Help for family caregivers in Utah: respite, support and paid care

If you are the one doing the driving, the medications, the late-night calls and the worrying, you are a caregiver, whether or not you have ever used the word. Utah has more help for you than most people realize, and much of it runs through a single local office.

Start with your Area Agency on Aging

Utah’s Area Agencies on Aging handle in-home help, meals, transportation and caregiver services locally. In northern Utah:

Other counties are listed on the Division of Aging and Adult Services locations page, or call DAAS at 801-538-3910.

Utah Caregiver Support Program

This is Utah’s version of the federal National Family Caregiver Support Program, created in 2000. It offers information, help getting services, counseling, support groups and training, respite care, and limited supplemental items such as grab bars and incontinence supplies.

Who qualifies: an adult giving unpaid care to someone 60 or older, or to someone of any age with Alzheimer’s disease or a related disorder. Some relatives 55 and older raising a child or caring for an adult child with a disability also qualify. There is no low-income requirement. Each authorization runs for 12 months with a spending limit, and a written service plan is put in place before respite or supplemental services begin.

Respite care in Utah

Respite simply means someone else steps in so you can rest, work, see a doctor or sleep. In Utah it can come through:

• The Caregiver Support Program above.
• Alternatives, a state program for frail older adults that includes homemaking, personal care and short-term respite. It is based on income, assets and a risk assessment, and there is usually a small fee.
• Adult day programs, which give a caregiver a full day. The 2025 Utah median for adult day health care was $140 a day, per CareScout.
• Hospice respite, if your loved one is on hospice. Medicare covers short inpatient respite stays arranged by the hospice team; you may pay 5% of the Medicare-approved amount. See our hospice overview.

The Medicaid Aging Waiver

For people 65 and older who need a nursing-facility level of care and meet Medicaid’s financial rules, the Aging Waiver pays for services that help them stay at home: personal attendant services, homemaker help, adult day, respite, home-delivered meals, emergency response systems, home modifications and more. Area Agencies on Aging handle assessments and care plans.

Be prepared for a wait. The state’s fact sheet says plainly that there is a waiting list and a limited number of people are served. Applicants are ranked by need, so it is worth getting on the list early and keeping your agency updated if things get worse.

Medicaid caregiver programs: can family get paid in Utah?

Sometimes. Utah’s Aging Waiver offers a self-directed option in which the participant acts as the employer of their own personal attendant, with a financial management service handling payroll and taxes. Whether a particular relative can be the paid attendant, especially a spouse, depends on the program’s provider rules, so ask your Area Agency on Aging before counting on it. The same caution applies to other Utah waivers.

If you are caring for someone with Alzheimer’s or dementia

• You qualify for the Caregiver Support Program regardless of your loved one’s age.
• The Alzheimer’s Association 24/7 Helpline, 800-272-3900, offers a live person day or night.
• If home is no longer safe, our memory care overview and Utah memory care cost guide can help you think it through.

Other free help worth knowing

• Medicare questions: Utah’s Senior Health Insurance Information Program (SHIP) gives free one-on-one Medicare counseling at 1-800-541-7735.
• Meals and rides: Area Agencies on Aging run Meals on Wheels for homebound seniors and, in many areas, rides to medical appointments for people 60 and older.
• If you suspect abuse, neglect or exploitation of an older or disabled adult, Utah Adult Protective Services takes reports at 1-800-371-7897.

Caregivers who burn out often say they waited too long to ask. Accepting help is part of caring well for the person you love, not a sign you are failing them.

What to do this week

1. Call your Area Agency on Aging and ask for the Caregiver Support Program intake.
2. Ask, in the same call, about Alternatives and the Aging Waiver waiting list.
3. Write down the three tasks that wear you out most. Those are what respite should cover first.

Common questions

Is there a caregiver support program in Utah for people who are not low-income?

Yes. The Utah Caregiver Support Program has no low-income requirement.

How do I get respite care in Ogden?

Start with the Weber Area Agency on Aging at 801-625-3770, which serves Weber and Morgan counties.

Can a family member get paid to be a caregiver in Utah?

Possibly, through self-directed services in a Medicaid waiver such as the Aging Waiver. Rules on which relatives can be paid vary, and there is a waiting list.

What is the Alternatives program in Utah?

A state-funded in-home program run through Area Agencies on Aging that helps frail older adults stay at home with homemaking, personal care and short-term respite. Eligibility is based on income, assets and a risk assessment, and most people pay a small fee.

Does Medicare pay for respite care?

Only for people enrolled in hospice, and only for short inpatient stays arranged by the hospice team.