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Paying for care
VA Aid and Attendance and Caregiver Benefits
Updated September 16, 2026. Reviewed September 16, 2026 against public CDSS, DHCS, Medicare.gov, VA, and CareScout 2025 California tables. County wages, hours, and wait times still change. Official .gov pages decide.
High-level education on VA Aid and Attendance, Housebound, and family caregiver programs for California families, with official VA links. VA decides eligibility.
About 4 minutes to read. Based on CDSS and DHCS public program pages retrieved 2026-09-16. County offices apply these rules. Hourly rates, hour totals, and wait times are local and change.
Short answer
Veterans and some surviving spouses may have federal pension add-ons such as Aid and Attendance or Housebound. A separate VA program can support eligible family caregivers. Those paths are not county IHSS. VA decides eligibility and amounts. This page does not quote a payment and does not say that a household is eligible.
Who decides
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs decides pension add-ons and caregiver program eligibility. County IHSS and Medi-Cal decide the California home-care case. They are different agencies.
What to do next
If the person who needs care is a Veteran or a surviving spouse, open the official VA Aid and Attendance page and the VA family caregiver page, then ask VA or an accredited representative how to apply. Keep the IHSS packet on its own track if home care in California is still the plan.
Federal benefits sit next to California programs
If a parent is a Veteran, or a surviving spouse of a Veteran, ask about VA benefits early. They do not replace a Medi-Cal determination for IHSS, and they are not decided in a county social-services lobby. Keep a VA folder and a county folder. Put the claim number on the VA folder. Put the Medi-Cal case number on the county folder.
California Home Help explains IHSS. This page only orients you to official VA reading so you do not mix a pension add-on with a county timesheet.
Aid and Attendance and Housebound, in VA’s words
VA’s Aid and Attendance and Housebound page describes monthly amounts that can be added to a VA pension when published tests are met. Examples VA lists include needing help with daily activities such as bathing, feeding, and dressing; spending a large part of the day in bed because of illness; being a patient in a nursing home due to disability; or meeting a specific vision test. Housebound has its own published test. VA says you cannot receive Aid and Attendance and Housebound at the same time.
Those tests are VA’s, not the county Functional Index Rankings. A county IHSS assessment does not approve Aid and Attendance. A VA decision does not authorize IHSS hours. Apply on the track that matches the benefit.
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Questions people ask
- Is Aid and Attendance a paycheck for an adult child?
- VA describes Aid and Attendance as an amount added to a VA pension for eligible Veterans and survivors who need help with daily activities or meet other published tests. It is not the same as IHSS provider wages. VA decides who receives it.
- Can we have VA caregiver support and IHSS together?
- They are different programs. Ask VA about its rules and ask the county about IHSS. Do not assume one application covers both.
- Where do we apply?
- Use the official VA pages linked here. Aid and Attendance uses VA pension forms. The Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers uses VA Form 10-10CG. County IHSS still uses SOC 295.
Official sources for this guide
Related pages on California Home Help
Reviewed against CDSS, DHCS, Medicare.gov, and CareScout public pages. We do not quote IHSS wages. County IHSS offices and Medi-Cal decide eligibility, hours, and pay. For current county wage rates, use the official CDSS wage page. CDSS county IHSS wage rates.
Official program pages: CDSS: In-Home Supportive Services, CDSS: IHSS for children, County IHSS offices, CDSS: IHSS providers, CDSS: county IHSS wage rates, CDSS: provider orientation, CDSS: Electronic Visit Verification, CDSS: Electronic Services Portal, DHCS: Medi-Cal, Apply for Medi-Cal, BenefitsCal, CDSS: hearing requests, CDSS: forms catalog, CDSS: IHSS overtime and workweek, DDS: regional centers.