Caregiver rules
Who can be the paid caregiver
In CDS the consumer chooses and hires their own attendant, and it is usually someone they already know. Missouri sets a small number of hard limits. Here they are in plain terms, before you get attached to a plan.
Allowed
Who can be paid
- ✓An adult son or daughter
- ✓A parent of an adult consumer
- ✓A grandchild, grandparent, sibling, niece or nephew
- ✓A friend, a neighbor, or someone from your church
- ✓An in-law, step-relative or cousin
- ✓Someone you have never met, hired from our caregiver list
Every attendant must be 18 or older, legally able to work in the US, and able to pass the background screening.
Not allowed
Who cannot be paid
-
✗
A spouse
Missouri does not allow a husband or wife to be paid as the attendant. This is program rule, not our policy, and there is no exception to apply for.
-
✗
A legal guardian
If you hold legal guardianship or are the consumer’s conservator, you cannot also be their paid attendant. A different family member can be.
-
✗
A power of attorney who also directs the care
Holding POA does not automatically disqualify you, but you cannot be both the person approving the timesheets and the person being paid on them. Call us and we will sort out who does what.
-
✗
Anyone who fails the background screening
Missouri screens every attendant against the Family Care Safety Registry and the abuse and neglect registries. We run it, and it is the one thing we cannot work around.
The awkward one
What if the obvious person is the spouse?
It is the most common disappointment in CDS, and it is worth knowing early rather than late.
If a husband or wife is already doing all the caring, the program will not pay them. What often works instead: an adult child, a sibling, a niece or nephew, or a friend takes the paid hours for the tasks they genuinely cover, and the spouse stops carrying all of it alone.
Call us before you rule the whole thing out. We have found a workable arrangement for most families who asked, and it costs nothing to talk it through.
Talk it through: 417-218-2888