To become a respite care provider in New York, you apply through a sponsoring agency under one of two state oversight tracks, clear a stack of background checks covering you and every adult in your household, finish required training, and pass a home inspection before the state issues your operating certificate. Most applicants are at least 21, though 18- to 20-year-olds can qualify by showing enough maturity and caregiving knowledge.1Cornell Law School. New York Comp. Codes R. and Regs. Tit. 14 585.11 – Respite Plan on several months from your first phone call to your approval.
Choose Your Pathway First
New York divides respite oversight between two agencies, and the one you work with depends on who you want to care for. The Office for People With Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) certifies providers who serve individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities. The Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) handles respite within the foster care and child welfare system.2Office of Children and Family Services. Health Care Oversight and Coordination Plan 2025-2029 The forms, training curricula, and regulations are different for each track.
You do not apply directly to the state in either case. Under OPWDD, you work through a local sponsoring agency that provides your training, submits your paperwork to OPWDD’s Division of Quality Improvement, and guides you through the steps.3OPWDD. Become a Family Care Provider Under OCFS, voluntary authorized agencies and local departments of social services play the same coordinating role. Call a sponsoring agency serving your region before anything else; everything that follows runs through them.
OPWDD also recognizes different categories of respite — in-home, site-based, recreational, camp, and intensive — and each has its own reimbursement rate and setting requirements.4OPWDD. Administrative Directive – Respite ADM Update Ask the agency which categories they staff for so you pick one aligned with the work you actually want to do.
Who Can Apply
OPWDD’s personal eligibility rules are short. You need to be at least 21, with the possible exception for 18- to 20-year-olds who can demonstrate maturity, responsibility, and caregiving knowledge. You cannot have a conviction for a Class A, B, or C felony. You need a valid driver’s license or reliable transportation. You can own or rent a house, apartment, or mobile home, and you can be married or single. Prior experience with people who have developmental disabilities helps but is not required.3OPWDD. Become a Family Care Provider
Here is the detail that derails more applications than any other: every person in your household aged 18 or older has to clear the same background screenings, even if they will never provide care. If an adult child, roommate, or extended family member living with you has a disqualifying record, your application stops there. Have that conversation at home before you start the process.
Background Checks You Will Need to Pass
New York stacks several screenings on top of each other. The sponsoring agency initiates them, but you should know what is being run and on whom.
The Statewide Central Register of Child Abuse and Maltreatment is checked for you and every adult household member under Social Services Law Section 424-a.5New York State Senate. New York Social Services Law 424-A OPWDD’s Staff Exclusion List, which flags substantiated cases of abuse or neglect involving people with developmental disabilities, is also run on every applicant; appearing on it is an automatic disqualifier.6Cornell Law School. New York Comp. Codes R. and Regs. Tit. 14 633.5 – Applicant Backgrounds You will be fingerprinted for a state and FBI criminal history check under Mental Hygiene Law Section 16.33, and you should expect a processing fee for fingerprinting that has recently run around $90 to $105 including vendor charges.7New York State Senate. New York Mental Hygiene Law 16.33 – Review of Criminal History Information Concerning Certain Prospective Employees
Because respite is Medicaid-funded, you will also be checked against the state Medicaid Exclusion List and the federal Office of Inspector General’s List of Excluded Individuals and Entities. Anyone on the OIG list is barred from any federally funded healthcare program.8U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General. Exclusions If you have ever faced disciplinary action in healthcare, check your own status before applying.
You will also need to submit a complete employment and volunteer history going back at least seven years, in the format OPWDD specifies, so the agency can check former workplaces for abuse allegations.6Cornell Law School. New York Comp. Codes R. and Regs. Tit. 14 633.5 – Applicant Backgrounds Gaps and inconsistencies here are the single most common reason applications stall. Pull your records before you start the form.
Training You Must Complete Before Certification
Your sponsoring agency provides most of the required training, and all of it must be done before you begin providing care. Core topics include abuse prevention, incident reporting, safety and fire protocols, infection control covering tuberculosis, HIV, and bloodborne pathogens, and medication administration. If the person you will care for has a behavioral support plan, you receive additional training on implementing it.9OPWDD. Family Care Manual
Separately, you need current CPR and First Aid certifications from a recognized provider. The American Red Cross is the most commonly accepted; other organizations meeting state health department standards also qualify.10New York State Department of Health. CPR Certification Fact Sheet Budget $50 to $100 for an in-person or hybrid course. Online-only courses that skip the hands-on component usually do not count.
You also need to complete New York’s Mandated Reporter training, which covers how to identify and report suspected child abuse or maltreatment. The state offers a free online version at nysmandatedreporter.org, and Social Services Law Section 413(5) requires mandated reporters to complete the updated training by November 17, 2026.11Office of Children and Family Services. Mandated Reporter Training
Every driver in your household must enroll in the License Event Notification System (LENS), which alerts OPWDD if your license is suspended, revoked, or restricted. This is an ongoing monitoring enrollment, not a one-time check.3OPWDD. Become a Family Care Provider
Submitting Your Application and Passing the Home Inspection
Under OPWDD, the sponsoring agency conducts an initial site visit and home study, and then you complete an LS-22 Application for Certification. Under OCFS, you work through the OCFS-6000 series forms covering background check requirements for child care programs.12Office of Children and Family Services. Required Forms and Clearance List
Your package will include the application form, your seven-year employment and volunteer history, personal and professional references, proof of adequate household income, a medical statement from a licensed physician confirming you are physically and mentally capable of caregiving and free from communicable diseases, fingerprint submissions, and consent forms authorizing background checks for you and every household member aged 18 and older.
After you submit the LS-22, a formal safety inspection of your home is scheduled. Inspectors look for functioning smoke detectors, adequate living space, safe storage of medications and hazardous materials, and general fire and building code compliance. You do not need an expensive home; you need a safe, clean environment. During the home study, agency staff also interview everyone in the household to see whether the family understands what respite care involves and whether the household will support it.
Once your background checks clear, your training is complete, and your home passes inspection, OPWDD’s Division of Quality Improvement issues your operating certificate.3OPWDD. Become a Family Care Provider
Timeline and What Keeps Your Certificate Active
From your first call to a sponsoring agency through final approval, expect several months. The pace depends on how quickly background checks come back and whether your home needs modifications.
Operating certificates last up to three years. Your sponsoring agency has to notify you of your recertification date at least three months before it expires, and recertification paperwork should be submitted by the 15th of the month before the expiration date.9OPWDD. Family Care Manual
Between renewals, you have annual training to complete: abuse prevention and reporting, incident management, safety and fire protocols, infection control, and choking prevention. If the person in your care has specific medical or behavioral needs, specialized refresher training is required too. Your CPR and First Aid certifications must stay current the whole time.9OPWDD. Family Care Manual Falling behind can lead to your certificate being suspended or not renewed. The agency tracks compliance, but the responsibility is yours.
What You Will Be Paid
Respite providers are reimbursed through Medicaid at rates set by the type of respite and the Department of Health region. As of April 2025, in-home respite runs roughly $30 to $33 per hour depending on region, intensive respite and resource center rates sit around $42 to $45 per hour, and recreational respite is slightly lower at about $27 to $29.13New York State Department of Health. Mental Hygiene Services Rates – Respite
Those are the rates paid to agencies, not what lands in your bank account. What you actually take home depends on your arrangement with the sponsoring agency. Some pass through a substantial portion; others retain more for administrative costs and training. Ask about pay structure before signing on, because the spread between agencies can be meaningful.
Taxes and Insurance Before You Start
IRS Notice 2014-7 lets certain Medicaid waiver payments be excluded from gross income as “difficulty of care” payments under Internal Revenue Code Section 131, but the exclusion only applies when you provide care in your own home and the care recipient also lives there as part of their plan of care. Respite provided in the recipient’s home while you keep a separate residence does not qualify, and neither does care in your home where the recipient does not reside.14Internal Revenue Service. Certain Medicaid Waiver Payments May Be Excludable From Income Most short-term respite providers end up owing income tax on their compensation.
If you operate as a sole proprietor providing caregiving as a trade or business, you also owe self-employment tax and report income on Schedule C and Schedule SE. If you are informally caring for a family member and are not in the caregiving business, self-employment tax does not apply even if you receive a 1099.15Internal Revenue Service. Family Caregivers and Self-Employment Tax
Most sponsoring agencies carry liability insurance covering providers working under their certification, but the scope varies. Ask yours exactly what the policy covers and where your personal exposure begins. If you provide respite independently or want extra protection, general liability covers physical injuries in your care, and professional liability (sometimes called errors and omissions) covers claims that your caregiving fell below an acceptable standard. Quotes from insurers who specialize in home care are worth the time, especially if you plan to make this a long-term career.