Cash assistance programs have several components:

• Eligibility. If the seniors you're caring for don't already have Medicaid coverage, you can help them apply for Medicaid or another cash assistance program. This means gathering bank, tax, and other records that show how much they have in income and assets. Medicaid (or the other relevant cash assistance program) can then determine if they're financially eligible.
• Assessment. If the seniors you're caring for are financially eligible, the program will come to their residence to assess their in-home care needs. They'll speak with you and other caregivers about the care currently provided, and they may speak to their doctor.
• Determination. Based on the assessment of needs, the Cash and Counseling or other program determines how many monthly hours of in-home care assistance it would approve if the care were coming from an in-home care agency. Using the rate that in-home care workers are paid in the state, it then figures out how much in total it will directly pay to the seniors every month to help with in-home care.
• Plan. The seniors decide who they want to provide the care and how much they'll pay you or other caregivers out of the program's monthly payment. (It has to be at least minimum wage, but it can be any reasonable amount you and they agree on.) They can also decide how else they might want to spend some of the money. The program helps seniors work out this plan, including paperwork and taxes.