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FreedomCare helps Jefferson County families get paid through Colorado Medicaid for the care they're already giving a parent, sibling, or other loved one at home.
If you are caring for an aging parent in Lakewood, a spouse in Arvada, or a family member with a disability in Wheat Ridge, Golden, or Edgewater, FreedomCare can help you find out whether Colorado Medicaid will pay you for that care. Jefferson County families have real options under Health First Colorado and the new Community First Choice (CFC) program. This page walks through how it works locally, who qualifies, and how a family member can become the paid caregiver.
Jefferson County sits along the western edge of the Denver metro region, stretching from the foothills to the inner suburbs. About 580,000 people live here across Lakewood, Arvada, Wheat Ridge, Golden, Westminster (parts), Littleton (parts), Edgewater, Mountain View, Lakeside, Morrison, and the unincorporated foothills communities. It is the fourth most populous county in Colorado and one of the older-skewing metro counties, with a meaningful share of long-term residents now in their seventies and eighties who want to stay in homes they have owned for decades.
Jefferson County has the fourth-largest Medicaid enrollment in Colorado. As of December 2025, about 80,273 Jefferson County residents are enrolled in Health First Colorado, roughly 14 percent of the county population. That includes a steady stream of older adults aging into long-term care needs and adult children with disabilities who have been Medicaid-eligible since childhood.
For families in Lakewood, Arvada, and Wheat Ridge, the local healthcare picture is anchored by Lutheran Medical Center in Wheat Ridge, St. Anthony Hospital in Lakewood, and the nearby UCHealth and HealthONE systems. Many Jefferson County families come into the CFC conversation right after a hospitalization or new diagnosis at one of these systems, when discharge planning makes a decision about home care urgent. Both Lutheran and St. Anthony have established discharge teams that work with local Case Management Agencies regularly.
Home care in Jefferson County tends to follow one of three patterns: an agency-delivered model where a licensed home care provider sends out a caregiver, consumer-directed care through CDASS where the member fully manages their own caregiver, or self-directed care with IHSS agency support. FreedomCare operates as an IHSS agency in Colorado. We work with Jefferson County families who want a relative or trusted person to be the paid caregiver while keeping a licensed agency in the loop for payroll, training, and compliance.
Colorado runs Medicaid through Health First Colorado, the state's name for its Medicaid program. If you qualify, you can receive long-term services and supports (LTSS) at home instead of in a nursing facility. The main pathway for that is Community First Choice, a Health First Colorado state plan benefit that went live on July 1, 2025.
CFC covers personal care (help with activities of daily living, or ADLs, like bathing, dressing, mobility, and toileting), homemaker services (light cleaning, laundry, meal preparation), and health maintenance activities like medication reminders. To qualify, you need to be enrolled in Health First Colorado and meet what the state calls a nursing facility level of care, which means your care needs are significant enough that you would otherwise qualify for placement in a facility. A local Case Management Agency or Single Entry Point agency makes that determination.
CFC replaced and expanded what used to live inside several Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) waivers. If you are already on an HCBS waiver, you do not lose anything. At your next Continued Stay Review, your case manager moves you over to CFC for the services that have transitioned. Waiver-based access to those specific services ends June 30, 2026, and after that, CFC becomes the only pathway. You can still keep waiver-only services like respite or specialized therapies that have not moved.
CFC gives families three ways to receive care:
Both CDASS and IHSS let you hire a family member, friend, or trusted person you already know. The rules around who can be paid vary slightly, and there are specific limits for what Colorado calls Legally Responsible Persons (spouses, and parents of minor children). Those caregivers can be paid in some cases, but only for services beyond their existing legal obligation and within hour caps set by HCPF. We walk through the specifics with each family during enrollment.
| Pathway | How It Works | Who It Tends to Fit |
|---|---|---|
| Community First Choice (CFC) | A Health First Colorado state plan benefit launched July 1, 2025. Covers personal care, homemaker, and health maintenance services for members who meet a nursing facility level of care. | Anyone enrolled in Health First Colorado who needs care equivalent to a nursing home but wants to stay home. |
| Standard Medicaid home care (agency-based) | Care delivered by a licensed home care agency. The agency hires, trains, schedules, and pays the caregivers assigned to you. | Members who prefer an agency to handle everything and assign a caregiver. |
| Family caregiver pathways (CDASS and IHSS) | Two self-direction options inside CFC. You choose your own caregiver, including a family member or friend, and manage their schedule and tasks. CDASS is fully member-directed with a Financial Management Services vendor. IHSS gives you support from a licensed IHSS agency that helps with payroll, training, and oversight. | Families who want a relative or trusted person to provide care, with the program handling pay and compliance. |
This is the part that surprises most families: in Colorado, the person you care for usually gets to choose you. Medicaid does not require an outside aide. Under CDASS and IHSS, the member is in charge of their own care, which means they can hire a son, daughter, sibling, niece, friend, or neighbor instead of being assigned a stranger.
You are not applying for a job. You are stepping into a caregiving role you may already be filling. The program brings structure, pay, training, and support to work you are likely doing for free right now. That distinction matters because the rules and the paperwork are built around the member, not the caregiver.
For the member or patient, the steps are: enroll in Health First Colorado if you are not already, contact a Case Management Agency, complete a level of care assessment, then choose CFC and a delivery option (agency, CDASS, or IHSS). If you choose CDASS or IHSS, you pick your caregiver.
For the caregiver, the steps follow the member's. Once the member is approved and selects you, you complete the onboarding required by the program: background check, basic training, paperwork, and enrollment with the FMS or IHSS agency that processes pay. FreedomCare handles the IHSS side of that for families across Colorado.
A few numbers that shape the local picture:
A lot of Jefferson County families are caring for a parent who lived through the county's transformation from foothills outposts and small towns into a metro suburb. Long-tenured homeowners in Wheat Ridge, Edgewater, and parts of Arvada and Lakewood often want to stay in the homes where they raised families. CFC and IHSS make staying possible by paying a family caregiver for the work they would otherwise do unpaid.
There are reasons people pick home care that go beyond cost. The biggest one is familiarity. The person you are caring for stays in the place they know, with the people they know, and with their routines intact. That alone slows cognitive decline for many older adults and reduces the kind of disorientation that often comes with a move into assisted living or a nursing facility.
Care from a family member tends to be more consistent. Staff turnover in facilities is high. A daughter, spouse, or sibling already knows the small things, like which side your father prefers to be helped from, what medications cause which side effects, and the words that calm your mother down when she gets agitated. That continuity is hard to replicate.
There is also a financial side. The annual cost of a semi-private room in a Colorado nursing facility runs into the six figures for most families. Medicare does not pay for long-term care beyond short rehab stays. Medicaid does, but only when you qualify, and a facility absorbs most of the member's income. CFC and self-direction keep the person at home and let a family caregiver receive pay for the work they would otherwise do unpaid.
For families in Jefferson County, the choice often comes down to two things: keeping the person home and keeping the household financially stable while caregiving demands grow.
FreedomCare operates as an IHSS agency in Colorado. We work with families across the state, including Jefferson County, who want to keep a family member at home and get paid for the care they provide. Our role is to make the IHSS side of CFC work for you: enrollment, caregiver onboarding, payroll, and ongoing support.
What that looks like in practice:
We do not assign outside aides. The whole point of self-direction is that the member picks someone they already trust. Our job is to make the system around that choice work cleanly. You can read about how families across Colorado are using these programs or what we stand for in our vision and values.
Community First Choice (CFC) is a Health First Colorado state plan benefit that started on July 1, 2025. It covers personal care, homemaker services, and health maintenance activities for Colorado Medicaid members who need care at a nursing facility level. CFC replaced parts of several HCBS waivers and brought CDASS and IHSS into one statewide program.
Yes. Health First Colorado covers home care primarily through CFC. If you qualify for Medicaid and a Case Management Agency confirms you need a nursing facility level of care, you can receive personal care, homemaker help, and health maintenance services at home instead of in a facility.
Yes. The whole point of CFC is to keep you home if that is what you want and your care can be safely managed there. The level of care assessment establishes that you need significant help, and the service plan determines what kind of care, and how much, you receive. Most members in CFC stay in their own home or with family.
Yes, under CDASS or IHSS. You can hire an adult child, sibling, niece, nephew, in-law, or friend as your paid caregiver. Spouses and parents of minor children fall under what Colorado calls Legally Responsible Persons, with additional rules and hour limits. We go over what applies to your relationship during enrollment.
Medicaid home care eligibility in Colorado has two parts. You need to be enrolled in Health First Colorado, and you need a Case Management Agency to confirm you require a nursing facility level of care. Financially, Medicaid has income and asset limits that vary by program and household size. Medically, the assessment looks at how much help you need with activities of daily living (ADLs) and instrumental activities of daily living. Your local Case Management Agency or county human services office can confirm where you stand.
Most Jefferson County families see the level of care assessment scheduled within a few weeks of contacting a Case Management Agency. CFC service approval typically follows within 30 to 60 days, assuming Health First Colorado enrollment is already in place. Discharge planners at Lutheran Medical Center and St. Anthony Hospital can sometimes accelerate assessment timing when a member is leaving the hospital with a new care need.
Jefferson County Human Services handles Medicaid applications and renewals. You can apply in person at one of the offices in Lakewood or Arvada, online through Colorado PEAK, or by phone. After enrollment, you contact a Case Management Agency to begin the CFC assessment.
Yes. We work with families throughout Jefferson County, including the foothills communities west of the city. Most enrollment and caregiver onboarding can be done by phone, video, and email, so the drive into the metro is not part of the process. Rural and mountain residents have the same access to CFC and IHSS as residents of Lakewood or Arvada.
If you are caring for a family member in Jefferson County and want to find out whether Colorado Medicaid can pay you for that care, we can help you take the next step. Contact FreedomCare to talk with someone about CFC eligibility and how IHSS works for your family. Most calls take about 15 minutes and there is no obligation.
Important Disclaimer: This page is for general information and is not legal, medical, or financial advice. Medicaid eligibility, Community First Choice rules, and caregiver pay policies are set by the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF) and may change. Eligibility is not guaranteed and is determined by your Case Management Agency and Health First Colorado based on your individual circumstances. Verify program requirements directly with HCPF, your Case Management Agency, or your county human services office before making care or financial decisions.
These are the starting points if you are not sure where to begin.
Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG) Area Agency on Aging. Serves Jefferson County along with Adams, Arapahoe, Broomfield, Clear Creek, Denver, Douglas, and Gilpin. DRCOG provides free options counseling, caregiver respite vouchers (up to 32 hours of in-home care), help applying for benefits, and Long-Term Care Ombudsman services. Call 303-480-6700.
drcog.org/programs/area-agency-aging-aaaJefferson County Human Services. Handles Medicaid applications, renewals, food assistance, and other benefits for Jefferson County residents. Offices in Lakewood and Arvada. You can also apply online through Colorado PEAK.
jeffco.us/623/Human-ServicesSeniors' Resource Center. A long-standing nonprofit based in Wheat Ridge that serves Jefferson County and the broader metro region with adult day programs, transportation, in-home support, and caregiver respite. A useful local resource for families looking at options before or alongside CFC.
srcaging.orgHealth First Colorado. The state Medicaid program. Member Contact Center: 1-800-221-3943.
healthfirstcolorado.comColorado HCPF Community First Choice page. Official CFC hub from the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing, with the program memo, billing manual, and Case Management Agency directory.
hcpf.colorado.gov/cfcColorado Legal Services, Denver Metro Office. Free civil legal aid for low-income Jefferson County residents. Call 303-837-1313.
coloradolegalservices.org/public-benefits/medicaid-appeals/Regional Transportation District (RTD) Access-a-Ride. Paratransit service for Jefferson County residents who cannot use regular bus or rail because of a disability. Foothills areas may rely on local nonprofit transportation, which DRCOG and the Seniors' Resource Center can help connect.
rtd-denver.com/services/access-a-rideOnline portal to apply for Health First Colorado and related benefits.
coloradopeak.secure.force.comCounty population, age, income, poverty, and related statistics.
census.gov/quickfacts/.../jeffersoncountycoloradoWe’ll help you find the right program for your family.
Why Families Choose FreedomCare
We help families across Colorado every day.
We’ll help you find the right program for your family.
Why Families Choose FreedomCare
We help families across Colorado every day.
You’ve been caring for your loved one because it’s the right thing to do. FreedomCare can help you navigate Colorado’s CFC program, understand your options, and take the first step toward care from someone you trust while they get paid for it.
