Michigan program
Time for a break from skilled care (CSHCS respite)
CSHCS respite pays for care so families caring for a child with skilled-nursing needs can rest.
What it is
CSHCS respite pays for care so families caring for a child with skilled-nursing needs can rest.
This separate CSHCS benefit is for families whose child needs skilled nursing. The coordinator checks the family’s need for a break and other available community resources. A diagnosis alone is not enough.
Eligibility rules
- Your child must need a nurse’s skills when you are away, and there must be no other respite available. A child already getting private-duty nursing or a waiver is not eligible.
What you get
- Up to 180 paid respite hours per family in a 12-month eligibility period.
What the help covers
- The maximum is 180 hours for the family during its 12-month eligibility period, shared across eligible children. Approval depends on the assessed respite need and authorized provider; it is not a cash allowance for the parent.
If you decide to apply
- Ask your local CSHCS coordinator about respite and describe the care you need someone else to cover.
- Bring nursing notes showing the skilled care and explain what other help is available.
MDHHS CSHCS: 1-800-359-3722 · Official page ↗
If you decide to apply
- The coordinator or nurse documents the care need for MDHHS CSHCS review.
Good to know
This benefit excludes children receiving private-duty nursing or certain waivers. It cannot simply be added to those services.
Other details
- Nursing notes can explain why an ordinary babysitter cannot safely cover the care.
Official sources
“Would CSHCS respite give us a safe break from care? What are its limits and tradeoffs, and could you help us request it if our child meets the nursing test?”
Why I’m asking: I want to know whether skilled respite fits the help our family already receives.
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 the coordinator and describe what you need cover for.
Your social worker
The nurse or coordinator documents the skilled-nursing need.
The care team
The home-care nurse’s notes are the evidence.
- Who decides
- MDHHS CSHCS.
- Ask your social worker
- “My child needs skilled nursing at home. Can CSHCS authorise respite hours, and how many are left this year?”
How to apply
First step: Ask your local CSHCS coordinator about the respite benefit.
- Ask the CSHCS coordinator about the respite benefit.
- Have the nurse write down the skilled tasks needed at home.
Official application / program page ↗
Where it starts: Ask the local CSHCS coordinator.
What to gather
- The nurse’s list of skilled tasks at home
- CSHCS enrolment details
How long: No decision time was published.
What a yes looks like
An authorisation naming a number of hours for the eligibility period.
What a no looks like, and the next move
Usually either another benefit already covers it, or the nursing need was not documented.
Watch out
- It is excluded when private-duty nursing or the named waivers are already in place.
- A diagnosis alone does not open it; the skilled-nursing need does.
The numbers and the rules
The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 11, 2026.
What it is worth
Up to 180 respite hours for the family in a twelve-month eligibility period.
- $180/year — Respite hours per family per twelve-month eligibility period
Covers: Paid respite care in the home
What it costs the family: None beyond the ordinary CSHCS payment agreement.
The eligibility facts, as published
- Requirement
- A CSHCS client must need skilled nursing that requires a registered or licensed practical nurse when a trained caregiver is absent, and the family must need respite with no other available community resource. Children receiving private-duty nursing, Children’s Waiver, Habilitation Supports Waiver or MI Choice are excluded. The guidance does not create an exception just because the other service supplies only a few hours; the coordinator should resolve any overlap before approval.
- Exclusions
- private-duty nursing, Children’s Waiver, Habilitation Supports Waiver, MI Choice
The trap: A leukaemia diagnosis does not open this on its own, and it is not a babysitting voucher. The skilled-nursing need and the absence of another resource are what decide it.
Where I read this
- CSHCS Guidance Manual — MDHHS, read September 10, 2026