Can I Get Paid to Care for My Autistic Child in Virginia?

A possible path, with individual requirements.

Virginia Medicaid may allow an eligible parent to provide approved personal care as a paid Legally Responsible Individual (LRI). Your child must meet the coverage and program requirements, the care must qualify, and you must meet the requirements for an aide or attendant.

An autism diagnosis, an IEP or receiving therapy does not by itself establish that personal-care hours will be authorized. Those supports can be part of a child’s life while Medicaid separately assesses their daily personal-care needs.

Describe what happens during daily care.

Start with bathing, dressing, toileting, eating and transfers. Explain the physical assistance your child needs and what they can do independently. The assessor compares the care with what children of the same age typically need.

General supervision, supporting routines or giving reminders alone should not be presented as extraordinary paid LRI care. A child’s safety and support needs still deserve attention even when a particular task is outside this benefit.

What to have ready for a conversation.

• Your child’s age range and county or city of residence.
• Whether your child has Virginia Medicaid, and the plan or waiver name if you know it.
• A simple description of the hands-on ADL help needed; detailed medical records are not needed for the public screening.
• Whether personal-care hours or another paid caregiver are already in place.

What happens next?

Start the child eligibility path or speak with a Care Navigator. The team can help identify which coverage and assessment questions need an answer. Any paid LRI hours remain subject to an individual care plan and authorization; the weekly limit is not an automatic schedule.

Tell the navigator about existing services so the review considers the whole arrangement, including the LRI respite restriction. Do not stop another service based on this article or an initial screening.