BOISE, ID – Idaho lawmakers may consider reinstating a program that the state’s health agency cut last year that paid parents and spouses to serve as caregivers to family members with disabilities.
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Without the program, called Family and Personal Care Services, disability advocates and families warned that kids with disabilities couldn’t get care they need. That’s because Idaho has a shortage of workers in the typical caregiver workforce, which are called direct care workers.
A bill by Rep. Ilana Rubel, the Democratic minority leader in the House, and Rep. Marco Erickson, an Idaho Falls Republican, would bring back the family caregiver program with limitations. The bill comes as Idaho faces a tough budget year, and the Legislature is exploring cutting Medicaid services for people with disabilities.
In a brief presentation before the House Health and Welfare Committee quickly approved introducing the bill, Rubel said the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare had intended that the program be brought back after the agency cut it last year.
Since the program’s cut was first announced in November 2024, family members of Idahoans with disabilities have advocated for the program’s reinstatement, including by forming a nonprofit called Fair Care Idaho.
“I have never seen a group of families work harder to get help from their Legislature,” Rubel told lawmakers. “So I hope that they get their day.”
Introduction of caregiver bill ‘signals that this program is necessary,’ advocate says
Jessica Jackman, who cares for her son and helps run Fair Care Idaho, said in a statement that the nonprofit is pleased that the committee introduced the bill.
“We encourage legislators and the public to learn more about personal care services and the life-sustaining, cost-saving work that caregivers provide,” Jackman wrote. “We understand how difficult this legislative session has been, and are encouraged by today’s introduction. It signals that this program is necessary, and legislators agree. As caregivers first, we will follow the progress through the Statehouse closely. “
The bill’s fiscal note projects reinstating the program would cost less than if people who were on the program successfully sued the state. And the bill’s fiscal note added that Idaho pays family caregivers less than traditional caregivers.
The bill to reinstate the program would cap enrollees at 1,000 people receiving services for up to 25 hours a week.
Before the Department of Health and Welfare ended the program, nearly 1,200 Idaho children were enrolled, which state officials said was part of a problem of fraud and abuse driving up program costs and enrollment levels.
The bill to reinstate the program was not immediately available on the Legislature’s website.
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