Wyoming · personal care aide (PCA)
Wyoming’s rules depend on where you work. Licensed home health agencies require a certified nursing assistant (CNA) for hands-on personal care, while workers hired directly through the Community Choices Waiver take the state’s participant-direction trainings instead. As of July 2026, spouses can also be paid for some care.
At a glance
What the state asks of PCAs who work for licensed agencies or Medicaid programs.
| Job titles | Personal support services worker, direct service worker (DSW), participant-directed employee, home health aide, homemaker |
| Training | Agency home health aides: CNA plus agency training to show competency in the home setting, with no set hours. Agency homemakers: 8 hours. Participant-directed employees: state participant-direction trainings, no set hours. |
| Exam | CNA certification for agency home health aides. No separate state exam for participant-directed employees. |
| Certification | CNA certification is required for home health aides at licensed agencies. |
| Background check | At hire and every five years: national name and Social Security number check, Department of Family Services (DFS) Central Registry, sex offender website, and federal exclusion list searches. |
| Yearly training | Participant-direction trainings are retaken every two years. CPR and First Aid may also be required; confirm current rules. |
| Minimum age | 18 |
| Agency licensing | Wyoming Department of Health, Aging Division (Healthcare Licensing and Surveys), home health agency license |
Training
At licensed home health agencies, aides who give hands-on personal care must be CNAs and complete agency training showing they can work safely in a home setting. The state rule does not set a number of hours for this extra training. Homemakers, who do not provide personal care, need at least 8 hours of training before their first assignment.
If you are hired directly by someone in the Community Choices Waiver (CCW), you complete the state’s Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) Participant-Direction Trainings, sign an attestation with the financial management services (FMS) agency, and retake the trainings every two years. A 2019 state bulletin also required current CPR and First Aid, but the 2026 rules do not list them, so ask your FMS agency.
The steps
The usual path for a new aide.
Family caregivers
Yes, through the Community Choices Waiver (CCW). In participant-direction, the participant hires their own workers through an FMS agency, and relatives who are not legally responsible can be paid. Each employee can work up to 40 hours a week per employer.
New in July 2026: spouses can now be hired as participant-directed employees for Personal Support Services. Legal decision makers cannot be paid, and parents cannot provide Companion or Homemaker services.
Read our full guide: how to get paid to care for a family member.
Compare
All three help people with daily care. Training, tasks, and pay differ.
| Personal care aide | Home health aide | CNA | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Training | CNA plus agency training; varies | 75 hours federal minimum, including 16 hands-on | State-approved program, 75 hours or more |
| Medical tasks | Mostly not. Help with daily living, like bathing, dressing, meals, and housework | Some, like vital signs, under nurse supervision | Yes, under nurse supervision |
| Where you work | Clients' homes, group homes, assisted living | Clients' homes, through home health agencies | Nursing homes and hospitals |
| Median pay (WY) | $15.96 an hour* | $15.96 an hour* | $18.83 an hour |
*Federal pay data groups personal care aides with home health aides. Many PCAs later become CNAs, which opens more jobs and higher pay.
FAQ
Short answers to what people ask most.
It depends. Aides giving hands-on care at licensed home health agencies must be CNAs. Participant-directed employees need no certificate but must complete state trainings and background checks.
Agency home health aides must be CNAs and complete agency training on working in the home, with no hour count set in state rules. Agency homemakers, who do not give personal care, need at least 8 hours.
Yes, starting July 1, 2026. Spouses can be hired as participant-directed employees for Personal Support Services under the Community Choices Waiver.
Yes, if she is in the Community Choices Waiver. Relatives who are not legally responsible for her can be paid through participant-direction, but legal decision makers cannot.
Home health and personal care aides in Wyoming earn a median of $15.96 an hour, based on the May 2025 federal wage survey.