Structured Family Caregiving in Harris County, Georgia

If you’re looking after an aging parent or a disabled family member in Hamilton, Pine Mountain, Waverly Hall, Cataula or anywhere else in Harris County, Georgia Medicaid may be able to pay you for that care. The program is called Structured Family Care, and Freedom Adult Care provides it from just down the road in Columbus.

Getting Paid to Care for a Loved One in Harris County

Harris County families already know the drill: most things mean a drive to Columbus: the specialists, the hospital, the pharmacy that has the right thing in stock. When a parent needs daily help, that math gets harder. Home care agencies are reluctant to send an aide out to a house on a county road twice a day, and the ones that will often can’t staff it reliably.

Structured Family Care sidesteps the problem completely, because the caregiver already lives in the house. There’s no aide to schedule, no one driving out from town, and no gap when the agency can’t cover a shift. You’re the one providing the care, and the program trains, supports and pays you for it. You get a weekly stipend, generally tax-free, for what you’re likely already doing.

Freedom Adult Care is based on Macon Road in Columbus, about half an hour from Hamilton. We’re family-owned and have served this part of Georgia for over 23 years, so Harris County isn’t a pin on a service-area map to us.

Who Qualifies in Harris County

Georgia Medicaid sets these requirements statewide:

• Your loved one has active Georgia Medicaid and is enrolled in the CCSP or SOURCE waiver
• They need a nursing-home level of care, generally 5 or more hours of personal support a day
• You and your loved one live at the same address
• You’re a family member by blood or marriage, but not their spouse or legal guardian
• You’re 18 or older and pass a background check, paid for by the program

The full Structured Family Care guide covers each of these in detail, and our FAQs handle the questions that come up most.

How Harris County Families Start the Process

Structured Family Care runs on top of a Georgia Medicaid waiver, so the first step is getting your loved one assessed and enrolled in CCSP or SOURCE. For Harris County, that assessment goes through the River Valley Area Agency on Aging, the same Columbus-based office that covers Muscogee, Talbot, Marion and eleven other counties across west Georgia.

To begin, call Georgia’s Aging and Disability Resource Connection at 1-866-552-4464 and they’ll route you to River Valley. Or call us first. A ten-minute conversation will tell you whether this is worth pursuing at all, and if it is, we’ll walk you through the assessment step. No charge, no obligation.

If your loved one already has CCSP or SOURCE coverage and an outside aide is coming to the house, those approved hours can move to you instead. You don’t start from scratch.

Serving Hamilton, Pine Mountain and Surrounding Communities

We work with families across Harris County: Hamilton, Pine Mountain, Waverly Hall, Shiloh, Cataula, Ellerslie and Fortson, along with the smaller communities in between. We also serve neighboring Columbus and Muscogee County to the south and Troup County to the north, plus 17 other counties across west and middle Georgia.

Questions from Harris County Families

Do I have to drive to Columbus for any of this?
Not for the caregiving. That all happens in your own home. Your loved one’s Medicaid waiver assessment is handled by the River Valley Area Agency on Aging, and caregiver training and support are things we arrange around you rather than the other way around. Ask us what your specific case would involve; the answer is usually “less than you’d think.”

My parent lives on family land outside Hamilton and won’t consider moving. Is that a problem?
It’s the opposite of a problem. It is the entire point of the program. Structured Family Care exists so people can stay in their own home instead of moving into a facility. What matters is that the caregiver lives at that same address, not where the address is.

I moved in with my mother to take care of her. Does that count?
Yes, as long as you share the residence. The program doesn’t require that you lived together beforehand. Moving in specifically to provide care is a common path into Structured Family Care, not an obstacle to it.

Talk to Someone About Your Family

A free eligibility conversation runs about 10 to 15 minutes. We’ll give you a straight answer about whether Structured Family Care fits your situation, including when it doesn’t.