Written by a parent, not a doctor. Nothing here is medical advice.

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Colorado program

Being paid to care for your own child

Community First Choice can pay for hands-on care at home, with a possible paid role for a parent.

What it is

Community First Choice can pay for hands-on care at home, with a possible paid role for a parent.

Community First Choice can support some care your child needs at home. A functional assessment identifies the tasks and hours. A paid role for you depends on separate parent-caregiver rules, training and an employment arrangement.

Eligibility rules
  • Your child must have Health First Colorado. A functional assessment decides the care support and hours.
What you get
  • Personal care support at home.
  • A possible paid caregiving role for a parent, subject to program rules.
What the help includes
  • Community First Choice has agency and consumer-directed options. A legally responsible parent can provide only tasks permitted by current rules and the child’s approved service plan.
  • RN, LPN, certified nursing assistant and unlicensed attendant roles have different qualifications. A parent cannot work in a licensed nursing role without the required credentials.
If you decide to apply
  1. Ask the hospital social worker whether a Community First Choice assessment with your local Case Management Agency would be useful.
  2. Keep notes about the care tasks and time involved, and discuss them at the assessment.

Local Case Management Agency, with help from the hospital discharge planner · Official page ↗

After you ask
  • The Case Management Agency assesses needs and coordinates the service plan. The care agency or consumer-directed arrangement separately checks parent employment, training and when approved paid work may begin.
Good to know

A service assessment does not hire you or set your wage. The care agency explains when approved paid work may begin.

Other details
  • A parent can be paid only for tasks in the child's approved plan that go beyond ordinary parenting, and only through an agency that hires and trains you. Colorado changed the parent-caregiver rules in 2026, so get the hour limit and hourly wage in writing before you count on it. (one bullet)
Official sources
Ask your social worker

“Could some of the care I give my child qualify for paid support, and what responsibilities or limits would come with being hired? If it fits, could you help us arrange an assessment?”

Why I’m asking: I need to understand whether caregiving income could replace some lost wages without overlooking the program's responsibilities.

More background and detailed requirements
Additional program information and published rules

Who does what

The three parts, side by side. The agency decides; nobody on this page does.

You

Ask for the assessment and say plainly how many hours of care the child needs.

Your social worker

The hospital discharge planner can make the referral.

The care team

The doctor describes the care the child needs at home.

Who decides
The Case Management Agency assesses needs and confirms the current service-plan process.
Ask your social worker
“Can a parent be hired and paid as my child's caregiver through Community First Choice? Can you refer us for the assessment now?”

How to apply

First step: The hospital social worker can help discuss an assessment with the local Case Management Agency.

  1. Ask for the assessment before discharge.
  2. Ask which delivery option pays a parent in your county, and how many hours.

Where it starts: The local Case Management Agency handles the assessment route. The listed 303-271-4216 number is a Jefferson County contact, not a statewide referral line.

What to gather

  • The doctor's description of the care needed at home

How long: One county estimated 60 to 90 days or more in 2025. That is local guidance, not a statewide wait.

What a yes looks like

A service plan with hours, and a choice of agency, in-home support or a budget you direct.

What a no looks like, and the next move

Ask whether the no was on the assessment or on the delivery option, and appeal by the date on the notice.

Watch out

  • The social worker can help discuss assessment and setup during discharge planning; an old local estimate is not a statewide start date.
  • The Case Management Agency and service arrangement confirm the current approved tasks, caregiver-hour limit and parent wage.
  • A parent can only be paid for tasks allowed by the current caregiver rules and approved service plan.

The numbers and the rules

The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 11, 2026.

What it is worth

Personal care at home, with a parent of a minor eligible to be hired and paid for it.

Covers: Personal care at home through an agency · In-home support services · A consumer-directed budget the family manages and hires against

Legal protection: County guidance names parents of minors among the people who can be hired and paid

What it costs the family: Nothing.

The eligibility facts, as published

Coverage
Health First Colorado
Level of care
A functional assessment decides the hours

The trap: A 2025 Jefferson County setup estimate is not a statewide timeline. The Case Management Agency and chosen service arrangement confirm the assessment, parent employment and permitted start date.

Where I read this

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