What is Indiana INCharge self-directed care?

INCharge is Indiana's self-directed option for certain home and community-based services.

Instead of having a provider agency recruit and manage the direct worker, the participant hires, schedules, trains, and supervises approved workers, with support from a case manager or service coordinator and Financial Management Services.

The Indiana Family and Social Services Administration's current INCharge page lists self-directed options on the Health and Wellness, PathWays for Aging, Traumatic Brain Injury, Family Supports, and Community Integration and Habilitation waivers. The specific services differ by waiver. For PathWays, Health and Wellness, and TBI, the current list includes Attendant Care, Respite, and Home & Community Assistance.

That statewide list describes the program; it does not mean every listed service is part of Veracity's current Indiana scope or available to every person. Eligibility, assessed need, authorization, budget, worker approval, and provider availability remain individual program decisions. Ask the assigned coordinator to identify the exact service and delivery model in the participant's written plan.

Ten questions to ask before choosing self-direction

  1. Is self-direction available for my current waiver and authorized service? Start with the case manager or service coordinator. Confirm the waiver, service name, assessed need, approved amount, delivery option, effective date, and any steps required to change from agency-directed support. Do not assume that waiver enrollment alone authorizes a self-directed service.
  2. What will the participant control? Indiana says the participant recruits, interviews, hires, trains, schedules, supervises, and—when necessary—ends employment of self-directed workers. Discuss which decisions the participant wants to make directly and what assistance would help preserve the participant's voice.
  3. Who may be hired? Indiana says a participant may recruit friends, family members, neighbors, or other candidates. It also lists important exclusions: a spouse or legal guardian cannot be hired, and parents of minor children and legal guardians cannot serve as self-directed workers. A candidate must be at least 18, pass a criminal background check, and complete required training.
  4. Would a Representative for Self-Direction help? A participant may choose a trusted unpaid representative to assist with employer tasks. Indiana says this representative cannot also be hired as the participant's self-directed worker. Clarify in writing what the representative will do and how the participant will continue to direct decisions.
  5. What is included in the self-directed budget? Indiana says the person-centered plan sets the type and amount of approved services, and the services selected for self-direction receive a budget. Ask how the budget was calculated, what it may pay for, the permitted wage range, how spending is monitored, and what happens if the plan changes. A budget is not unrestricted cash.
  6. What does Financial Management Services handle? Indiana identifies Palco as the contracted Financial Management Services vendor and says FMS supports forms, documentation, payroll, and taxes. Ask who completes enrollment forms, verifies time, corrects payroll issues, monitors the budget, answers tax questions, and provides accessible training. FMS support does not replace participant supervision.
  7. How will hours and visits be documented? Ask which timesheet and Electronic Visit Verification steps apply. Indiana Medicaid says EVV may record the person receiving the service, service type, date, start and end time, worker, and location. The participant may be asked for a signature or voice verification. Confirm privacy, device access, correction procedures, and whom to contact when a record is wrong.
  8. What training and supervision will the worker receive? Separate state-required training from participant-specific instruction. Prepare a written job description covering approved duties, schedule, communication preferences, privacy, documentation, safety contacts, incident reporting, boundaries, and tasks the worker must not perform. Revisit expectations when the plan changes.
  9. What is the backup plan? Indiana lists backup planning as a participant responsibility, and federal Medicaid guidance says contingency planning should be part of person-centered planning. Identify who can safely cover essential tasks, who confirms that person is eligible and enrolled, which needs cannot wait, and when to contact the coordinator or emergency services. A name on paper is not a workable backup until availability and approval are confirmed.
  10. How will we know whether self-direction remains a good fit? Set review dates and look at the participant's satisfaction, worker reliability, schedule flexibility, paperwork, budget use, training needs, safety, backup coverage, and progress toward plan goals. Ask in advance how to request changes or return to an agency-directed model without assuming an immediate transition or available agency worker.

Self-directed and agency-directed services are different delivery models

Neither model is automatically better. Self-direction may appeal to someone who wants to choose a worker and shape the schedule, including a permitted family member. Agency-directed services may appeal to someone who wants an agency to recruit, employ, supervise, and schedule workers. Actual flexibility and availability depend on the program, plan, budget, workforce, and provider capacity.

  • In self-direction: the participant or representative carries employer duties, while FMS supports payroll and related administration.
  • With an agency: the agency generally employs and supervises the worker and manages its own staffing obligations.
  • In both: the written person-centered plan, authorized service, participant rights, approved tasks, documentation rules, and reporting responsibilities still matter.

Use Veracity's service coordinator vs. provider guide to direct eligibility and authorization questions to the coordinator. The EVV family guide and backup-plan guide can help organize practical follow-up questions.

Family-worker questions deserve written answers

Before a relative leaves another job or changes a household schedule, confirm the relationship rule, required screening and training, enrollment status, approved wage range, start date, authorized hours, payroll timing, tax handling, EVV, backup coverage, and what happens if the participant's plan changes. A family relationship does not replace worker qualifications or create guaranteed employment.

Keep the participant at the center of hiring and supervision. Family involvement should support informed choice, dignity, privacy, and control—not turn the plan into a decision made solely around a relative's availability or income needs. If the participant uses a representative, document how the participant communicates preferences and how disagreements will be handled.

Discuss Indiana in-home support with Veracity Systems

Veracity Systems LLC, doing business in Indiana as Hoosier Care Givers, provides Indiana personal attendant and related in-home support within its current service scope, staffing, capacity, payer arrangements, and authorization. Veracity is not Indiana's INCharge Financial Management Services vendor and cannot determine Medicaid eligibility, authorize a self-directed budget, approve a worker, or promise a start date.

Families exploring agency-directed support may submit a service inquiry. Share the county, waiver or payer if known, authorized service if known, requested schedule, and a general support goal. Do not enter Medicaid numbers, Social Security numbers, diagnoses, medication lists, or medical records in the general form.

People interested in caregiver work can review Veracity caregiver opportunities and complete the secure caregiver application. Advertised caregiver pay is $18–$21 per hour, depending on state, role, experience, and assignment. Employment, hours, placement, and any specific rate are not guaranteed.

Frequently asked questions

Can every Indiana Medicaid member choose INCharge self-direction?

No. Indiana FSSA currently lists INCharge for certain services on the Health and Wellness, PathWays for Aging, Traumatic Brain Injury, Family Supports, and Community Integration and Habilitation waivers. Enrollment in a listed waiver does not guarantee that a particular service, amount, worker, wage, or schedule will be approved. Ask the assigned case manager or service coordinator what the current person-centered plan permits.

Can a family member become an INCharge self-directed worker?

Some family members may be considered, but Indiana FSSA lists exclusions. A spouse or legal guardian cannot be hired as the participant's self-directed worker, and parents of minor children and legal guardians cannot serve as self-directed workers. Workers must be at least 18, pass a criminal background check, and complete required training. Confirm the relationship rule before relying on a family member for paid work.

Can the participant's representative also be a paid worker?

No. Indiana describes the Representative for Self-Direction as an unpaid helper and says that representative cannot also be hired as the participant's self-directed worker.

Does Financial Management Services supervise the worker?

Not in place of the participant or representative. Indiana says Financial Management Services helps with required forms, documentation, payroll, and taxes. The participant retains employer responsibilities such as hiring, training, scheduling, supervising, backup planning, and ending employment when necessary.

Does choosing self-direction guarantee more hours or a higher wage?

No. Indiana says the person-centered plan identifies the type and amount of services based on need, and self-directed services receive a budget. Worker wages must stay within the program's permitted range. Self-direction does not itself guarantee eligibility, hours, funding, a particular wage, a worker, or uninterrupted coverage.

Authoritative resources

Sources reviewed November 5, 2026. Indiana waiver names, service options, worker rules, wage ranges, FMS arrangements, EVV procedures, and availability can change.

General-information notice: This article is educational and does not provide individualized medical, legal, tax, employment, Medicaid, eligibility, coverage, waiver, budget, payroll, or service-plan advice. It does not guarantee eligibility, authorization, a self-directed option, a worker, a family-worker approval, a budget, hours, wages, payroll timing, agency acceptance, staffing, funding, or an outcome. Confirm current requirements with Indiana FSSA, the assigned case manager or service coordinator, Financial Management Services, the health plan when applicable, and qualified professional advisers.