Helping Missouri Families Navigate the Consumer Directed Services Program
Missouri's Consumer Directed Services program allows a family member to serve as a paid family caregiver for an eligible loved one. We help you check if you qualify and match you with a Medicaid-approved local agency — free to families.
You are likely eligible if you have Medicaid. Fill out the form to see how fast you can get started.
or call us at (816) 300-6790
Eligibility
Final eligibility is determined by MO HealthNet — we help you check in seconds.
A paid caregiver must be at least 18 and legally able to work in the U.S. Under Missouri CDS, a spouse or the participant’s legal guardian cannot be the paid caregiver. The caregiver may live in the same home as the person receiving care.
What's Covered
Why Families Use Us
We're not an agency — we're the free service that gets your family to the right Medicaid-approved agency, faster.
You never pay us a cent. We're paid a flat marketing fee by the partner agency — never by you, and never tied to enrollment.
We connect you with a licensed, Medicaid-approved provider agency that serves your area and handles enrollment and caregiver setup.
Our team helps you check eligibility for Missouri's Consumer Directed Services (CDS) Program and points you to the right next step — at no cost.
How It Works
Three easy steps to get your family the care they need.
Fill out our free 30-second form or call us to see if you qualify through Missouri's Consumer Directed Services (CDS) Program.
We connect you with a Medicaid-approved home care agency in your area that handles enrollment, paperwork, and caregiver setup.
Once approved, your chosen caregiver is paid through Medicaid — and your loved one gets care at home.
The Program
Funded by Medicaid through MO HealthNet — helping families care for loved ones at home.
We help eligible Missouri families connect with a Medicaid-approved provider agency.
Eligible families pay nothing out of pocket for enrollment help.
Approved caregivers are paid through the Medicaid program.
Source: MO HealthNet / Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, Consumer Directed Services (CDS) Program.
Already Enrolled?
If you already have MO HealthNet Medicaid coverage and are receiving services, call for a free consult to see if switching to a different partner agency is right for you.
Call (816) 300-6790We help Missouri families understand the Consumer Directed Services (CDS) Program, check eligibility, and connect with a Medicaid-approved home care provider agency in their area. The provider agency we match you with handles enrollment paperwork, caregiver onboarding, and ongoing program support.
The Home Care Agency is an enrollment matching service. We are not a Medicaid provider agency. We connect eligible Missouri families with licensed Medicaid-approved provider agencies that deliver care. This service is free to families.
Questions
Program Guide
Consumer Directed Services (CDS) is Missouri's Medicaid program for self-directed personal care, administered by the Department of Health and Senior Services through its Division of Senior and Disability Services. The defining feature is in the name: the consumer directs the care — hiring, training, supervising, and scheduling their own personal care attendant — while an enrolled CDS vendor handles payroll and taxes.
For families, the practical meaning is simple: if your loved one qualifies, Medicaid — not your family — pays the attendant they choose, and that attendant can be a family member.
CDS serves Missourians who are at least 18, have a physical disability, require at least a nursing-facility level of care, are able to direct their own care, and have (or qualify for) MO HealthNet — Missouri Medicaid. Medicare alone does not qualify. Because the consumer must self-direct, a person under legal guardianship cannot enroll in CDS.
Need is confirmed through an in-home, needs-based assessment by the Division of Senior and Disability Services, which produces a participant-centered care plan and is repeated at least annually. Financial eligibility is determined by the Medicaid program — not by us, and not by any vendor.
Anyone can start a referral — the individual, a family member, or a professional — through the state HCBS intake line or online referral portal; Medicaid financial eligibility itself runs through the Family Support Division.
Our free service matches you with a Medicaid-approved CDS vendor in your area that helps you through enrollment, sets up attendant payroll, and supports you after services start. We are a matching service — the vendor and the program handle eligibility and payment.
Missouri's rule is one of the simplest in the country: the consumer can hire anyone except their legal spouse or legal guardian. An adult child, sibling, other relative, friend, or neighbor can all serve, and the attendant may live in the same home as the person receiving care.
Attendants must be at least 18 and legally able to work in the U.S. Eligibility for any attendant is determined by the program during enrollment.
Program facts on this page last reviewed October 1, 2026. Program rules change — eligibility is always determined by the state program.
Related guide: Can a spouse be paid to be a caregiver? Medicaid rules, state by state
No cost, no obligation — talk to an expert about Missouri's Consumer Directed Services (CDS) Program today.
Call (816) 300-6790