What Is Structured Family Caregiving In A Home Care Agency?

Structured Family Caregiving (SFC) is a model of care coordinated through state Medicaid Waiver programs or Long-Term Care Insurance plans. 

In this article, we’ll go over more about what the program is, how you might be able to offer this service, and more. 

How does Structured Family Caregiving (SFC) work?

This is one program that is emerging as a solution that helps family caregivers to continue to provide care. This is often done through a state Medicaid waiver program or through a Long Term Care Insurance or LTCI plan. 

Caregiving doesn’t typically come with paid support and this gives family caregivers a structure that enables them to provide quality care while promoting their well-being. SFC promotes aging in place as well. 

What are the criteria for Structured Family Caregiving (SFC)?

Normally, the caregiver has to fit within certain criteria to be eligible to participate in the program to care for their loved one.

Some of the criteria for interested family caregivers include that they:

• Live with the care recipient
• Provide daily support
• May need to participate in training

On the other hand, the care recipient may need to qualify for Medicaid and/or require assistance with their activities of daily living (ADLs), like showering, dressing, or walking. 

The benefits of offering SFC

Typically, caregivers will receive a stipend or payment to offset the costs or time that they spend on caregiving. The amount generally depends on the state, type of care, and what Medicaid program is being tapped. 

This helps to transition the 1 in 5 Americans who provide unpaid care into paid family caregivers, making it easier to manage work, care, and other responsibilities. 

For your home care agency, this can mean quick turnaround times from the first call until the start of care since the match has already been made and you need to only worry about the payment processing side of things, or in legal terms, you would be the “fiscal intermediary.”

Check if your state offers this type of program because it may lead to future client opportunities. Oftentimes, the family caregiver may be shopping around on their loved one’s behalf. This gives you an opportunity to sell your agency and position it in a positive light. 

How some states have put SFC into practice

Indiana, for example, has a Pathways for Aging program helping more than 2 million older adults age in place with the support of a loved one (who isn’t their spouse). 

Massachusetts, for example, has a Massachusetts Adult Foster Care Program, enabling certain caregivers to get paid for the support they provide.

Curious to learn how you can implement this program in your state? Get in touch with our partner, Polsinelli, an industry-specific law firm, to learn more about what you need to do to get started on the right foot. 

Grow your agency while staying on top of trends.

Structured Family Caregiving can be a long-term, profitable opportunity for your home care agency (not to mention that this helps to diversify your payer mix). 

If you don’t already, be sure to ask people when they call for services, how you can care for them too. Family caregivers might not share the whole story, or you just might not know that they’re family caregivers unless you ask. By learning, you may be able to help them get paid for what they already do and show them the steps.

For your agency, on the other hand, the program is relatively low-touch and gives you an opportunity to help offset the burden of family caregiving on a lot of people.