Oregon program
Paying a parent for care at home (Children's Extraordinary Needs)
A small Oregon waiver can pay parents for some care they give at home [Children's Extraordinary Needs].
What it is
A small Oregon waiver can pay parents for some care they give at home [Children's Extraordinary Needs].
Some children need unusually intensive daily care from a parent or guardian. This waiver can pay for part of that care after an assessment. Places are limited, so meeting the care test does not guarantee an immediate start.
Eligibility rules
- Your child must be under 18 and score in the highest care-needs group on Oregon's assessment.
- The child must meet intermediate-care-facility, hospital or nursing-facility level of care.
- A paid parent, stepparent or guardian must be legally able to work in the United States.
What you get
- Up to 20 paid care hours a week per child, shared between parents or guardians.
- Other in-home supports available through the waiver.
What the help includes
- Payment is for approved attendant care by a legally responsible parent or guardian.
If you decide to apply
- Ask the social worker to contact the Children's Extraordinary Needs team about an assessment and waiting list.
- Have your child's age, an oncologist's letter and a record of the care hours you give ready.
Children's Extraordinary Needs: cenprogram@odhs.oregon.gov or 971-673-3000. · Official page ↗
After you ask
- An assessment score and an available place are separate parts of the decision.
- The program cannot promise how quickly the waiting list will move.
Good to know
This is a high clinical bar. Children enrolled through Healthier Oregon are excluded from this waiver.
Other details
- The waiver grew to 230 places in July 2026 and still has a waiting list. Your child's services coordinator can tell you their position.
- A participating agency employs the parent or guardian after the required hiring checks and training. The child’s approved plan decides which disability-related care can be paid; the 20-hour weekly parent limit is shared between parents or guardians for that child. Ask the agency for its actual wage and the services coordinator how parent hours fit with other approved care. Agency reimbursement is not necessarily the parent’s wage, and the same care time cannot be billed twice.
Official sources
“Could the care I give qualify for paid parent hours? What are the benefits, responsibilities and limits, and could you help with an assessment if our child may fit?”
Why I’m asking: I want to know whether any of the intensive care at home can be paid work.
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, describe the care you give hour by hour, and keep the date you asked.
Your social worker
The social worker refers and asks for the assessment result in writing.
The care team
The oncologist documents the level of care.
- Who decides
- The Office of Developmental Disabilities Services, after an assessment and only when a place is free.
- Ask your social worker
- “Can we ask the Children's Extraordinary Needs programme to assess my child now and add us to the list?”
How to apply
First step: Email cenprogram@odhs.oregon.gov, or call 971-673-3000, and ask to be assessed and listed.
- Email cenprogram@odhs.oregon.gov and ask for an assessment and a place on the list.
- Ask which needs group your child was assigned and what would change it.
- Ask the oncologist to document the level of care in writing.
Official application / program page ↗
Where it starts: Email cenprogram@odhs.oregon.gov, or call Children's Intensive In-Home Services on 971-673-3000.
What to gather
- A letter from the oncologist about care at home
- Your child's date of birth
- A record of the hours of care you give
How long: No measured wait was published. The state says plainly it does not know how fast the list will move.
What a yes looks like
An assessment group of 5b or 5m and a place, or a listed position.
What a no looks like, and the next move
A lower assessment group. Ask what was scored and whether a reassessment is possible when treatment gets heavier.
Watch out
- An assessed need does not guarantee a place; the social worker can check current waiting-list arrangements.
- Children in the Healthier Oregon programme are not eligible for this waiver.
- Your child has to be in the highest assessment group, which is a high bar.
Dates that change this
2026-07-01: The current published CEN waiver provides 230 concurrent places from July 1, 2026. Capacity is not a waiting-list count or a promise of an available place. (not yet confirmed against the final rule)
The numbers and the rules
The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 11, 2026.
What it is worth
Up to 20 combined paid attendant-care hours per child per week across legally responsible caregivers, subject to assessment, a CEN place and employment requirements.
- $20/week — Paid parent or guardian care, hours a week for each child
- $18 — Upper age
Covers: Attendant care given by a legally responsible parent, stepparent or guardian, and paid for · The rest of the waiver's in-home supports
What it costs the family: No cost to apply.
The eligibility facts, as published
- Age
- under 18
- Level of care
- intermediate care facility, hospital or nursing-facility level of care
- Assessment
- the highest Oregon Needs Assessment service group, 5b or 5m
- Other
- children in the Healthier Oregon programme are excluded; a parent provider must be able to work legally in the United States
Expect friction on: There is a waiting list and the state says it does not know how fast it moves · Children in the Healthier Oregon programme are not eligible
The trap: This is not a general caregiver payment. It sits inside a capped waiver with a waiting list, and the assessment group (5b or 5m) is the highest one the state uses.
Where I read this
- ODHS: Children’s Extraordinary Needs Program — Oregon Department of Human Services, read September 10, 2026
- ODDS Director’s Message: CEN expansion — Oregon Department of Human Services, read September 10, 2026
- Approved Children’s Extraordinary Needs Waiver OR.2386.R00.02 — Oregon Department of Human Services, read September 10, 2026
- ODHS: Children’s Intensive In-Home Services — Oregon Department of Human Services, read September 10, 2026