Help for Family Caregivers From the Pennsylvania Department of Aging
The Pennsylvania Caregiver Support Program helps people who take primary responsibility for caring for someone else, with a care manager, training, and money back for out-of-pocket caregiving costs. It aims to ease the stress of caregiving by focusing on the caregiver's well-being, arranging respite care, connecting caregivers to formal and informal supports, and reimbursing expenses for caregiving-related services and supplies.
Both the caregiver and the care receiver must live in Pennsylvania, and the caregiver must be an adult who is primarily responsible for providing care on a regular basis. You also have to fit one of three categories.
- Category 1: the caregiver is 18 or older and the care receiver is age 60 or older with functional deficits, or is any age with Alzheimer's or a related disorder. In this category the two of you do not have to be related or live together.
- Category 2: the caregiver is 55 or older, is not the child's biological parent, is related by blood, marriage, or adoption, and has legal guardianship or is raising the child informally. The care receiver is a dependent child under age 18. You must live in the same residence.
- Category 3: the caregiver is 55 or older and related by blood, marriage, or adoption, and may be the biological parent. The care receiver is an adult age 18 to 59 with a disability. You must live in the same residence.
There is no financial eligibility requirement to join the program. Income matters only for how much of your costs come back to you. Reimbursement is based on the total gross income and household size of the care receiver, on a sliding scale using the current Federal Poverty Level guidelines, covering care receiver household income up to 380% of the FPL. Households at 200% of the FPL or below get 100% reimbursement; households just under 380% get 10%; households in between get a percentage in that range. If the income is over 380% of the FPL, you get no financial reimbursement but can still receive care management and other non-reimbursable services such as caregiver education and training.
You are not eligible if the caregiver or care receiver is enrolled in Medicaid Long-Term Services and Supports (Community HealthChoices or LIFE), if the caregiver has been convicted of or found liable for a crime relating to abuse, neglect, exploitation, or abandonment, or if the caregiver is a perpetrator in a substantiated report of need for older adults protective services.
Services include care management, benefits counseling, caregiver education and training, and reimbursement for ongoing caregiving expenses such as respite care, consumable supplies, supportive services, supplemental services, home modifications, and assistive devices. There are also services specific to grandparents and older relative caregivers age 55 and over.
The program is run by your local Area Agency on Aging. Contact your local AAA to learn more and to apply. If you do not know which agency serves you, call the Pennsylvania Department of Aging at 717-783-1550 and they will connect you with your local AAA.
Once you are in the program, you are assigned a care manager who comes to the care receiver's home, does a comprehensive assessment of what you need as the caregiver, offers support, and works with you to build a person-centered plan of care.
The page does not say what the program costs to join, how long the application takes, or what papers to bring, so ask your local Area Agency on Aging when you call.
Source: pa.gov/services/aging/apply-for-the-caregiver-support-pro…, read September 18, 2026.
The details
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r is: An individual age 60 and older with functional deficits or An individual of any age with Alzheimer's or related disorder The caregiver and care receiver are not required to be related or live in the same residence. Category 2: Grandparent/Older Relative Caregiver of Children Caregiver is: An individual age 55 and older Not the biological parent of the child(ren) Related by blood, marriage, or adoption Has legal guardianship, or is raising the child(ren) informally Care Receiver is: A dependent child under age 18 The caregiver and care receiver must live in the same residence. Category 3: Older Relative Caregiver of an Adult with a Disability Caregiver is: An individual age 55 and older Related by blood, marriage, or adoption Can be the biological parent Care Receiver is: An individual age 18-59 with a disability The caregiver and care receiver must live in the same residence. Financial Eligibility There is no financial eligibility requirement for the Caregiver Support Program. However, the amount of reimbursement is based on the total gross income and household size of the care receiver. The percentage of reimbursement is determined using a sliding scale based on the current Federal Poverty Level (FPL) guidelines and covers care receiver household income up to 380% of the FPL. Those whose income is 200% or below the FPL receive 100% reimbursement. Those whose income is just under 380% of the FPL receive 10% reimbursement. Those whose income falls between 200% and 380% receive a percentage within that range. Those whose income is over 380% of the FPL receive no financial reimbursement but can receive Care Management and other non-reimbursable services such as caregiver education and caregiver education and training. Individuals are not eligible for the Caregiver Support Program if: The caregiver or care receiver are enrolled in Medicaid Long-Term Services and Supports (Community HealthChoices/ LIFE) The caregiver has been convicted of or found liable for a crime relating to abuse, neglect, exploitation, or abandonment The caregiver is a perpetrator in a substantiated report of need for older adults protective services
In Pennsylvania Department of Aging’s words
The Pennsylvania Caregiver Support Program provides resources and assistance to individuals who assume the primary responsibility for the provision of care to encourage a healthy, ongoing relationship with their care receiver. The program aims to alleviate the stresses associated with caregiving by focusing on the well-being of the caregiver, providing access to respite care, addressing the need for formal and informal supports, and providing financial reimbursement for out-of-pocket costs…
Organization
Pennsylvania Department of Aging
About this listing
This listing summarizes publicly available information from pa.gov/services/aging/apply-for-the-caregiver-support-pro…. Last recorded review: September 18, 2026. Contact the provider to confirm eligibility, hours and availability before you go. If something here is wrong, tell us.