DAV Chapter 82 veteran resource

Need help at home?

Aid and Attendance, caregiver support, and home-care programs are administered by different parts of VA. This guide helps identify the correct pathway before time is lost in the wrong process.

How Chapter 82 can help

SMC Aid and Attendance and Pension Aid and Attendance are VBA benefit claims. Chapter 82 service officers may provide accredited claims assistance in those matters.

PCAFC, PGCSS, and Veteran-Directed Care are VA health care programs. Chapter 82 provides education and referral information but does not submit those applications, represent the Veteran in those VHA processes, or track their status.

Contact Chapter 82 about a VBA claim

Find a VA caregiver support team

First: disability compensation

Special Monthly Compensation: Aid and Attendance

SMC is a higher rate of disability compensation for specific service-connected circumstances. Regular aid and attendance can be one basis for an SMC award.

What it is

Additional monthly compensation paid to the Veteran. It is not a caregiver salary, home-care contract, or reimbursement program.

What matters

The service-connected disabilities, the Veteran’s actual need for regular personal assistance, and the evidence describing functional limitations and safety needs.

Where it is handled

The Veterans Benefits Administration. VA Form 21-2680 is commonly used to provide examination information for housebound status or regular aid and attendance.

Official VA compensation information

VA Form 21-2680

Second: needs-based pension

Pension Aid and Attendance

Pension Aid and Attendance is an increased pension amount. It is available only when the Veteran or survivor qualifies for VA pension and also meets the applicable care-related requirements.

What it is

An addition to monthly pension. It is separate from service-connected disability compensation and separate from VA health care caregiver programs.

What matters

Pension eligibility, income and net-worth rules, qualifying wartime service, and evidence of the need for personal assistance, housebound status, nursing-home care, bedridden status, or qualifying visual impairment.

Where it is handled

The Veterans Benefits Administration through the pension claims process. VA Form 21-2680 may be used to document the medical and functional basis for the request.

Official VA pension Aid and Attendance information

VA Form 21-2680

VA health care caregiver support

PCAFC and PGCSS serve different caregiver needs

PCAFC

Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers

Enhanced clinical support for approved family caregivers of eligible Veterans. Current criteria include a single or combined service-connected rating of at least 70% and a need for in-person personal care services for at least six continuous months based on an activity-of-daily-living limitation, supervision or protection, or regular or extensive instruction or supervision.

Process: Joint application, clinical evaluations, eligibility determination, and continuing program requirements.

Possible supports: Training, mental health counseling, respite, health coverage when otherwise uninsured, and a monthly stipend for an approved Primary Family Caregiver.

Official PCAFC information

PGCSS

Program of General Caregiver Support Services

Support for caregivers of Veterans enrolled in VA health care who need personal care because of an activity-of-daily-living limitation or a need for supervision or protection.

Process: Contact the local Caregiver Support Program team and complete a brief intake. VA states that there is no formal application and no clinical evaluation is required.

Supports: Skills training, coaching, peer support, groups, respite resources, online programs, and referrals. PGCSS does not provide the PCAFC monthly stipend.

Official PGCSS information

Find a VA Caregiver Support Program team

VA Caregiver Support Line

VA home and community services

Veteran-Directed Care

Veteran-Directed Care gives eligible Veterans a budget and counseling support to arrange needed home and community services in a consumer-directed way.

Who it is for

Veterans who need personal care or help with activities such as bathing, dressing, meals, toileting, mobility, grooming, or shopping. VA also identifies isolation and caregiver burden as circumstances the program may address.

How it works

The Veteran or representative develops a spending plan with a counselor and hires workers to meet assessed needs. Workers may include a family member or neighbor when permitted.

Important limitation

The Veteran must be enrolled, eligible for community care, meet the clinical criteria, and live where the service is available. Availability and services vary by location.

Official Veteran-Directed Care information

VA care-at-home decision aid

Prepare the record

Describe the help that is actually required

Program names differ, but VA evaluations often depend on concrete facts about daily function, supervision, safety, frequency, and the help another person provides.

Activities of daily living

Bathing and shower transfers
Dressing and prosthetic adjustment
Eating and meal setup
Toileting and continence care
Mobility and transfers
Personal grooming

Supervision and protection

Falls, wandering, or unsafe judgment
Medication management
Memory, neurological, or behavioral symptoms
Emergency response and nighttime needs
Risks when the caregiver is not present
Instruction required to complete tasks

Document the pattern

What help is given
Who provides it
How often and how long it takes
What happens without the help
Changes over time
Records that support the description

Use the correct doorway

Need	Program or office	Starting point
Higher compensation because service-connected disabilities require regular personal assistance	SMC Aid and Attendance	VBA claim process; VA Form 21-2680 and supporting evidence
Higher pension because a qualifying Veteran or survivor needs assistance or is housebound	Pension Aid and Attendance or Housebound	VBA pension process; VA Form 21-2680 and pension evidence
Enhanced family-caregiver support and possible stipend	PCAFC	Local VA Caregiver Support Program team and joint application
Training, coaching, peer support, respite resources, and referrals without the PCAFC stipend	PGCSS	Local VA Caregiver Support Program team intake
Consumer-directed home and community services with a managed budget	Veteran-Directed Care	VA social worker or care team; local availability required

Preparation tools and a complete caregiver guide

Use browser-based preparation tools to organize functional information, then use the Navigating VA caregiver-programs book for the full program-by-program framework.

Veteran-Directed Care assessment tool

PCAFC assessment preparation

Navigating VA Caregiver Programs