The four types of care in Georgia
If you are looking for help for a parent, a spouse or an adult child, the first choice is not which provider. It is which kind of care. There are four, and they are easy to tell apart once someone explains them.
Written by [author name]. Reviewed by [reviewer name], [role], October 12, 2026.
1. Personal care at home
A caregiver comes to the house for a few hours at a time: bathing, dressing, meals, medication reminders, company. The person stays in their own home. Georgia licenses these agencies as private home care providers. Under Medicaid it is called personal support services (CCSP, SOURCE, ICWP) or community living support (NOW, COMP).
Good fit: someone who lives at home and needs regular help but not a move. Find agencies →
2. A personal care home
A licensed home where a small number of adults live, from a four-bed house to a larger building, with meals, supervision, help with daily needs and someone awake at night. Not a nursing home: there is no nurse on duty every day. Georgia inspects them about every year. CCSP and SOURCE pay for the care in homes of 24 beds or fewer; the resident pays room and board.
Good fit: someone who cannot safely live alone and does not need daily nursing. Find homes →
3. An adult day center
Daytime care at a licensed center, with meals, activities and usually a ride there and back. An adult day health center adds a nurse, health monitoring and medication help, and is the kind Medicaid pays for; a social-model center does not have a nurse and is private pay or grant funded.
Good fit: someone who lives with family who work during the day, or who would do better with company and routine. Find centers →
4. Community access and day services
For adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities on the NOW or COMP waiver. Group activities in the community or at the provider's site, in small groups with set staff ratios, authorized through the person's service plan by their support coordinator.
Good fit: an adult on NOW or COMP whose plan includes day services. Find providers →
Still not sure?
Call the coordinator for your program, not a provider. The coordinator assesses what the person needs and tells you which of the four the plan will pay for. Here is who coordinates each program, by county.