CSIL, explained: BC's self-managed home support funding

How CSIL works

Regular subsidized home support is delivered by the health authority on the health authority's schedule. CSIL flips that: the health authority pays the funding to you, and you run the care. In the program's own words, clients become employers who manage all aspects of their home support, from hiring and supervising staff to overseeing how the funds are spent.

Employer means employer: the CSIL policy manual makes the client responsible for hiring, scheduling, and supervising care providers, and for complying with Canada Revenue Agency, WorkSafeBC, and employment-standards obligations where they hire individuals. It's real control and real administration, which is exactly the trade some families want and some don't.

The funding rate

Health authorities must fund CSIL at a minimum hourly rate set by the Ministry of Health: $38.19 per hour effective April 1, 2024, which remains the most recently published rate as of July 2026. The number of funded hours comes from the health authority's assessment of need.

Who qualifies

CSIL is for home support clients with high, ongoing daily care needs who can direct their own care. People who can't manage the employer role themselves aren't shut out: a representative named through a Representation Agreement, or a client support group (a small non-profit society of family and friends), can act as the CSIL employer instead.

Applying runs through your health authority's home and community care office, starting with the same assessment as regular home support.

Using CSIL with an agency like Salve

Employer doesn't have to mean recruiting strangers. Many CSIL clients spend some or all of their funding on an agency: you hire Salve directly, pay us from your CSIL funds, and we provide clear invoices for your CSIL records. You keep the control and the reporting; we carry the scheduling, the backup coverage, and the training.

The practical math: CSIL funds a minimum of $38.19 per hour and Salve's caregiver-led rate is $41 to $45, so CSIL typically covers most of each hour with a small top-up, depending on your funded hours and how you deploy them. We'll map it against your actual funding letter on the 15-minute call.

CSIL or regular home support?

• § Want the health authority to run everything: regular home support (income-based daily rate, no administration)
• § Want control of who comes and when, and accept the paperwork: CSIL
• § Want control without being the employer alone: CSIL with a representative or client support group
• § Want CSIL's control with an agency's reliability: CSIL funds spent on an agency like Salve

What families ask.

• Who qualifies for CSIL in BC?

  Home support clients with high, ongoing daily personal care needs who can direct their own care, assessed through their health authority. Where the client can't act as employer, a representative under a Representation Agreement or a client support group can hold the role.

• What is the CSIL hourly rate?

  Health authorities fund CSIL at a minimum of $38.19 per hour, the rate effective April 1, 2024 and still the current published rate as of July 2026. Funded hours are set by the health authority's assessment.

• Can CSIL pay for a home care agency?

  Yes. There is no approved-provider list: you hire whoever fits, including an agency. CSIL clients hire and pay Salve directly from their funding, and we provide invoices for their CSIL records.

• Is CSIL taxable income?

  CSIL funding is care funding paid to you as the employer to purchase services, not wages. For how it interacts with your own taxes, ask your accountant; for what it must be spent on, the health authority's CSIL agreement governs.

• How do we apply?

  Through your health authority's home and community care office: Vancouver 604-263-7377, Richmond 604-675-3644, North Shore 604-983-6700, Fraser Health 1-855-412-2121, Island Health (Nanaimo) 250-739-5749. Ask for a home support assessment and say you're interested in CSIL.

Sources.

Checked against these sources on July 27, 2026. The policy manual is the binding document; the web page is the plain-language version.

• § Government of BC: Choice in Supports for Independent Living (CSIL)
• § Home and Community Care Policy Manual, chapter 4 (CSIL policy and rates)

Read next

• § Home care vs home support in BC
• § Costs and coverage at Salve
• § Hourly home care

If the funding picture still feels murky for your situation, that's what the 15-minute call is for: we'll tell you what applies, what it pays, and what the remainder would actually cost.

Fifteen minutes on the phone. By the end, you'll know whether Salve fits.

Or by phone: 778-953-3134