Astoria caregivers: from the Houses to the waterfront, how CDPAP works

Astoria is where a Greek grandmother on 31st Street, a Bangladeshi family on Steinway, an Egyptian household near the Astoria Houses, and a Brazilian couple in a walk-up off 36th Avenue all run into the same question: can the person who already helps every day be paid to do it through Medicaid? The Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPAP) is the program that makes that possible in some cases, and the rules about who can be the assistant come from the New York State Department of Health, not from any agency or intermediary. Astoria also has one of the four NYC Aging in-person counseling sites in Queens, at the RAICES senior center on 30th Drive. Greek, Arabic, Spanish, Bengali, and Portuguese speakers can ask for interpreters on every number listed here.

Astoria's ZIPs are usually given as 11102 (west, toward the river), 11103 (central), 11105 (Ditmars and Steinway), and 11106 (south, toward Long Island City), all approximate; verify with USPS. County: Queens.

• NY Connects: 1-800-342-9871 (Relay 7-1-1).
• HIICAP: 1-800-701-0501; say "Queens" when the recording asks for your county. NYC Aging Connect, 212-244-6469, ask for HIICAP.
• In person: RAICES / Astoria Senior Center, 21-21 30th Drive, Astoria, NY 11102, 718-726-9642, Monday to Friday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., by appointment. Near the N and W at 30th Avenue. Call Aging Connect first; sites change.

Astoria Medicaid is HRA, citywide. HRA Medicaid Helpline 1-888-692-6116 for eligibility and renewals. HRA's Home Care Services Program, for people not in a managed care plan, is reached through the DSS OneNumber, 718-557-1399. Managed Long Term Care members get hours from the plan; New York Medicaid Choice (1-800-505-5678, TTY 1-888-329-1541) handles plan enrollment questions. Office locations are on nyc.gov/hra. A NYCHA management office cannot help with any of this; it is a different agency.

1. Medicaid is active and a home care assessment documents the need (adults 21 and over assessed on or after September 1, 2025 fall under the Department of Health's Minimum Needs Requirements).
2. The plan or HRA authorizes personal care; CDPAP needs its own authorization and person-centered service plan per the Department's chart.
3. The family chooses the assistant. Excluded: the spouse, the designated representative, and the parent of a consumer under 21. Adult children and in-laws are named as allowed, and Department guidance describes "any other adult relative," which is the language an adult grandchild would look to; confirm with the plan or HRA.
4. Consumer and assistant register with Public Partnerships LLC (PPL), the Department-designated statewide fiscal intermediary: 1-833-247-5346, TTY 1-833-204-9042, or online through PPL@Home, a community facilitator, or an in-person session.
5. The assistant completes the pre-service health assessment; time is recorded and approved through PPL's systems.

• Bringing Medicaid or home care paperwork to the NYCHA management office at the Astoria, Queensbridge, or Ravenswood Houses. Housing and Medicaid are different agencies. Medicaid is HRA; home care hours are the plan or HRA's Home Care Services Program.
• Accepting a plan's reduction letter as final. For managed care members the plan appeal comes first, and filing it within 10 days of the notice date (or before the effective date, whichever is later) keeps services unchanged while the appeal is decided. After the plan's final decision there is a further fair hearing right through the state.
• Assuming a grandchild who lives elsewhere is "too distant" to be the assistant. The Department's exclusions are specific (spouse, designated representative, parent of a minor consumer). Adult relatives outside those categories are generally not excluded; the plan or HRA confirms the particular case.

Mount Sinai Queens on 30th Avenue is the neighborhood hospital, and the RAICES senior center on 30th Drive is the in-person counseling site. Neither decides Medicaid home care.