Caregiver Support & Aid and Attendance
Find the right VA program for help at home. Use practical tools to organize care needs, prepare for assessments, and locate the forms and people who can help.
Prepare for the next conversation.
Choose the tool that fits your task. The assessments help describe actual care needs; the official VA resources help identify options and prepare applications.
PCAFC assessment preparation
Organize daily activities, mobility, supervision, and caregiver assistance. Review gaps in the record and print a preparation summary.
Open the PCAFC tool →Veteran-Directed Care preparation
Work through functional and medical needs, caregiver involvement, and safety concerns before discussing home support with the VA care team.
Open the VDC tool →Aid and Attendance: Form 21-2680
Get the current examination form used to document housebound status or the need for regular Aid and Attendance.
Get VA Form 21-2680 ↗Disability benefit forms
Enter common details once, then prepare supported VA disability forms. Each download checks VA’s current form listing.
Open the forms tool →Caregiver self-assessment
Consider the caregiver’s responsibilities, ability to provide care, and support needs before speaking with the social worker or care team.
Open the caregiver worksheet (PDF) ↗Care at home or in the community
Explore care needs, preferences, and available settings to prepare for a discussion about services with the VA care team.
Use VA’s care decision aid ↗Navigating VA assessments are preparation aids. VA determines eligibility, assessment results, services, and benefit amounts. Links marked ↗ open another website or a PDF in a new tab.
Different programs. Different starting points.
Some benefits increase compensation or pension. Others support a caregiver or arrange care through VA health care. Each program has its own requirements.
Additional monthly benefits
Explore Aid and Attendance through service-connected compensation or qualifying pension. Chapter 82 can help with these benefit claims.
Support for a family caregiver
Explore PCAFC and PGCSS with the local VA Caregiver Support Program team. The programs offer different levels and types of support.
Services that help at home
Ask a VA social worker or care team about Veteran-Directed Care, aides, respite, and other services available for the veteran’s needs.
Go from the question to the next step.
Use the preparation tools alongside current official program information.
SMC Aid and Attendance
A higher disability-compensation rate may be available when service-connected disabilities cause a veteran to need regular personal assistance. Describe the help required and how it relates to those disabilities.
Start here: Gather the functional and medical evidence, review Form 21-2680 with the examining clinician, and discuss the compensation claim with Chapter 82.
Pension Aid and Attendance
An increased pension amount for qualifying veterans or survivors who meet pension requirements and the applicable care-related criteria. Pension eligibility and financial requirements are part of the review.
Start here: Review the pension pathway and evidence of the assistance needed. Use the official form page to obtain Form 21-2680.
PCAFC
The Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers provides enhanced support to approved caregivers of eligible veterans. An approved Primary Family Caregiver may receive a monthly stipend and other benefits.
Start here: The veteran and caregiver apply together. Use the preparation tool to describe daily function and caregiver involvement before discussing the assessment with the VA caregiver team.
PGCSS
The Program of General Caregiver Support Services offers training, coaching, peer support, and referrals for caregivers of veterans enrolled in VA health care. PGCSS does not provide the PCAFC monthly stipend.
Start here: Contact the local Caregiver Support Program team about its intake process. The caregiver worksheet can help identify support needs.
Veteran-Directed Care
Eligible veterans receive a services budget and counseling support to arrange assistance with daily needs. The veteran or representative helps develop the spending plan and hire workers, which may include family members.
Start here: Ask a VA social worker or care team about clinical requirements and local availability. Use the VDC tool to organize the assistance and safety needs for that discussion.
Describe the help that is actually needed.
Daily care includes hands-on help, reminders, supervision, and protection from hazards. Record what happens under ordinary conditions, including how needs change over time.
The PCAFC and VDC tools offer structured prompts and printable summaries for preparation and discussion.
- What assistance is required?Describe the task, the help provided, and who provides it.
- How often is help needed?Include each-time assistance, supervision, and nighttime needs.
- What happens without that help?Describe actual limitations, incomplete tasks, or safety concerns.
- Where is it documented?Identify supporting records and gaps that need to be discussed with the care team.
How Chapter 82 can help.
Our role depends on the program involved.
Work with Chapter 82.
Chapter 82 provides benefits assistance for SMC Aid and Attendance, pension, and related claim or decision-review matters. Gather the relevant decisions, medical evidence, and descriptions of care needs.
Connect with VA health care.
For PCAFC, PGCSS, VDC, and other home-care programs, Chapter 82 provides education and referral information. Applications, assessments, and services are handled through the responsible VA health care team.