Getting paid to care for a family member in Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia's Self-Managed Care Program provides funding to people with physical disabilities so they can hire and manage their own care workers. It is not clearly documented as a way to pay an immediate family member. A separate program — the Caregiver Benefit Program — does pay caregivers directly, and the two are often confused. Both are covered below.
Self-Managed Care: who qualifies
- • Adults with physical disabilities who can manage and direct their own care, or who have a substitute decision-maker to do so.
- • Assessed through Continuing Care.
Self-Managed Care: how the funding works
Funding is individually assessed. You receive funds to recruit, hire, schedule, and pay your own care workers, and you take on the employer responsibilities that follow.
The Caregiver Benefit Program — a different program
This is separate from Self-Managed Care, with its own rules. It pays $400 per month directly to the caregiver. To qualify:
- • The caregiver provides 20 or more hours of care per week.
- • The care recipient's household net income is $22,125 or less if single, or $37,209 or less for a couple.
Do not treat these two programs as interchangeable — eligibility, who gets paid, and the assessment route are all different.
How to apply
For Self-Managed Care, call Nova Scotia Health Continuing Care Intake at 1-800-225-7225. Continuing Care is also the starting point for asking about the Caregiver Benefit Program.
Official source
novascotia.ca — Continuing Care fact sheets
Caring in a different province? See the Canada hub.
This is general information to help you get started — not legal or tax advice. For your specific situation, your provincial health authority or a qualified professional can confirm the current rules and exactly what applies to you.