Adult Day Care and Paid Family Caregiving: How to Use Both Programs Together
3 weeksOne of the most practical — and most underused — care planning strategies for Pennsylvania families is combining adult day care with paid family caregiving under Medicaid. These two programs aren’t competing alternatives; they’re designed to serve different hours of the day. Together, they create a complete care schedule that keeps your loved one at home, surrounded by family, while ensuring professional oversight during the hours when family caregivers are working or unavailable.
How the Two Programs Work Separately
Adult Day Care at SarahCare
SarahCare Adult Day Center in Jenkintown provides structured daytime care on weekdays, typically 7 AM to 6 PM. Participants receive health monitoring, therapeutic programming, meals, and social engagement in a licensed facility setting. For Medicaid-eligible participants, this care is funded through Community HealthChoices (CHC) at no cost to the family. For eligible veterans, VA benefits may cover the cost.
Paid Family Caregiving Through Medicaid
Pennsylvania’s Community HealthChoices waiver and related Medicaid programs allow eligible family members to become paid W-2 caregivers for their loved ones — providing personal care, supervision, and support for the hours not covered by other programs. This arrangement allows a spouse, adult child, sibling, or other family member to be compensated for the caregiving they are already providing.
CareChoice Home Care, SarahCare’s sister organization, specializes in helping Pennsylvania families access paid family caregiver status under Medicaid. For more information on how paid family caregiving works in Pennsylvania, visit CareChoice at carechoice.com/pennsylvania.
What a Combined Care Schedule Looks Like
A family using both programs might structure a typical weekday as follows:
- Morning (6:00 – 7:30 AM): The paid family caregiver — who may be an adult child, spouse, or other relative — helps with waking, personal care, dressing, and breakfast
- Weekday daytime (7:30 AM – 5:30 PM): SarahCare transportation picks up the participant; they spend the day at SarahCare receiving structured care, meals, therapy, and social activities
- Evening (5:30 – 9:00 PM): The paid family caregiver provides dinner, personal care, medication assistance, and companionship
- Weekends: The paid family caregiver provides full-day coverage, supported by Medicaid authorization for their hours of service
In Our Experience at SarahCare
Families who combine both programs often tell us it’s the first time the care arrangement has actually felt sustainable. The adult day program handles the hardest part of the day — the long, unstructured weekday hours when the care recipient is most at risk and the family caregiver is least available. The paid family caregiver handles the mornings, evenings, and weekends when their own schedule allows for it. The two programs weren’t designed together, but they fit together naturally.
How Medicaid Handles the Two Programs
Both adult day care and paid family caregiving are funded through Pennsylvania’s Community HealthChoices waiver, but they are separate line items in the care plan and serve different functions. Adult day care is a facility-based service authorized through the participant’s MCO. Paid family caregiving is a consumer-directed personal care service administered through a home care agency like CareChoice.
A well-designed care plan through a CHC Service Coordinator can include both. Families do not have to choose between the programs — they are designed to be used in combination.
Frequently Asked Questions
| Can I use both adult day care and paid family caregiving?
Yes. Adult day care through Community HealthChoices and paid family caregiving through Medicaid serve different hours of the day. A CHC care plan can include both services. |
| What is paid family caregiving?
Paid family caregiving allows eligible family members to become compensated W-2 caregivers for their Medicaid-enrolled loved one, providing personal care and support during hours not covered by facility-based programs like adult day care. |
| How do SarahCare and CareChoice work together?
SarahCare provides weekday daytime adult day health care. CareChoice Home Care helps families access paid family caregiver status for in-home care during the remaining hours. Families can use both programs as part of a coordinated CHC care plan. |
Ready to Learn More?
Schedule a free tour of SarahCare Adult Day Center in Jenkintown.
Call us: 215-999-1200 or contact us here.
Written by Gary Murray | Chief Marketing Officer, CareChoice & SarahCare
Gary Murray is the CMO of both CareChoice Home Care and SarahCare Adult Day Center, giving him a unique perspective on how in-home family caregiving and adult day programs can work together within Pennsylvania’s Medicaid system.
