Can I Hire an Aunt, Uncle, or Cousin? AWC Family Caregiver Guidelines
When raising a loved one with a developmental disability, it truly takes a village. Often, that village is made up of aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents who are already pitching in to help with school pickups, mealtime routines, and weekend activities.
When a family realizes they have authorized hours for in-home care through the Arizona Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD), the next logical question is: Can I hire my extended family members to provide this care officially?
The answer is a resounding yes.
In fact, hiring extended family members is one of the most common and successful arrangements under the Agency with Choice (AWC) model. Here is why it works, the rules you need to know, and how to get your family members officially hired.
The Benefits of Hiring Extended Family
Traditional home care agencies often struggle with high staff turnover, which means a constant rotation of strangers coming into your home. Hiring an aunt, uncle, or cousin solves this problem instantly.
Built-In Trust: Your loved one already knows and feels comfortable with them.
Cultural and Language Alignment: Extended family members naturally share your family’s language, cultural background, and household values, ensuring care is provided exactly how you prefer.
Long-Term Consistency: Family members are far more likely to stick around long-term, providing the stable routine that individuals with developmental disabilities thrive on.
Which Services Can They Provide?
Extended family members who do not live in the same household are generally eligible to be paid for all standard in-home DDD services, including:
Attendant Care (ATC): Assisting with personal care, hygiene, and mobility.
Habilitation (HAH): Teaching life skills and helping the individual achieve goals set in their DDD service plan.
Respite Care (RSP): Providing short-term relief to the primary caregiver. (Note: If the extended family member lives in the exact same house as you, they typically cannot be paid for Respite).
The AWC Model: Protecting the Family Dynamic
Mixing family and finances can sometimes be stressful. You want your aunt or cousin to be paid fairly for their hard work, but you likely do not want the burden of acting as their legal HR department—calculating their taxes, issuing W-2s, or buying liability insurance.
This is exactly why the Agency with Choice (AWC) program exists.
Under the AWC model, Nova Z Health Services acts as the legal employer of record, while you remain the managing employer. You decide when your cousin or uncle works and how they provide care. They simply submit their timesheets to Nova Z Health, and we process their payroll, withhold the necessary state and federal taxes, provide workers' compensation, and bill the State of Arizona. This setup keeps your family relationships intact while ensuring everyone is legally and professionally compensated.
What Do They Need to Get Hired?
Even for aunts, uncles, and grandparents, the State of Arizona requires all paid caregivers to meet the same professional standards. Before they can begin logging paid hours, they must complete:
Level 1 Fingerprint Clearance Card
Article 9 Training (The state’s mandatory disability rights and incident reporting course)
CPR and First Aid Certification
State-Mandated Direct Care Worker (DCW) Training
Navigating these requirements can be intimidating for someone who hasn't worked in healthcare before. At Nova Z Health Services, our dedicated team in the Phoenix and Scottsdale areas walks your extended family members through every single step of this compliance pipeline. We make the onboarding process as straightforward as possible so they can get to work.
Ready to Bring Your Village On Board?
If you have an aunt, uncle, cousin, or grandparent ready to step into a paid caregiving role, we can help you make it official.
