Family Paid Caregiver Pilot Program

Contact Us: familycaregiver@nd.gov

Family members who are legally responsible individuals and provide extraordinary care to either a child or adult who are enrolled in one of the following Medicaid 1915(c) waivers may receive payments from the state.

• Autism Spectrum Disorder Birth Through 17 Waiver
• Children with Medically Fragile Needs Home and Community-Based Services Waiver
• Children’s Hospice Home and Community-Based Services Waiver
• Traditional Individual with Intellectual Disabilities and Developmental Disabilities Home and Community-Based Services Waiver

      Click here to for more information about current Medicaid 1915(c) waivers. 

Senate Bill 2305 provides funding to extend the Family Paid Caregiver Pilot Program for an additional two years with an increased reimbursement rate. While the bill does not specifically authorize new enrollments, applications may be processed in the order received as funds may become available.

What is "extraordinary care"? 

When a family member provides care for someone with medical or behavioral needs that is beyond what a legally responsible individual would typically perform.

Who can apply

You can apply if you are enrolled in one of the listed Medicaid 1915(c) waivers or if you are the legally responsible individual for someone enrolled in one of the waivers. 

Where to apply

You can access and submit an application on the Family Paid Caregiver Portal.

Link to the Portal: https://familycaregiver.hhs.nd.gov/     

Applications are being processed in the order they are received.

How to apply

• Click on the link above to go to the Portal

• Click "Sign in" (top right corner of the webpage) to log into your North Dakota Login account. 

     If you do not have a North Dakota Login account, you will need to create one.

  • Once signed in, it will take you to a “Dashboard”. Here you will enter the information of the family caregiver who is applying to provide the care.
  • Next, move to the “Individuals” tab and click on “Add Individual“. Enter information for the person who is applying to receive the care. Submit this.
  • Lastly, on the “Applications” tab, click on “Add Application”. Select the individual(s) created in the drop down and complete the application questions. Click Submit.
    • Once submitted, “Submitted” with a date and time can be seen on the “Applications”. This means an initial application has been completed for that person.
    • If more that one person in the home applying to receive care, an application must be submitted for each person. Add additional applications by starting with the "Individuals" tab above.

Enrollment process

Once you apply, and your application has been reviewed, a HHS team member will ask you to complete an assessment to determine if the care required meets the definition of extraordinary care for this pilot program.

You will be required to complete a Child Abuse and Neglect Inquiry at that time as well.

Will I get confirmation that my application has been submitted?

You will not receive an email, however you are able to view your application status within the portal. Refer to the information below on application status and status definitions. 

Within the portal, on the applications tab, there will be a status next to the application that you created. There will be a status for each step of the application process. Some statuses you can expect to see and their meaning:

• In Progress - Application has been started, but not submitted
• Submitted (date and time) - Application has been submitted
• In Review - Your application is in initial review
• Pending Assessment - Assessment and Child Abuse & Neglect Background Inquiry has been sent to be completed by a family caregiver
• Assessment Received - The Assessment and Child Abuse & Neglect Background Inquiry have been received and will be reviewed
• Assessment and Background Inquiry in Review - The Assessment and the Child Abuse & Neglect Background Inquiry is being reviewed
• Approved/Denied/Closed/Terminated - final status of application and notice will also be sent
• Waitlist - funding for the pilot program has been allocated, if additional funds become available, you will receive notification by email that an assessment will need to be completed to finalize the eligibility process.

Please see the Frequently Asked Questions tile below for more information on the pilot program and questions that you may have. 

Further questions can be emailed to: familycaregiver@nd.gov