Program Description
The Attendant Services Program (ASP) is designed for disabled Vermont residents who require assistance to manage their activities of daily living. Policymakers designed it to help persons remain living in their homes and avoid institutional (nursing home) placement. The participant is responsible for hiring, training, and managing their own care providers and receives financial assistance in order to pay for that care. This type of program is also referred to as “consumer-directed.”
Friends, neighbors, and family members can be hired to provide attendant care services. This means the adult children of aging parents who require assistance can be paid to be caregivers. Spouses, civil union partners, and legal guardians are excluded from being paid in this program. Caregivers are paid a Medicaid-approved hourly rate.
Although this program is intended to help participants avoid nursing home placement, program regulations do not allow for participants to reside in group living environments, such as adult foster care homes or assisted living residences. Rather, program participants must reside in their own home or the home of a loved one. If a senior or disabled individual is looking for care in another living environment, the Choices for Care program might be a good option.
To help avoid confusion, it is worth noting that there are two possible funding sources for the Attendant Services Program: General Fund and Medicaid. Currently, the General Fund spending is frozen for the program. But services may still be obtained for those eligible for Medicaid.
Eligibility Guidelines
General Requirements
The eligibility requirements for the Attendant Services Program vary slightly depending on which source of funding is used. Regardless of funding source, program participants must be at least 18 years of age and meet functional and financial requirements. Functionally, persons must have a disability and require assistance managing at least two of their activities of daily living.
Financial Requirements
Financially, persons must be eligible for Vermont Medicaid (Green Mountain Care) or nearly eligible. Both income and assets are considered.
Income Limits
As of 2024, single and married applicants must have less than the allowed Protected Income Level (PIL) of $1,300 per month (or $1,408 in Chittenden County).
Asset Limits
For 2024, single applicants are permitted up to $2,000 in countable resources, while a couple is permitted $3,000. Worth noting is that one’s home is exempt, given the applicant or their spouse lives in the home and their equity interest is under $713,000. Household furnishings and a vehicle can also be excluded from the countable resource calculation.
Over the Financial Limits?
Persons over the income limit need not be discouraged, as Vermont has a medically needy pathway to eligibility. This is often referred to as a Spend Down Program or Cost of Share program. In an overly simplified explanation, persons who have high medical bills in relation to their income are able to deduct their medical expenses, including Medicare premiums, from their monthly income. Once one has spent their income down to the medically needy income limit, he or she will be eligible for Medicaid for the remainder of the “spend down” period.
There are many exceptions to the income and asset limits. Working with a professional Medicaid Planner can help individuals restructure their income and assets using trusts to ensure their eligibility for the Attendant Services Program. More information can be found here.
Benefits and Services
The Attendant Services Program provides self-directed, personal assistance with the activities and instrumental activities of daily living. All of the following activities are possible, though not everyone will be approved to receive assistance with each of them.
- Bathing
- Dressing / Undressing
- Toileting
- Grooming / Personal Hygiene
- Eating
- Bed / In-Home Mobility Assistance
- Transferring / Positioning
- Meal Planning / Preparation
- Medication Administration
- Housekeeping (mopping, dusting, taking out the garbage, changing sheets, vacuuming, etc.)
- Laundry
- Shopping for Groceries and Essentials
How to Apply / Learn More
One can learn more about the program from the Vermont Department of Disabilities, Aging & Independent Living webpage. Alternatively, one can call the Adult Services Division at 802-241-0298 for more information. The program’s regulations are available here, but be forewarned, these are not written for a consumer audience.
Call 802-595-4917 to get help with applying. Or download an application and mail it to:
Attendant Services Program
Department of Disabilities, Aging and Independent Living
200 Veterans Memorial Drive, Suite 6
Bennington, VT 05201
