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New York Program Guide

Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPAP)

How New York's Medicaid CDPAP lets a family member or friend be paid as a personal assistant: who qualifies, who can be the caregiver, the 2025 changes and how to register with PPL.

Run by the New York State Department of Health. Based on official state sources, last checked October 29, 2026.

The Program

What CDPAP Is

  • CDPAP is a New York State Medicaid program. Medicaid members who are eligible for home care can choose and hire their own caregiver, called a personal assistant.
  • The personal assistant can be a friend or family member. The state says it cannot be the member's spouse, their designated representative, or the parent of a CDPAP consumer under 21.
  • Public Partnership LLC (PPL) is the single statewide fiscal intermediary. Every CDPAP recipient must work with PPL, which handles the assistant's wages, tax withholding and employment records.

Eligibility

Who Can Qualify

  • Be eligible for New York State Medicaid.
  • Have a stable medical condition.
  • Have a determined need for home care services, using a state-approved assessment tool.
  • If age 21 or over, meet the Minimum Needs Requirements (in effect since September 1, 2025).
  • Be able to direct your own care, or have a designated representative who makes decisions for you.
  • Under the Minimum Needs Requirements, a person must be assessed as needing at least limited help with physical maneuvering with more than two activities of daily living, or, with a dementia or Alzheimer's diagnosis, at least supervision with more than one.
  • People already authorized for or receiving personal care or CDPAP services, or continuously enrolled in a Managed Long Term Care plan, as of September 1, 2025 stay under the earlier criteria.

Caregivers

Who Provides the Care

  • The personal assistant can be a friend or family member, but not the member's spouse, designated representative, or the parent of a consumer under 21.
  • The member or their representative recruits, hires, trains and supervises the personal assistant, arranges backup coverage and keeps payroll records with PPL.

Getting Started

How to Apply

  1. Confirm Medicaid eligibility and ask your Medicaid managed care plan or Local Department of Social Services (LDSS) for a home care assessment.
  2. Choose your personal assistant (not a spouse or designated representative).
  3. Register with PPL, the statewide fiscal intermediary, using the state's registration guide.
  4. If you get stuck, contact your plan or LDSS, then the Department of Health.

Contacts

Who to Call

Home Care Hound does not run CDPAP, decide eligibility or employ personal assistants. The state, your plan or LDSS, and PPL make those decisions.

If you would rather have a licensed home care agency send a caregiver, Home Care Hound can look for a verified agency near you.

Find a Home Care Agency About Medicaid Family-Led Care

Sources

Official Sources

Program rules change. Always confirm details with the agencies above before making decisions.