Paid Family Caregiving in Maine

Can a spouse be paid to care for their husband or wife in Maine?
In defined cases. Maine allows a spouse to be the paid caregiver only under conditions written into its rules; see the summary and sources on this page.
Who can be the paid caregiver in Maine?
Adult children, siblings, other relatives, friends and neighbors through an agency or hired by the member; a spouse only as a Personal Support Specialist employed by a personal care agency when the member needs extraordinary care; not a guardian, conservator, representative or the parent of a minor child.
Is there a waitlist for Medicaid home care in Maine?
Section 19 — Home and Community Benefits for the Elderly and Adults with Disabilities: capped enrollment (Agency Personal Support Specialist services or the participant-directed option with a fiscal intermediary; enrollment is first-come, first-served by funding and the wait list is currently empty). Section 12 — Consumer Directed Attendant Services: no waitlist (Member hires, trains and schedules attendants; the state-contracted fiscal intermediary is mandatory). Section 96 — Private Duty Nursing and Personal Care Services: no waitlist (Agency personal support services, or a family provider agency option for members under 21).
Who decides eligibility?
The state program, never The Home Care Agency. The Home Care Agency is a free enrollment matching service — not a home care agency, not a Medicaid plan, and not a government agency. This research is educational. Eligibility, authorized hours and payment are always determined by the state program and, where applicable, the managed care plan.