Most people asking about caregiver training want the answer to one question: what is this going to cost me, and does anyone else pay for it?
Straight answers below, including the ones that point you somewhere else.
What it costs here
Our 75-hour HCA Basic Training bundle is $745. At checkout you also pay 10.3% sales tax, which puts the all-in total right around $821.74. Checkout shows your exact number before you pay anything.
One clarification, because it comes up: the $100 registration fee is already included inside the $745. It is not an extra charge on top. It is simply the portion of your tuition that is non-refundable if you withdraw, which is why it is named separately in our refund policy.
The state exam fee is $150 and is separate, paid on exam day, not to us as part of tuition.
Specialty and add-on courses are priced individually, so you buy only what you actually need. There are no mandatory bundles.
When you compare us to other schools, compare the same things: does the quoted price include the exam, does it include the textbook, does it include CPR and First Aid, and are there registration or materials fees layered on later. A lower headline price with three add-ons is not a lower price.
One thing to check before you pay us anything
If you are a home care individual provider or an agency worker covered by the SEIU 775 collective bargaining agreement, your required training is already paid for through the Training Partnership, and you can access basic training, continuing education, nurse delegation courses, and free exam tutoring and peer mentoring at no cost to you (SEIU 775 Benefits Group).
We would rather tell you that up front than take your money for something you can get free. Check your eligibility with the Member Resource Center first. If you are not in that pathway, which covers most private-agency hires, adult family home staff, assisted living workers, and career changers coming in from outside the industry, read on.
Option 1: Employer sponsorship
This is the fastest and most common path, and it is underused because people do not ask.
Washington law gives employers a hard reason to pay: a new long-term care worker has to complete 75 hours of training within 120 days of hire or stop working, and has to be certified within the state deadline after that (DOH). An employer who does not get you trained loses you. Training you costs them less than replacing you.
How to ask, in one sentence: "I need to complete my 75 hours within 120 days. Does the agency sponsor training or reimburse tuition after a commitment period?"
Many will cover it outright. Others reimburse after 90 days of employment, or split it. Adult family home providers, who are often paying out of pocket, are frequently the most willing to negotiate because they cannot legally staff without trained caregivers.
If your employer wants to pay us directly, we invoice employers, and we run group cohorts for agencies training several hires at once. Have them call (253) 625-7606 ext. 100.
Option 2: Payment plans and self-pay
We take card, CashApp, Zelle, and payment by phone. Payment plans may be available depending on your situation, and the way to find out is to ask rather than assume the answer is no. All financial obligations do have to be met before we issue your certificate.
Call or text (907) 414-3347 and say what you can put down and what you can do monthly. We would rather build something that works than lose a student who would have been good at this job.
Option 3: WorkSource and WorkForce Central
Pierce County's workforce system runs on federal, state, and local employment and training grants, administered locally by WorkForce Central. For eligible job seekers, WIOA Title I funds can pay for training through an Individual Training Account, essentially a voucher applied to tuition (WorkForce Central ITA policy).
The catch worth knowing before you spend a week on paperwork: ITA-funded training generally has to be delivered by a program on Washington's Eligible Training Provider List, the state's official list of programs approved to receive those funds. Ask your WorkSource career specialist to confirm which local HCA programs are currently listed, and call us so we can tell you exactly where we stand and what documentation your caseworker needs from us.
Start at a WorkSource center in Pierce County and ask specifically about healthcare-sector training funds, not general job search help.
Option 4: SNAP-linked training (BFET)
If you receive federally funded Basic Food (SNAP), are 16 or older, and can work or engage in work activities, you may qualify for the Basic Food Employment and Training program, which provides employment and training support to SNAP recipients not enrolled in TANF (DSHS).
BFET runs through participating provider organizations, mostly community and technical colleges and community-based agencies, so ask your DSHS case manager which BFET partners in Pierce County currently support healthcare training. Even where BFET does not cover our tuition directly, it may cover support costs around it, including transportation and work-related expenses, which is often the difference between finishing and dropping out.
Option 5: Vocational rehabilitation
If you have a disability that has affected your employment, Washington's Division of Vocational Rehabilitation can pay for some services in an approved employment plan, including tuition, books, fees, supplies, and in some cases child care and transportation, when the training is necessary to reach an agreed employment outcome (DVR customer handbook, WAC 67-25-330). DVR will ask you to apply for other benefit programs first and to contribute if you are able.
This path takes longer to set up. Start it before you need it.
What we do not have, and why we say so
Wellspring is licensed as a private vocational school under Chapter 28C.10 RCW. We are not accredited and we do not offer federal financial aid. No Pell Grants, no federal student loans, no FAFSA.
That is a real difference between us and a community or technical college, and you should know it before you enroll rather than after. What you get in exchange is speed and flexibility: rolling enrollment instead of quarter start dates, small cohorts, evening and weekend options, and a program you can start this month instead of next term. If federal aid is the deciding factor for you, a public college is the right call and we will tell you that on the phone.
The math worth doing
Home health and personal care aide employment is projected to grow 18% from 2025 to 2035, far faster than average, with roughly 760,500 openings a year nationally (Bureau of Labor Statistics). Washington expects Medicaid-funded long-term care demand to rise 55% by 2050 while the caregiver workforce grows only about 17% (Washington State Standard).
Translated: this is a credential that gets you hired, in a field that cannot fill its openings, in a state that legally requires the credential you would be holding.
Against that, roughly $855 in tuition plus a $150 exam fee is a few weeks of pay in most cases.
Talk to us before you decide you cannot afford it
We have had students who assumed the answer was no and never asked. Call or text (907) 414-3347, or email info2@wellspringhomehealth.com, and tell us your situation. We will point you at the right pathway even when it is not ours.