Eligible Clients 650-25-45-05
(Revised 06/01/2025 ML #3920)
The Older Americans Act requires all caregivers shall meet one of the following criteria:
Adult family members or other informal caregivers age 18 and older providing care to an individual(s) age 60 and older.
Adult family members or other informal caregivers age 18 and older providing care to an individual(s) of any age with Alzheimer's disease or related disorder.
Older relatives (not the parents) age 55 and older who provide care to child(ren) under 18 years of age.
Older relatives (including the parents) age 55 and older providing care to an adult(s) with a disability who is between 18 and 59 years of age.
Additional North Dakota participation criteria:
Caregiver shall reside with the care recipient on a full-time basis. The residence cannot be an institutional setting or an assisted living setting.
Caregiver shall be providing 24-hour care and does not have assistance from another caregiver living in the same home.
A respite provider must not reside in the same home as the care recipient.
Care recipients shall have limitations in two or more activities of daily living (ADL) or cognitive impairment which makes it unsafe for them to be left alone. The ADL impairment requirement does not apply to children ages 18 and under.
Care recipient shall not be able to be left alone safely for more than two consecutive hours per day.
Caregiver shall not be private paying for services that provide relief from direct care and/or supervision for more than sixteen hours per week. This eligibility requirement is waived if the hours are for the purpose of the caregiver being able to sleep.
Caregiver shall not receive more than sixteen hours a week or more of in-home support services (such as personal cares, housekeeping, etc.) from a third-party payor that offers respite, for example, hospice services, long-term care insurance, Veteran’s Administration, etc.
Caregiver shall have a need for respite on an intermittent or occasional basis. The FCSP is not a subsidy to pay for supplemental services, homemaking services, or personal cares for the care recipient.
FCSP is not a subsidy to provide the caregiver with a second person to assist with cares of the care recipient. Funding must be used to provide a break for the caregiver.
Caregiver shall not be receiving reimbursement from any sources to care for the care recipient, for example, family members, third party payer, etc.
The caregiver has the responsibility to check their long-term insurance benefits to determine if there is eligibility through long term care policies prior to enrollment in FCSP. If the long-term care policy does not include a respite benefit and they do not exceed 16 hours of other support services under the long-term care insurance plan, they may be eligible for FCSP.
If a caregiver is employed and working 16 hours or more per week, they do not qualify for FCSP.
If a care recipient may be eligible or is determined eligible to receive services as part of a public pay program but refuses to apply or chooses not to access those services, the caregiver is not eligible for the FCSP.
For the caregiver of a care recipient who is eligible or determined eligible for Service Programs for the Elderly and Disabled (SPED), the caregiver may be eligible for the NDFCSP if the only service they are seeking is respite care. Care needs of the care recipient shall not exceed the standards for service delivery and allowable tasks/activities for providers as contained in the “Individual Qualified Service Provider Handbook”.
Care needs of the care recipient shall not exceed the standards for service delivery and allowable tasks/activities for providers as contained in the “Individual Qualified Service Provider Handbook” or the ”ND Family Caregiver Support Program (NDFCSP) – Handbook for Respite Care Providers.”
Exception Criteria
The NDFCSP Program Administrator may grant approval for caregivers to be enrolled in the FCSP to address special, unusual, or unique caregiving situations.
