Key Takeaways
- The Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPAP) is a New York State Medicaid program that lets eligible CDPAP consumers hire family members or friends as their personal assistants.
- As of April 1, 2025, the New York State Department of Health transitioned CDPAP from a network of more than 600 fiscal intermediaries to a single statewide fiscal intermediary: Public Partnerships LLC (PPL). Every CDPAP consumer and every personal assistant now registers with PPL and gets paid through PPL.
- CDPAP personal assistants are paid weekly, on Thursdays, based on PPL’s timesheet schedule. Pay typically ranges from $16 to $21+ per hour depending on the region.
- A consumer’s spouse cannot serve as their paid personal assistant. A parent cannot be paid to care for a child under 21.
- Friends & Family Home Care is a New York–licensed home care services agency. We are not a fiscal intermediary. If CDPAP isn’t the right fit after the transition, we offer agency-supported home care services through our HHA and PCA programs.
What Is CDPAP?
The Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPAP) is a New York State Medicaid program that allows Medicaid recipients who need home care services to choose their own caregivers. Unlike traditional home care, where a home care agency assigns a home health aide or personal care aide, the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program puts the consumer in charge: CDPAP consumers recruit, hire, train, schedule, and supervise their own personal assistants.
Personal assistants can be friends or family members (with limits, described below). The program is designed for Medicaid recipients with chronic illnesses, physical disabilities, or other conditions that require assistance with daily living activities or skilled nursing services that a non-licensed caregiver can be trained to perform.
“CDPAP” stands for the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program. You’ll also see the term “CDPAS” — Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Services — used interchangeably in older NY State documents and on some CDPAP agency websites.
What Changed in 2025: The CDPAP Transition to PPL
Through 2024, CDPAP services in NY were administered by more than 600 fiscal intermediaries — independent organizations that handled payroll, benefits, and compliance for personal assistants. In the 2024 New York State budget, the legislature authorized the Department of Health to consolidate the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program under a single statewide fiscal intermediary, replacing the prior network of fiscal intermediaries.
On April 1, 2025, that consolidation took effect. Public Partnerships LLC (PPL), doing business in NY as PPL@Home, became the sole statewide fiscal intermediary for CDPAP. Every CDPAP consumer and every personal assistant who was previously enrolled with another fiscal intermediary needed to register directly with PPL to continue receiving services and getting paid.
Local CDPAP facilitators — community-based organizations across the state — now help CDPAP consumers with enrollment, CDPAP transition paperwork, and questions about the program. Facilitators do not handle pay; payroll runs through PPL. Consumers can contact PPL directly through the PPL@Home portal, or contact PPL through a local CDPAP facilitator, who handles registration assistance and any CDPAP agency questions consumers have during transition.
For an outside perspective on what changed for CDPAP consumers, see Legal Services NYC’s transition guide.
How CDPAP Works Today
Under the post-transition model, the CDPAP process for new consumers follows three steps:
1. Medicaid health assessment
The consumer’s medical need for home care is documented by a Medicaid-enrolled physician, and the consumer is assessed by a New York Independent Assessor or a nurse from their Managed Long Term Care (MLTC) plan. The assessment determines the number of hours of care that CDPAP consumers are approved for, and whether they require skilled nursing services in addition to assistance with daily living tasks.
2. Registration with PPL
Consumers register with PPL@Home and list the personal assistants they want to hire. Each personal assistant completes a PPL registration session, which includes onboarding paperwork, a medical screening, and enrollment in the Time4Care timekeeping system. A local CDPAP facilitator can help CDPAP consumers with this step at no cost.
3. Starting paid care
Once PPL approves the CDPAP consumer and the personal assistants, services begin. Personal assistants log hours through Time4Care, the consumer (or their designated representative) approves the timesheets, and PPL pays the personal assistant directly.
CDPAP Eligibility Requirements
To enroll in CDPAP in New York State, a consumer must meet these eligibility requirements:
- Be eligible for New York Medicaid (or already enrolled).
- Need help with activities of daily living, skilled nursing services, or both — verified through a health assessment.
- Be able to self-direct their own care, or have a designated representative (a friend or family member) who can direct care on their behalf.
Most CDPAP consumers are chronically ill or physically disabled individuals whose medical need has been documented by a Medicaid-enrolled physician. Many consumers come into the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program after a hospital stay, after a new diagnosis, or as they age in place. The CDPAP program is available statewide, and eligibility requirements are the same in New York City, on Long Island, in the Hudson Valley, and upstate. If you live in a managed long term care (MLTC) plan area, your MLTC plan coordinates the assessment for the CDPAP program.
What if I don’t have Medicaid?
CDPAP is a Medicaid program. If you are not currently enrolled in Medicaid, you can apply for New York Medicaid through your local department of social services or through the NY State of Health marketplace. You cannot receive CDPAP services without first qualifying for Medicaid.
Does Medicare cover CDPAP?
No. Medicare does not cover CDPAP. Medicare may cover short-term, skilled home health services after a hospital stay, but it does not pay caregivers for consumer-directed personal care services.
Maximum Hours for CDPAP in NYC
The number of CDPAP hours a consumer receives is set by the health assessment, not by a flat cap. Most CDPAP consumers receive between 5 and 12 hours of care per day. Consumers with high medical needs can be approved for 24-hour live-in or split-shift care if the assessment supports it.
Hours are renewed annually through a reassessment. If a CDPAP consumer’s needs change between assessments, they (or their designated representative) can request an earlier reassessment through their MLTC plan or local department of social services.
Who Can Be a CDPAP Personal Assistant?
CDPAP personal assistants can be friends or family members, with these limits:
- Cannot: a Medicaid member’s spouse cannot be paid as their personal assistant.
- Cannot: a parent cannot be paid to care for their own child if the child is under 21.
- Can: adult children, siblings, other relatives, and unrelated friends can be hired as caregivers.
- Can: a parent can be paid to care for an adult child (21 or older) under CDPAP.
Immigration status: a CDPAP personal assistant must be authorized to work in the United States. A green card or work authorization is sufficient; U.S. citizenship is not required.
Do personal assistants need prior training or certification?
No license or certification is required to be a CDPAP personal assistant. Personal assistants are trained by the consumer or their designated representative, since CDPAP is built around consumer-directed care. PPL provides onboarding orientation and Time4Care training, but it does not certify personal assistants as home health aides. Consumers retain full responsibility for training, scheduling, and supervising their caregivers.
How Much Does CDPAP Pay in New York?
Under the consolidated statewide fiscal intermediary model, CDPAP pay rates vary by region. Personal assistants in New York typically get paid between $16 and $21+ per hour, with higher rates in New York City and lower rates upstate. Rates can rise above this range for live-in or overnight assignments.
Because PPL is now the sole statewide fiscal intermediary, there is no longer a “highest-paying CDPAP agency” to shop between. Pay rates are set by PPL according to the consumer’s MLTC plan and the consumer’s region, not by competing CDPAP agencies.
How do CDPAP personal assistants get paid?
CDPAP personal assistants get paid through Time4Care, PPL’s mobile timekeeping app. Consumers approve hours and personal assistants get paid on a weekly cycle:
- Time entries due: by 11:59 p.m. ET on Saturday.
- Consumer approval: by 12:00 p.m. (noon) ET on Sunday.
- Pay date: Thursday of the following week, via direct deposit or pay card.
Overtime pay applies to hours worked over 40 in a workweek, at time-and-a-half of the personal assistant’s regular rate.
Is CDPAP income tax exempt?
CDPAP pay is taxable wage income reported on a W-2. The one exception is the “live-in” exemption for personal assistants who live in the same household as the Medicaid consumer they care for — those wages may be excluded from federal income tax under IRS Notice 2014-7. Consult a tax professional if you think the live-in exemption may apply.
Is CDPAP Closing in NY?
No. CDPAP did not close. On April 1, 2025, the state consolidated all CDPAP fiscal intermediaries under a single statewide fiscal intermediary — PPL — but the program itself continues. Consumers who were enrolled with one of the previous fiscal intermediaries needed to register with PPL to keep receiving services and getting paid, but the program’s eligibility rules, hourly rate framework, and consumer-directed model did not change. CDPAP agency operations were folded into PPL or wound down; consumers themselves stayed in the program.
If your previous CDPAP agency closed or stopped operating in the state, contact PPL directly or work with a local CDPAP facilitator to re-register.
How Do I Apply for CDPAP?
For consumers applying to CDPAP in New York:
- Confirm Medicaid eligibility. Apply for Medicaid first if you aren’t already enrolled.
- Request a health assessment. If you’re already in an MLTC plan, contact your managed long term care plan to request a CDPAP assessment. If you aren’t in an MLTC plan, contact the NY Independent Assessor through your local department of social services.
- Choose your personal assistants. Identify the family members or friends you want to hire as caregivers. They must be willing to register with PPL and pass a PPL medical screening.
- Register with PPL. Consumers and their personal assistants register with PPL@Home. A local CDPAP facilitator can help with paperwork.
- Begin care. Once PPL clears the personal assistants, services begin and timesheets run through Time4Care.
For NY State’s official program information, see the New York State Department of Health CDPAP page.
CDPAP vs. PCA Through Friends & Family Home Care
The CDPAP program is not the only path to paid home care services in New York. Friends & Family Home Care is a licensed home care services agency (LHCSA). If CDPAP doesn’t fit your situation — for example, if you can’t or don’t want to manage your own personal assistant, or if the family member you’d want as a caregiver isn’t available — you can receive care through our agency-supported HHA (Home Health Aide) or PCA (Personal Care Assistant) programs instead.
The main differences between CDPAP and agency home care services:
- CDPAP: CDPAP consumers hire, train, and supervise their own personal assistant; PPL handles payroll.
- HHA / PCA through Friends & Family: we recruit, train, and assign a caregiver; we handle scheduling, supervision, and payroll. Each caregiver completes state-approved HHA or PCA certification.
Both options are Medicaid-funded for eligible consumers. The choice depends on how much management responsibility the CDPAP consumer or their family wants to take on. Learn more about our HHA and PCA services.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I become a paid caregiver for a family member in NY?
Become a CDPAP personal assistant: have the Medicaid-enrolled family member you’ll care for designate you on their PPL enrollment, complete a PPL medical screening and registration session, and start logging hours through Time4Care. You cannot be paid through CDPAP if you are the consumer’s spouse, or if the consumer is your child under 21.
What is the highest-paying CDPAP agency?
Under the post-April-2025 model, there is one statewide fiscal intermediary (PPL), so there is no longer a pay-rate comparison between CDPAP agencies. Pay is set by PPL according to the consumer’s region and MLTC plan.
Can I get paid to take care of my parents?
Yes. An adult child can be paid to care for a Medicaid-enrolled parent under CDPAP, provided the parent qualifies for the program and chooses to hire the child as their personal assistant.
Can I get paid to take care of my sibling, my friend, or another relative?
Yes. CDPAP allows consumers to hire siblings, more distant relatives, and unrelated friends as personal assistants. The only blanket restrictions are spouses and parents caring for minor children.
Apply for PCA Training with Friends & Family Home Care
If you want to start a paid caregiving career and CDPAP isn’t the right fit — for example, you don’t have a Medicaid-enrolled family member to provide care for — Friends & Family Home Care offers PCA training and placement. Our home care services agency operates throughout New York State and works with consumers and caregivers across the five boroughs and beyond. Call 1 (866) 284-3236 or contact us to get started.
