Participants in the VA’s Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers (PCAFC) can remain enrolled through Sept. 30, 2028, as work continues on possible changes to eligibility criteria, the department announced in a Sept. 26 email.

The decision allows these caregivers to maintain access to a range of critical benefits, including a stipend some worried could be cut or withdrawn completely as new criteria took effect. The VA had pledged to keep legacy participants enrolled through Sept. 30, 2025; the new rule, published Sept. 29 in the Federal Register, adds three years to that extension.

“While the PCAFC’s future remains uncertain, MOAA is grateful to the VA for taking this step to provide some clarity and reassurance to legacy program participants,” said Cmdr. René Campos, USN (Ret), MOAA’s senior director of Government Relations. “We will remain involved with the VA’s efforts to establish new criteria as part of our ongoing work to provide those who care for our veterans with the resources and support they need and deserve.”

PCAFC programs include respite care, education and training, mental health counseling, and some travel expenses. Primary family caregivers under the program qualify not just for a stipend, but may access health care coverage and some legal and financial services.

The recent extension covers all legacy participants, even those who “received a preliminary determination that they did not meet the [new] criteria or were determined eligible but at a reduced stipend amount,” according to the VA’s announcement.