Functional Needs Assessment for Michigan Home Help: What to Expect

The functional needs assessment is a single home visit that determines two things:
whether your loved one qualifies for Michigan’s Home Help Program, and how many
monthly care hours they’ll receive. Everything flows from this one appointment — and in
our experience, the families who prepare for it get meaningfully better results than
those who don’t.

What the Caseworker Evaluates

An MDHHS adult services caseworker visits the home and evaluates your loved one’s
ability to handle daily activities independently. They assess bathing and hygiene,
dressing and grooming, eating and meal preparation, mobility and transferring, toileting
and incontinence, medication management, housekeeping and laundry, and grocery
shopping and errands.

Each category is scored based on how much help is required — from fully independent
to fully dependent. The combined score determines both eligibility and the number of
authorized care hours.

How to Prepare — What We Tell Every Family

After helping hundreds of Detroit families through this assessment, we’ve identified the
patterns that matter most.

Describe the worst days. If your mother needs help bathing five out of seven days, the
caseworker needs to hear “five out of seven days” — not see a good day where she
happens to manage on her own. The assessment should reflect consistent needs, not
peak performance.

Have the primary caregiver present. You see things the caseworker can’t observe in
a one-hour visit. How many times has your father fallen this year? What happens when
medication reminders don’t happen? How long does bathing actually take when it’s a
difficult morning? Your firsthand testimony fills critical gaps.

Bring documentation. Medical records, discharge summaries, medication lists, and
doctor’s notes about functional limitations. The caseworker can reference these to
supplement their in-person observations.

Don’t let pride undercut the assessment. Many older adults try to appear more
capable when being evaluated. They insist they can manage stairs they haven’t used in
months. They claim they cook meals the family has been preparing for them. Explain
beforehand that this visit is about getting help, and honesty is the best path to that help.

Mention nighttime and weekend needs. Assessments happen during weekday
daytime hours, but care needs don’t stop at 5 PM. If your loved one needs overnight
toileting help, weekend supervision, or early-morning assistance, make sure it’s
documented.

If the Hours Aren’t Enough

If the assessment authorizes fewer hours than your family believes are needed, you have
the right to appeal through MDHHS’s administrative hearing process. Provide additional
medical documentation and a detailed description of daily care needs that the
assessment may not have captured.

In our experience, appeals supported by a written caregiver statement (describing a
typical 24-hour care day in detail) and medical documentation are the most successful.

Prepare with CareChoice → Contact our Detroit team

Written by Sophia Aloia, Content & SEO Manager | CareChoice

Related: How to Apply for Home Help → | Michigan Home Help Program → | Wayne
County Home Help →