Structured Family Care (SFC) is a Georgia Medicaid-funded program that helps eligible patients remain safely at home while a qualified family member provides their daily care. The caregiver receives training, support, and financial support, while the patient benefits from consistent care at home instead of relying on a traditional home care agency or moving to a nursing facility.

Yes. This program requires active Georgia Medicaid coverage. Medicare alone does not qualify. If you don’t have Medicaid but think you may be eligible, call (706) 786-3041 and we can help.

Yes. If you have Georgia Medicaid, you are eligible to apply.

No. SFC will not change your Medicaid plan. It just adds support so your family can help care for you safely at home.

Help with everyday activities such as bathing and personal hygiene, dressing and grooming, meals, mobility and transfer assistance, medication reminders, housekeeping, companionship, and safety observation.

Yes. You can switch to Freedom Adult Care if you want your care provided by a family member. The transition keeps your approved hours the same and simply moves them to your chosen caregiver.

18 or older.

A family member — biological or by marriage (such as an adult child, sibling, daughter-in-law, or grandchild) — who lives in the same household as the care recipient and passes a satisfactory background check (funded by the program). Spouses and legal guardians are not eligible to be paid caregivers under Georgia’s SFC program.

Yes. The caregiver and care recipient must live at the same address.

No. In Georgia, spouses and legal guardians are not eligible to be paid caregivers under the SFC program.

No. As the caregiver, you cannot have other employment, nor can you go to school full-time outside of your caregiving responsibilities.

Caregivers receive payment by direct deposit on a regular schedule — weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly, depending on program arrangements.

Pay rates are set by Georgia Medicaid based on the care recipient’s assessed needs and are paid on a regular schedule, generally tax-free. Call us for a free eligibility check and we can give you a clearer picture for your situation.

Most caregivers do not, thanks to the IRS difficulty-of-care exclusion (IRS Notice 2014-7) for Medicaid waiver payments. We recommend confirming with a tax professional for your specific situation.

These are Georgia Medicaid home and community-based services waivers that fund Structured Family Care. Your loved one must be enrolled in one of these waivers (or be eligible) to participate.

Generally, the care recipient must need a nursing-home level of care — an assessed need of about 5 or more hours of personal support per day.

Freedom Adult Care serves 20 counties in the Columbus, GA region: Bibb, Chattahoochee, Clay, Dougherty, Harris, Houston, Lee, Macon, Marion, Meriwether, Muscogee, Quitman, Randolph, Schley, Stewart, Sumter, Talbot, Taylor, Troup, and Webster.

Yes. Muscogee County, including Columbus, is one of the core counties Freedom Adult Care serves for Structured Family Care.

Call (706) 786-3041 for a free eligibility check (10–15 minutes). From there, we help verify Medicaid/CCSP or SOURCE waiver eligibility, run the caregiver’s background check (paid for by the program), provide required training, and get you started on weekly tax-free pay. See our full Structured Family Care guide for the complete step-by-step process.