Arlington County, Virginia
Home Care and Paid Family Caregiving in Arlington County
For Arlington families, a useful care plan connects everyday needs, personal goals and existing support coordination. Start with what the person wants to do at home and where assistance is needed.
Virginia guidance · Reviewed
Connect with Arlington Developmental Services.
Arlington Developmental Services works with children and adults in the county and lists a duty worker at 703-228-1700. Its page includes an application in English and Spanish and information about eligibility and services.
If your family is new to DD services, ask how to start an assessment. If services are already open, tell the duty worker or your support coordinator that you are considering a personal-care arrangement.
Use support coordination to connect the pieces.
Arlington describes support coordination as help with assessments, identifying services and developing a person-centered plan. Its guide also explains the DD waivers.
Bring the person’s goals into that conversation: the routines they want to do more independently, which supports are already working and where hands-on help is missing. Ask how any new paid family caregiver arrangement fits the existing service plan.
Local support is separate from a Medicaid authorization.
Arlington’s Developmental Services page also describes Family Support funds for eligible families’ extraordinary disability-related costs. Ask the county about the current criteria and availability.
Local assistance and Medicaid-paid personal care have different rules. Being eligible for one resource does not establish a paid LRI role or guarantee another service.
Home care options for your family.
Care goals may include safer daily routines, rebuilding mobility, communicating more easily or living with memory changes. First Choice’s established services offer several paths to discuss alongside a family caregiver inquiry.
Explore the services below, then ask First Choice to confirm current local availability, staffing, clinical requirements and coverage for the care you need. A service page or local guide is not confirmation that a particular service is available for your address or plan.
Already caring for a family member?
Virginia Medicaid may allow an eligible family member to provide authorized personal care as a paid caregiver. For the parent or guardian of a minor, the LRI rules focus on extraordinary hands-on ADL needs beyond what is typically expected for a child of the same age. A diagnosis alone does not establish eligibility.
A qualifying paid LRI may receive up to 40 reimbursable hours per week for a child, subject to assessment, the care plan, authorization and applicable program rules. General supervision and ordinary parenting alone do not qualify. Ask how the LRI respite restriction affects any existing care arrangement.
Questions families ask.
Who can help me start a DD services conversation in Arlington?
Arlington Developmental Services lists a duty worker at 703-228-1700 and application materials in English and Spanish. Ask which eligibility assessment or existing-service review fits the person’s situation.
Should I involve our current Arlington support coordinator?
Yes. A support coordinator can help connect a proposed personal-care arrangement with the person-centered plan and the applicable waiver process. Tell First Choice about the coordinator during follow-up so the next steps can be discussed consistently.
Does Arlington Family Support funding mean a parent can be paid through Medicaid?
No. It is a separate local resource with its own criteria and availability. Medicaid-funded parent care requires the applicable coverage, extraordinary-care assessment, caregiver requirements and authorization.
Official sources
These Virginia and local government resources explain the rules and the public programs described here.
This guidance and our preliminary screening do not guarantee Medicaid eligibility, paid caregiver employment or service authorization. First Choice Home Care does not make the final Medicaid or authorization decision. Your program and care plan determine which services may be approved.
Let’s find your family’s next step.
Start with a few simple questions. It is okay to be unsure.