Maryland SDS-Families

When we build our budget, caregiver wages come first—not last. We decide what caregivers should be paid, then design the rest of the operation around making that sustainable.

We are able to do this because we built Clairo Care differently. Our team combines deep experience in caregiving/IDD services with backgrounds in technology and business operations, using that to build a leaner, more automated agency instead of a traditional one. That lower overhead is what lets us direct more of each dollar to caregiver wages.

Our wages are a structural part of how we operate, not a temporary offer. As explained above, wages come first in our budget—everything else is built around that, not the other way around. Even in the face of Medicaid cuts, protecting caregiver wages is our number one principle, and we will fight to maintain them to the greatest extent we're able.

Honestly, we don't know why the state is making this change—that decision was made above our level, and we don't have insight into the reasoning behind it. We're not going to pretend to have an answer we don't.

What we do know is that families and caregivers are being affected by it right now, and our focus is on helping them navigate the transition as smoothly as possible.

If you are working for Clairo Care and you are a family caregiver living in the home of the participant, you are eligible for the DOC tax exemption. The Federal and State tax exemption is handled in our payroll system and it is all smoothly handled on our end. FICA taxes can also be withheld if you qualify.

We have a delegating nurse on staff that can take care of all the required delegating nurse responsibilities. If you have a nurse you would like to keep, let us know and we can discuss how we can do that.

Not at all. Like the families and providers we work with, we're subject to the same lack of communication and transparency from the DDA that frustrates everyone in this space. The only contact we've had with the DDA was through the regional office when we applied to become a licensed provider. No one at Clairo has ever had a conversation with DDA leadership or anyone in the state legislature — and we have no influence over the decisions being made there.

A few reasons. Some of our staff is based in the DMV area and has built relationships with families and care coordinators across the state, many of which had made it clear that the current IDD options weren't working for them. 

No. Clairo is a small, grassrots,  independently owned company. Our owners are private individuals who have personal connections to the I/DD community and believe in helping improve I/DD services. 

No private equity. No venture capital. No outside firm with a financial stake in our decisions. The people running Clairo are the same people who fund it, and we intend to keep it that way.

We understand why it looks that way — and we want to be transparent about the timeline.

Clairo started the DDA approval process well before we knew anything about the changes coming to the SDS program. We were planning to bring this tech-enabled high wage model from other States to maryland despite any budget changes. 

 It wasn't until last July, in a conversation with a care coordinator in Maryland, that we first heard the SDS wage cuts for family caregivers were likely coming. 

After a conversation with a CCS last fall did we start thinking seriously about whether Clairo could be a resource for families facing those changes. Not to capitalize on a difficult situation, but because families who lose access to their current caregiving arrangement deserve a real alternative. That's been our focus ever since.

We're not here because of the budget cuts. But we do hope to be useful to families navigating them.

No — and we want to be as clear as possible about this.

We have deep respect for what self-direction represents. The ability for families to choose who provides care, to have a voice in how that care looks, and to keep trusted people in their loved one's life, that's not just a program feature, it's a right that families fought hard for. We believe in that same principle. It's the entire reason Clairo exists.

We are not a government agency. We have no role in DDA policy decisions, no influence over how SDS is funded or structured, and no financial interest in seeing self-direction reduced or eliminated. Frankly, if self-direction goes away, the philosophy our entire model is built on goes with it.

What we are is an alternative for families who want the spirit of self-direction — the choice, the control, the trusted caregiver, without the administrative burden that comes with managing it alone. Some families thrive in self-direction. Others are exhausted by it. We're here for the second group.

We want self-direction to survive and improve. And we think more options for families, not fewer, is always the right direction.