Your father spent 22 years in the Army, and he’s never liked strangers telling him what to do. Now, at 81, he needs help bathing and getting meals together. He’d rather that help come from people he already knows. Balancing his pride with what he needs now can feel impossible. The Veteran Directed Care program was built for veterans like him, because it hands the veteran a budget and lets him pick who to hire.
What the Veteran Directed Care Program Pays For
Veteran Directed Care works differently from most VA home services. According to the VA, it’s for veterans of all ages who need help with daily tasks like bathing and getting dressed. Instead of the VA sending an agency, he gets a flexible budget for services. He can run that budget himself or choose someone to do it for him. That money can pay for personal care aides, help with meals, and other services that keep him living at home.
Some veterans use part of the budget for home care services from an agency and part for a neighbor or relative. That mix can cover weekday mornings with a trained caregiver and evenings with someone he already trusts. A copay may apply, depending on his eligibility. Some programs also let the budget cover goods, like a shower chair, when the VA approves them.
Veteran Directed Care takes the place of other VA home services, like homemaker and home health aide visits or in-home respite. A veteran usually picks one route or the other. His care team can lay the options side by side before he decides.
Who Qualifies
VA rules set a short list of conditions. Enrollment in VA health care comes first, along with eligibility for community care. He also has to meet the clinical criteria for the service, and his VA medical center has to offer the program. In practice, his VA care team has to agree that he needs daily help and could end up in a nursing home without it.
This program is separate from the VA’s caregiver program for veterans with serious service-connected injuries. That program has its own rules about whether a spouse can be a VA caregiver and receive a stipend. Some households look into both, since a veteran may qualify for one and not the other.
Where Northern Virginia Veterans Can Find It
The Veteran Directed Care program isn’t offered at every VA medical center. Each center partners with a local aging or disability agency to run it, so access depends on where he gets his VA care. In Virginia, Bay Aging runs the program for veterans referred by participating VA medical centers. One of those is the Martinsburg VA Medical Center, which serves northwestern Virginia through clinics in Winchester and Harrisonburg.
A veteran who uses the Washington DC VA Medical Center can ask a social worker there whether the center takes part. That same social worker can say which agency runs enrollment. Medical centers add the program over time, so a direct question gets a better answer than an old list on a website.
For a Northern Virginia veteran, the drive to Martinsburg or Washington can also help him meet community care eligibility. That eligibility is one of the Veteran Directed Care program’s requirements, so a long drive is one more reason to ask.
Hiring a Daughter, a Neighbor, or an Agency
Bay Aging’s program materials say veterans can use the budget to hire and supervise their own workers, including family or friends. A daughter who already stops by every morning might get paid for those hours. A retired neighbor who plays cards with him every week could cover an afternoon of company and lunch. Workers hired through the program may need a background check and a signed agreement about duties and pay.
Some veterans want a trained caregiver for the hands-on parts of the day. A caregiver providing personal care can help with bathing and dressing, which some veterans don’t want a family member doing. Splitting the work that way can keep his daughter from turning into a full-time aide.
Whoever he hires, a backup worker helps. If his daughter gets the flu, someone else needs to know his routine and his medications. A one-week trial with any new worker also shows whether the fit is right before anyone commits.
Being the Boss Comes With Paperwork
Directing his own care means signing timesheets and keeping track of hours. A financial agent works with the program to run payroll and taxes, so he doesn’t have to run a business out of his kitchen. On top of that, a program coordinator checks in to review the budget and his needs. Any hours beyond the budget usually need approval ahead of time. A family member can sign on as his representative if he’d rather skip the paperwork.
When the Veteran Directed Care Program Isn’t Enough
The VA sets his budget from his assessed needs, and it won’t always cover every hour he wants. A veteran who lives alone may still face long afternoons with nobody around. For those stretches, some households add private companion care, like a drive to the VFW post or someone to eat dinner with. Others lean on a church group or a weekly veterans’ breakfast to fill out his week.
His needs can also change after a fall or a hospital stay. His VA team can reassess his budget when that happens. Calling the social worker right away keeps him from going weeks with less help than he needs.
Giving the Family Caregiver a Break
A daughter who works full time and covers his evenings can run out of steam. With respite care a few times a month, she gets a weekend to herself while someone else covers his routine. Some veterans also set aside part of their program budget for respite, with approval from the VA team. Booking those days a month ahead keeps them from getting pushed aside when the week gets busy.
Veteran Directed Care Program: Common Questions
Can he use the Veteran Directed Care program and still see his VA doctors?
Yes. This program covers help at home, and he keeps his regular VA medical care. His primary care team stays involved, since it makes the referral and reviews his needs.
Can he change who he hires later?
He can. A veteran can bring on a new worker or stop working with one as his needs change, once the coordinator updates his plan. Plenty of veterans start with an agency and add a relative later, after they see how the budget works.
What if the program isn’t offered at his VA medical center?
His VA team can still set up homemaker and home health aide services through an approved agency. Those hours follow a more standard schedule, but they can cover the same bathing and meal help.
Questions to Bring to the VA Social Worker
A short list helps the visit go faster. First on the list is whether his VA medical center takes part in Veteran Directed Care and which agency runs it. Next comes what clinical information the team needs for a referral. Writing down the people he’d want to hire lets the social worker move straight to how the budget would work. Bringing his VA ID and a current medication list can save a second trip.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Veteran-Directed Care.
- Bay Aging. Veterans Independence Programs Brochure.