If you are the one doing the caring

Usually a spouse. Often an adult child. Almost always unpaid, and almost always doing it without knowing VA has anything for them.

There are two programs, and they are routinely confused because one of them is far better known.

PCAFC — the one with a stipend

The Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers. For a caregiver approved under it, VA provides:

• a monthly stipend paid to the caregiver;
• CHAMPVA health coverage, if the caregiver is not already entitled to care or services under a health plan;
• at least 30 days of respite care a year;
• mental health counseling, including telehealth;
• legal and financial planning assistance;
• access to commissaries and exchanges.

Eligibility has two sides. The veteran needs a VA disability rating — individual or combined — of 70 percent or higher, must be enrolled in VA health care, and must need in-person personal care services for at least six continuous months. The caregiver must be at least 18 and either a relative or someone who lives with the veteran full time, or is willing to.

A secondary caregiver can also be approved, and receives training, counseling and travel benefits when accompanying the veteran, though not the stipend.

VA's PCAFC page is the current authority on eligibility and how to apply.

PGCSS — the one people never hear about

The Program of General Caregiver Support Services. It does not require a 70 percent rating and it does not require approval as a designated caregiver. It provides education, training, peer support, counseling and referral to services.

It is the answer when the question is "we were turned down for PCAFC, so that's that." It usually is not that.

Respite care is the thing to ask for by name

Both programs mention it, and so does VA's long-term care side. Respite is short-term care for the veteran so the caregiver can rest, go to their own medical appointments, be ill, or travel.

Caregivers consistently do not ask for it, either because they do not know it exists or because asking feels like a failure. It is a program VA runs on purpose. Ask the VA medical center's Caregiver Support Coordinator — every medical center has one, and that person is the right first call for everything on this page.

If PCAFC is denied or revoked

It has its own appeal route, and the standards have changed more than once since the program was expanded. That is a good moment for an accredited representative rather than a second application written the same way.

The thing worth saying plainly

Caregiver burnout is the most common reason a care arrangement collapses, and a collapse usually means an institutional placement nobody wanted. The programs above exist because VA understands that. Using them early is not taking something from the veteran — the respite, the training and the counseling exist precisely so the arrangement can continue.

If you are supporting someone through a claim as well, the evidence plan is written for exactly that reader.

Reviewed October 6, 2026