Taking Control – Consumer Directed Personal Attendant Services (CDPAS)

WHAT IS CDPAS?

CDPAS is a non-traditional home healthcare program where the consumers are able to hire, monitor, train, and terminate Personal Care Assistants (PCA) of their choosing. Taking control allows you to direct your assistant in tasks that include, but are not limited to:

· Bathing
· Getting in & out of bed or a wheelchair
· Toileting
· Eating & drinking
· Cooking
· Cleaning
· Personal errands
· Taking Medication
· Some Skilled nursing care, and more!

These responsibilities are subject to a limit on the number of hours set by the Department of Social Services.

AM I ELIGIBLE?

In order to use Taking Control a person must:
• Live in Jefferson, Lewis, St. Lawrence, or Franklin Counties
• Understand and make decisions regarding your medical care. If you do not meet this requirement, you may choose someone to act on your behalf.
• Have doctor’s orders for home care.
• Be eligible for Medicaid, Medicaid Managed Care plans, or a health insurance plan that contracts for CDPAS services.

WHO CAN I HIRE?

If accepted into the Taking Control program, you can hire almost anyone to be your personal assistant, including family members, friends, and neighbors. The person hired does not have to a professional license or education of any kind. But you must have the ability to train, monitor, and direct the tasks that your assistant performs for you. At this time, a spouse is ineligible to work for their spouse. A parent may work for their adult disabled child who is 21 or older.

HOW DO I APPLY?

In order to qualify for the Taking Control program, a person must have doctor’s orders for home health care, and be self-directing or have someone willing to do this for you.

Once these are in place, contact MILC for further instructions on how to enroll with your insurance company, or through the county Department of Social Services. All individuals wishing to enroll must have a home visit to assess your needs. When this visit happens – it is important to have a list of tasks that you would like performed for you. MILC can provide you with a sample list of tasks.

Once approved for hours of home care, MILC will be contacted to begin the final steps to enroll you in the Taking Control program.

HOW DO I HIRE PERSONAL CARE AIDES?

If you have someone in mind such as a family member, friend, or neighbor – contact MILC and we will schedule them for orientation. If you do not have anyone in mind, we will link you to an Independent Living Specialist staff member to help you post advertisements and with your search efforts.

Your assistant will need to have a physical and a tuberculosis test. We will pay for the costs of both if it is not covered by the assistant’s insurance. They must also supply copies of certain vaccination records.

If they pass both exams, and all enrollment paperwork is complete, MILC works with the assistant to arrange for them to use the automated clock-in system.

Once all steps are completed, the assistant can begin working with you.

WHY SHOULD I TAKE CONTROL?

As a person with a disability, Control is a key factor for getting what you want out of life. Having the ability to respond to opportunities while exercising the flexibility to change according to any given situation – is imperative to succeeding in your goals.

Working with “traditional” Personal Care Aides, this flexibility is diminished by the need to work with schedulers and nurses, creating a schedule that is very difficult to change and may actually limit independence and freedom of choice.

That’s where Taking Control comes in. This program will allow you to become the supervisor of your own personal assistance services. You can hire who you like, train them in areas important to you, and supervise their work on a daily basis. Tasks are not as limited as they are in a traditional care aide plan. If a personal assistant does not work well for you, you can replace them.