Who Can Be a Paid Caregiver Under Missouri CDS?

One of the first questions families ask about Consumer Directed Services is simple: "Wait — can I actually be the one who gets paid?" The answer, for a lot of people, is yes. But there are a few rules worth understanding up front.

Family and friends can be attendants

This is the heart of what makes CDS different. The person receiving care gets to choose their own attendant, and that choice very often lands on someone close to them — an adult child, a grandchild, a sibling, a niece or nephew, a longtime friend, or a trusted neighbor. If you're already the person showing up every day, CDS is designed to let you keep doing exactly that, as a paid attendant.

The basic requirements to be an attendant

To be hired as a paid attendant, a person generally needs to be at least 18 years old, be legally allowed to work in the United States, pass the required background screening, and complete the program's enrollment paperwork and training.

The two exceptions most people ask about

There are a couple of relationships Missouri's CDS program does not allow to be paid attendants. A spouse cannot be paid to care for their husband or wife under CDS, and a legal guardian cannot be paid to care for the person they are the guardian of. If that's your situation, don't count yourself out — there may be other paths or another family member who can serve as the attendant. It's worth a quick conversation to sort out.

"But I'm already doing this for free"

That's exactly the point. Most attendants under CDS were already providing care long before they got paid for it. The program isn't asking you to take on something new — it's recognizing work you're already doing and putting it on the books, with proper pay, taxes, and support behind it.

Not sure where you fall?

Every family's situation is a little different, and the fastest way to get a clear answer is to ask. Reach out to Specialist In Care and we'll tell you honestly whether you — or someone in your family — can be the paid attendant, and what the next step looks like.