CDPAP in Texas: The Program Here Is Called CDS — and Family Caregivers Can Get Paid
If you have been searching for CDPAP in Texas, here is the honest answer up front: CDPAP is a New York Medicaid program, and it does not exist in Texas. The good news is that Texas has its own versions of the same idea — programs that let a family member become the paid caregiver for a loved one on Medicaid.
Newport Home Health is a licensed Texas home care agency serving STAR+PLUS members, and we help families set this up every week. This page translates the New York terms into their Texas equivalents and shows you exactly how to get started.
Want the fastest answer for your family? Call 972-602-3500 or use the quick form below — no cost, no obligation.
What CDPAP Is (and Why It Doesn’t Exist in Texas)
CDPAP stands for the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program. It is a New York State Medicaid benefit that lets people who need home care recruit, hire, and direct their own personal assistants — including many family members — instead of being assigned caregivers by an agency.
Medicaid is run state by state, so New York’s program names stop at the state line. If you live in Texas, you cannot apply for CDPAP — but Texas Medicaid offers the same core idea under different names: Consumer Directed Services (CDS) and the agency option for personal attendant services. Texas Health and Human Services describes the CDS option on its official site at hhs.texas.gov.
Texas’s Two Ways Family Members Get Paid
In Texas, most paid-family-caregiver arrangements run through STAR+PLUS, the Texas Medicaid managed-care program for adults who are 65 or older or who have a disability. Once a member is approved for personal attendant services, the family chooses how those services are delivered:
1) The Agency Option — Newport employs your family member
With the agency option, Newport hires your family member as a caregiver on our team. We handle the background check, onboarding, training, scheduling, payroll, and the electronic visit verification (EVV) compliance Texas requires. Pay for family caregivers we employ is typically $13–14 per hour. You can read more about how we vet, train, and support our Medicaid caregivers.
2) CDS — Your Family Is the Employer, With Newport as Your Guide
With Consumer Directed Services (CDS), the Medicaid member — or their legally authorized representative — becomes the employer. A Financial Management Services Agency (FMSA) handles payroll and taxes, while the family manages hiring, schedules, and supervision. You get more control, and you take on more paperwork. Newport can walk you through whether CDS or the agency option fits your family better.
Here is how the two options compare:
- Who employs the caregiver: Agency option — Newport. CDS — your family, through an FMSA.
- Paperwork and compliance: Agency option — we handle it. CDS — you take on employer duties.
- Pay: Agency option — typically $13–14 per hour. CDS — varies with the member’s authorized budget.
- Training and backup coverage: Agency option — provided by Newport. CDS — your family arranges it.
- Control over hiring and schedules: Agency option — shared with the agency. CDS — mostly yours.
Who Qualifies
Two people have to qualify: the person receiving care and the person providing it.
- The care recipient generally needs Texas Medicaid and enrollment in STAR+PLUS (for adults 65+ or with a disability). Their health plan completes a needs assessment that determines how many attendant hours are authorized. See the official STAR+PLUS overview from Texas HHS, or our plain-English guide to what Texas Medicaid and Medicare cover for home care.
- The family caregiver must be an adult who is legally able to work in the U.S. and can pass a background check. Adult children, parents, siblings, in-laws, and close friends are commonly approved.
One important exception: in most cases, a spouse cannot be the paid attendant for most STAR+PLUS services. The rules differ by program and by situation, though, so do not rule yourself out — call 972-602-3500 and we will check your specific case.
Caring for a child instead of an adult? Texas uses separate children’s Medicaid programs, and we work with those plans too — see the FAQ below.
Does Texas Have IHSS?
No — and this one trips people up the same way CDPAP does. IHSS (In-Home Supportive Services) is California’s program. It pays caregivers, very often family members, to help people who are aging or living with a disability stay safely at home. Because it is one of the most-searched home care program names in the country, plenty of Texans land on IHSS articles while researching options for their own family.
The Texas translation is the same one covered above: STAR+PLUS personal attendant services, delivered either through a licensed agency like Newport (the agency option) or through CDS, where your family runs the employment side with an FMSA handling payroll.
So if a guide or video mentions IHSS or CDPAP, the concepts usually carry over — assessments, authorized hours, family caregivers — but the names, pay rates, and rules that apply to you are the Texas ones on this page.
How to Get Started
Here is what the process looks like when Newport handles it with you, and it mirrors the steps on our how to get started page:
- Call 972-602-3500 or send the quick form below. We will ask a few questions — your county, your loved one’s Medicaid status, and what kind of help they need — and tell you honestly whether this path fits.
- Get Medicaid and STAR+PLUS in place. Already enrolled? We move straight to the next step. Not yet? We will point you to the application through YourTexasBenefits or 2-1-1 and stay in touch while it processes.
- The health plan assesses and authorizes hours. A service coordinator reviews your loved one’s needs and approves a set number of attendant hours.
- Your family member completes hiring. Background check, paperwork, and training with Newport — then care, and pay, begin on an approved schedule.
A realistic timeline: when STAR+PLUS is already active, families are often up and running within a few weeks. Starting from a brand-new Medicaid application usually takes around two to three months. We cannot promise approval — no one honestly can — but we do keep the process moving and tell you exactly where things stand.
CDPAP in Texas — Frequently Asked Questions
Does Texas have CDPAP?
No. CDPAP is only available in New York. Texas offers the same core benefit — paying caregivers, including family members, to provide Medicaid-funded home care — through the agency option and Consumer Directed Services (CDS) under STAR+PLUS.
Can I get paid to care for my mom in Texas?
In many cases, yes. If your mom has — or can qualify for — Texas Medicaid with STAR+PLUS attendant hours, you can apply to become her paid caregiver, either hired by Newport under the agency option or employed by your family under CDS. We wrote a full step-by-step guide: how to get paid to care for a family member in Texas.
How much does it pay?
Under the agency option, family caregivers Newport employs typically earn $13–14 per hour. Under CDS, pay varies because it is set within each member’s authorized service budget — we can help you understand what your loved one’s authorization supports.
How long does it take?
A few weeks if STAR+PLUS is already in place. Usually around two to three months if you are starting with a new Medicaid application, because the assessment and authorization steps drive the timeline.
Which insurance plans does Newport work with?
For adults on STAR+PLUS: Molina, UnitedHealthcare, Superior, and Wellpoint. For children’s Medicaid programs: Cook Children’s and Aetna. Not sure which plan your loved one has? Call us and we will figure it out together.
Check Your Family’s Eligibility — Get a Call Back Today
Tell us a little about your situation and a member of our team will call you back — usually the same business day. Please don’t include medical details in this form; we will cover those by phone.
No cost, no obligation — bilingual staff available.