CDPAP in New York: how to get paid to care for a family member

What CDPAP is and why it matters to family caregivers

NYC311 calls CDPAP a Medicaid program, run by the state, through which members who qualify for home care pick and employ their own caregiver, called a personal assistant (PA). PPL, the program's payroll agent, says it serves people with disabilities, chronic illnesses or other long-term health conditions who want to stay at home.

The difference from ordinary agency home care is control. PPL's personal assistant agreement lists what the person receiving care (the consumer), or their designated representative, decides:

• whether to hire a PA, and when to end the job;
• the work schedule, training and day-to-day supervision;
• approval of the hours the PA worked.

Because the consumer picks who works for them, a relative can be paid. PPL's FAQ adds that a PA needs no certificate or license, though some paid training is required.

Who qualifies for CDPAP in NY

The official pages we could read set out three gates for the person who needs care:

• Medicaid. They must be a New York Medicaid member who is eligible for home care services (NYC311).
• An assessment. Need is measured by the New York Independent Assessor Program (NYIAP), as PPL's New York page explains.
• Approval. Their health plan or Local Department of Social Services (LDSS) must approve CDPAP and issue a service authorization with a set number of weekly hours (PPL and the HRA consumer guide).

The detailed medical criteria, including the assessment thresholds for adults, are set by the NYS Department of Health; we could not verify the current text, so this guide does not restate them. Ask NYIAP or the health plan which criteria apply to your relative. We also found no official mention of a CDPAP waiting list.

How to apply for CDPAP, step by step

1. Medicaid first. The person needing care must have New York Medicaid, handled by the LDSS. PPL's FAQ points people with Medicaid questions to the Medicaid Helpline at (800) 541-2831.
2. The assessment. Anyone who has not been assessed should call the New York Independent Assessor Program (NYIAP) at 1-855-222-8350 (TTY 1-888-329-1541), as PPL's New York page directs.
3. Authorization. If approved, the health plan or LDSS sends a CDPAP referral or authorization to PPL, which then contacts the consumer to register.
4. Consumer registration. The consumer creates a PPL@Home account and signs a Memorandum of Understanding.
5. Linking the PA. Only after the consumer is registered with a valid authorization can the PA be linked and complete their own paperwork.

PPL lists other ways to register besides online: by phone at 1-833-247-5346, at in-person or virtual sessions, at its offices around the state (the HRA consumer guide lists Latham, Rochester, Hicksville and four in New York City), or through an approved CDPAP facilitator, a community organization that helps with registration.

Which family members can be paid through CDPAP, and which cannot

PPL's personal assistant agreement lists three exclusions, and PPL's FAQ repeats the spouse and parent rules. A PA cannot be:

• the consumer's spouse;
• the consumer's designated representative;
• the parent or guardian of a consumer under age 21.

Anyone else who meets the PA requirements can be hired, including adult children, siblings, grandchildren and friends. So for New Yorkers asking "can I get paid to take care of my mom", the answer is usually yes: if your mother qualifies and chooses you, and you are not her designated representative, you can be her PA. One consequence: if you currently make decisions for her as her representative, someone else must take that role before you can be paid.

PA requirements in PPL's agreement: at least 18, a valid Social Security Number and permission to work in the United States. PPL's page adds a pre-employment health assessment, repeated every year, USCIS Form I-9, an offer letter for each consumer, and required training within 90 days of the PPL start date.

If your situation is unusual, such as a relative who lives in the home and holds power of attorney, ask PPL or the health plan before you start work.

Who runs payroll and how many hours a relative can work

PPL is the payroll. Public Partnerships LLC was selected as the single Statewide Fiscal Intermediary, and NYC311 says all CDPAP recipients and caregivers were required to move to it. Under the PA agreement, PPL checks that the PA is qualified, runs registration, issues paychecks, and collects and submits payroll taxes. The agreement calls this joint employment: the consumer (or representative) and PPL are both the PA's employer.

Time and pay cycle. PAs clock in and out in real time using PPL's Time4Care app or telephony line, which supports the Electronic Visit Verification that federal law requires for Medicaid home care. Time entries are due by 11:59 p.m. ET Saturday, and the consumer must approve them by noon ET Sunday. Hours approved late are not paid until approval; once approved they go into the next payroll.

Hour limits. The health plan or LDSS sets a weekly number of authorized hours in the plan of care, and that week restarts at midnight ET each Sunday (HRA). The PA agreement says a PA may never work more hours than the schedule, and PPL can only pay for authorized hours, so a relative who helps beyond them is not paid for that time. Live-in PAs are entitled to eight hours of sleep time, five of them uninterrupted, and three one-hour meal breaks a day.

PAs cannot work while the consumer is in a hospital, nursing home or other facility. A PA who works only for a relative does not qualify for PPL's seventh-day overtime.

How much CDPAP pays family caregivers in 2026

CDPAP pays an hourly wage for authorized hours, not a stipend. PPL's FAQ publishes these minimum base wage rates for PAs, effective January 1, 2026, which included a $0.55 an hour increase:

PPL says rates are set by authorization and location, not negotiated. It lists safe and sick leave (one hour per 30 worked, up to 56 a year), holiday pay, health and 401(k) options and paid family leave among PA benefits.

Reference points, not program rates:

• The NY Department of Labor home care aide minimum wage, which its P105 fact sheet says covers CDPAP personal assistants even when related to the consumer, is $19.65 in New York City, Long Island and Westchester and $18.65 elsewhere from January 1, 2026, rising to $20.00 and $19.00 on January 1, 2027.
• The general minimum wage for 2026 is $17.00 in New York City, Long Island and Westchester and $16.00 in the rest of the state.
• BLS OEWS for May 2025 puts the statewide median at $19.05 an hour for SOC 31-1120, the aide category covering home health and personal care work, across 663,140 jobs.

Illustrative calculation: a PA in Brooklyn working 30 authorized hours a week at the $20.65 base rate would earn $619.50 a week before taxes and deductions. Your actual hours come from the authorization.

CDPAP NYC and statewide: the PPL transition

Since 2025, CDPAP consumers and PAs in NYC and across the state have been required to move to PPL from the many separate fiscal intermediaries used before (PPL's FAQ cites more than 600). An eMedNY notice told consumers and caregivers to register with PPL by March 28, 2025. For a question about your own case, start with PPL, then your health plan or LDSS. State health officials can be reached at 1-833-947-8666 on weekdays (8:30 to 4:30, holidays excepted), per the HRA consumer guide.

Other ways to be a paid family caregiver in New York

VA Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers. A caregiver at least 18 who is a relative of the veteran, or lives with them full time, may qualify if the veteran holds an individual or combined VA disability rating of at least 70%, has been discharged or has a medical discharge date, will need hands-on personal care, without a break, for at least half a year, and is enrolled in VA health care. The designated main caregiver can get a monthly VA payment; caregiver and veteran apply together on VA Form 10-10CG.

VA Veteran Directed Care. An enrolled veteran who meets the clinical criteria manages a VA-funded spending plan and, with a counselor's help, employs the workers they want; VA notes those workers might include a relative. Your VA social worker can say if it runs near you.

New York Paid Family Leave. This does not pay you for caregiving; it replaces part of your wages while you take leave from a job. Eligible employees get up to 12 weeks to care for a family member with a serious health condition, at 67% of their average weekly wage, capped at $1,228.53 a week in 2026. Helpline: (844) 337-6303.

Taxes. IRS Notice 2014-7 treats certain Medicaid payments under 1915(c) Home and Community-Based Services waivers as excludable difficulty-of-care payments when the care is given in the home you share. The IRS says payments under other state Medicaid programs depend on how the program is designed, so ask PPL or a tax professional how your CDPAP wages are reported. If a family instead pays a caregiver privately, Social Security and Medicare tax generally applies once one household employee is paid $3,000 or more in cash in 2026 (IRS Topic 756), and federal unemployment tax ignores pay to your own parent, spouse or under-21 child.

Local help: NY Connects, aging offices and Adult Protective Services

• NY Connects at 1-800-342-9871. The NYS Office for the Aging directs families to their local Area Agency on Aging for programs that support older adults and the people who care for them.
• Adult Protective Services in New York City: DSS OneNumber 718-557-1399, weekdays from 9 to 5. HRA says it sees eligible adults at home within three business days, sooner (within a day) when a life is at risk.
• Adult Protective Services elsewhere in the state: the NYS Human Services Call Center at 1-844-697-3505 gives local APS contacts or takes reports to pass on, weekdays 9 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. If anyone faces immediate danger, dial 911.

Where CaregiverConnect fits

CaregiverConnect is not a Medicaid provider, fiscal intermediary or home care agency, and it plays no part in CDPAP enrollment or any other program's. What it offers: a family can list its care needs at no cost and take on a private caregiver directly; the family is then the household employer. New York's Domestic Workers' Bill of Rights then applies, including overtime after 40 hours a week (44 for live-in workers) and a 24-hour day of rest every seven days. Caregivers set up a profile without charge and respond to family listings. CaregiverConnect does not run background checks.

If you need help beyond the authorized CDPAP hours, or you are a PA looking for additional private work, see caregivers in New York City, how CaregiverConnect works, optional plans, our Medicaid overview for family caregivers and tips on hiring privately. Caregivers can also use the guide to finding private work.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

1. PPL, NY Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPAP)
2. PPL, New York CDPAP frequently asked questions
3. PPL, CDPAP Personal Assistant Agreement
4. eMedNY, CDPAP notice: register with PPL by March 28, 2025
5. NYC HRA, CDPAP Resources for Consumers
6. NYC311, Paid Care Worker or Employer Assistance (CDPAP transition to PPL)
7. NY DOL, Home Care Aide Minimum Wage fact sheet (P105)
8. NY DOL, Minimum wage
9. NY DOL, Domestic Workers' Bill of Rights
10. BLS, OEWS May 2025, New York, 31-1120 (OES data query)
11. VA, Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers
12. VA, Veteran Directed Care
13. NY Paid Family Leave, updates for 2026
14. IRS, Certain Medicaid waiver payments may be excludable from income
15. IRS, Topic 756, Employment taxes for household employees
16. NY Connects
17. NYS Office for the Aging
18. NYC HRA, Adult Protective Services
19. Nassau County, Adult Services (NYS Human Services Call Center)