How to Become a Respite Care Provider in Georgia

To become a respite care provider in Georgia, you apply through one of two state agencies depending on who you plan to serve, meet the state’s eligibility and training standards, pass a fingerprint-based background check and a home inspection, and complete an interview with a resource development worker. From a completed application to an approval letter, plan on 60 to 120 days.

Pick the Right Agency First

Georgia splits respite care between two agencies, and the path you take depends entirely on the population you want to serve.

If you want to provide temporary care for children in foster care, you apply through the Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS), part of the Department of Human Services. DFCS defines short-term respite as up to 72 consecutive hours of care, with longer periods possible under specific circumstances in state regulations.¹ If you plan to provide respite that exceeds 72 hours and you are not already a licensed foster parent, DFCS must assess you separately before that extended placement can happen.²

If you want to work with adults or children who have developmental disabilities, the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD) is your agency. DBHDD contracts with community providers who deliver state-funded services, and every participating provider must comply with the DBHDD State-Funded Provider Manual and hold an executed contract.³ Some providers eventually serve populations under both agencies, but the eligibility steps and training requirements differ enough that you need to pick a track before gathering paperwork.

Baseline Eligibility

Regardless of the track, Georgia sets a floor every applicant must clear. You must be at least 18 and a Georgia resident. If you plan to transport clients, you need a valid Georgia driver’s license and proof of auto insurance. You also have to show a stable source of income separate from respite care fees, which confirms you are not financially dependent on placement reimbursements.

A clean criminal history is non-negotiable. Any record involving abuse, neglect, or certain felony convictions results in automatic disqualification.

Getting Your Background Check Done

Georgia runs a fingerprint-based criminal background check through the Georgia Applicant Processing Service (GAPS), managed by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s Georgia Crime Information Center (GCIC). You register online at the GAPS website, pay the fee, and then visit a designated fingerprint site in person.⁴ Results generally reach the requesting agency within 24 to 48 hours after your prints are submitted.

As of January 2025, GCIC fees for a combined Georgia and FBI background check start at $42.00, or up to $51.99 when processed through GAPS, which adds a service fee on top of the GCIC charge.⁵ Budget for the higher amount, since GAPS is the required submission method for this type of check.

Documents to Gather

Expect to assemble a thick application packet. At a minimum, you need:

A Social Security card and a state-issued photo ID.
Typically three professional and personal references who can speak to your character and capability.
A physical examination report and a negative tuberculosis skin test, both dated within the past year.
Proof that you completed your GAPS fingerprinting appointment.

The application form itself depends on your track. For developmental disability services, you submit a DBHDD Provider Application. The DBHDD application guide instructs applicants to mail a hard copy to the agency’s designated address.⁶ Inside the application, you describe your services (hourly care, overnight care, or both) and your provider capacity, meaning the maximum number of clients you can safely supervise at one time.

For foster care respite, your starting point is DFCS. All DFCS forms live on the state’s Policy and Manual Management System (PAMMS) at pamms.dhs.ga.gov.⁷ You can also call 877-210-KIDS to request an information packet and get directed to your local county orientation.

Training and Certifications

Georgia will not approve a provider without emergency response training. You need current First Aid and CPR certifications from a recognized provider, and the certifications must match the population you serve. Pediatric CPR and first aid, for example, if you work with children. Certification must come from a licensed health care professional or an approved training organization.

Foster Care Track: Orientation and NTDC

Prospective resource families start with a two-hour IMPACT orientation at their local county office. That session covers the goals of foster care and adoption, placement options, the roles and responsibilities of resource families, and the agency’s discipline policy.⁸ It functions as a screening step, giving you a chance to decide whether to commit to the full curriculum and giving the agency a read on your interest.

Georgia has transitioned from its older IMPACT curriculum to the National Training and Development Curriculum (NTDC), which requires 34 hours of training delivered through a hybrid model combining virtual and in-person sessions at DFCS’s discretion.⁹

Developmental Disability Track: DBHDD Orientation

Providers working with individuals who have developmental disabilities attend a separate DBHDD orientation covering Georgia’s Medicaid waiver programs, including the NOW and COMP waivers. Sessions address medication management, crisis intervention, the legal rights of individuals with disabilities, and the policies around participant-directed services.¹⁰ Local DBHDD regional offices and approved third-party vendors run these classes throughout the year.

Home Inspection

Once your paperwork and training are in order, the state sends an inspector to the home where you plan to provide care. This is where applicants sometimes stall, not because their homes are unsafe, but because they underestimate how specific the standards are.

Inspectors verify that the environment meets Georgia safety codes. At a minimum, expect them to check:

Working smoke detectors on each level of the home and in sleeping areas.
Secure storage of hazardous materials, including cleaning products and medications locked away from clients.
Adequate living space for the number of clients you intend to serve.
Safe water temperature, unobstructed exits, and a home free of obvious hazards.

Georgia rules require that the home and its records remain available for review by properly identified representatives of the Department, and inspections can be conducted on both an announced and unannounced basis.¹¹ Your home has to stay up to standard even after you are approved. A cluttered medicine cabinet or a disconnected smoke detector during an unannounced visit can create real problems.

The Interview and Approval Timeline

After the home inspection, you typically sit for an interview where a resource development worker evaluates your competency and readiness. The worker looks at whether you understand the population you plan to serve, how you would handle unexpected situations, and whether your motivations are realistic.

From the day you submit a completed application packet to the day your approval letter arrives, plan on 60 to 120 days. Delays are common when packets come in incomplete. A missing TB test result or an expired CPR certificate can push you to the back of the line. Once your approval letter arrives, you can accept placements and begin receiving state-funded reimbursements.

Liability Insurance

Georgia does not universally require individual respite providers to carry professional liability insurance, but operating without it is a significant financial risk. If a client is injured in your care and you lack coverage, you are personally on the hook for medical bills, legal fees, and any damages awarded. Most experienced providers carry two types of coverage:

Professional liability insurance, sometimes called malpractice insurance, which covers claims related to negligence, improper care, or documentation errors. Typical individual limits run $1 million per claim and $3 million aggregate.
General liability insurance, which covers incidents on your premises such as falls during transfers, trip hazards from equipment, or property damage.

Annual premiums for solo healthcare practitioners generally run several hundred dollars per year, depending on your coverage limits and client load. If you work under a DBHDD provider contract or through a DFCS-affiliated agency, ask whether the contracting organization carries umbrella coverage that extends to you. Some do, many do not.

How Respite Payments Are Taxed

How the IRS treats your income depends on your working arrangement and where the care happens. Most caregivers who provide in-home services for elderly or disabled individuals are classified as employees of the people they serve, because the care recipient (or their representative) has the right to direct the work. In that case, your income is reported as wages.¹²

If you operate more independently, running your own sole proprietorship, you are likely self-employed and owe self-employment tax on your net earnings. If you receive payments from a state agency or insurance company for care you provide to a family member, and you are not otherwise in the trade or business of caregiving, you generally do not owe self-employment tax on those payments.¹²

Under IRS Notice 2014-7, certain payments received through a state Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services waiver program qualify as “difficulty of care” payments that can be excluded from gross income under IRC Section 131. The eligible individual must live in your home, you must provide nonmedical support services under a plan of care, and the individual must have been placed with you by a state agency or qualified placement organization.¹³ The exclusion caps at 10 individuals under age 19 or 5 individuals age 19 and older. For Georgia providers working under DBHDD’s NOW or COMP waivers, this exclusion can meaningfully lower your tax burden, but only if the care happens in your own home. Payments for care delivered elsewhere do not qualify.

Staying in Compliance After Approval

Approval is not the finish line. Your First Aid and CPR certifications have expiration dates, and letting them lapse puts your active status at risk. The state can conduct unannounced home inspections at any time, so the safety standards you met during the initial visit have to stay in place permanently.¹¹

Medicaid waiver providers face a federal re-enrollment validation cycle, generally every five years, when you must reconfirm eligibility and update credentials. Miss a revalidation deadline and you can be terminated from the program, with reinstatement requiring the full enrollment process again. DBHDD-contracted providers also have to stay current with updates to the State-Funded Provider Manual, which DBHDD revises quarterly.³ When those revisions change your obligations, you are expected to comply immediately, not at your next recertification date.

An emergency preparedness plan is one detail providers tend to put off. Keep a written plan that identifies your evacuation route, backup transportation, a meet-up location in case of separation from a client, and a go-bag stocked with the client’s medications, medical supplies, assistive devices, and emergency contact information for their full care team.

1
Justia. Georgia Code 49-5-8.1 – Short-Term Respite Care of Child in Foster Care; Reasonable and Prudent Parent Standard
2
Legal Information Institute. Georgia Comp R and Regs R 290-2-31-.03 – Procedure for Respite Care of More Than 72 Hours for Children in Foster Care
3
Georgia Department of Behavioral Health & Developmental Disabilities. FY 2025 – 2nd Quarter State Funded Provider Manual for Community Developmental Disability Providers
4
Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Obtaining Criminal History Record Information Frequently Asked Questions
5
Georgia Bureau of Investigation. GCIC Fees Effective January 1, 2025
6
Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities. DD Existing Provider Application User’s Guide
7
Georgia Department of Human Services Division of Family & Children Services. DFCS Forms Online
8
Georgia Department of Human Services Division of Family & Children Services. IMPACT Orientation
9
Georgia Department of Human Services. 14.8 Pre-Service Training
10
Georgia Department of Behavioral Health & Developmental Disabilities. FY12 DD NOW and COMP Waiver Series: Participant-Direction Orientation
11
Compilation of Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia. Rule 111-8-62-.11 – Home Accountability and Inspections
12
Internal Revenue Service. Family Caregivers and Self-Employment Tax
13
Internal Revenue Service. Notice 2014-7