Personal Supports versus Community First Choice Personal Assistance Services

Prior to considering services to request, it is important to first envision what the person’s specific “Good Life” would look like. People can then start to consider their own unique trajectory and various services and supports to get to their “Good Life,” including informal supports, community programs, waiver and state plan services. Examples of a “Good Life” may include things such as being employed, becoming a more active member of the community, maintain and gaining independence, and living in a place of their choosing.

Personal Supports services is one of the many waiver services the DDA offers that assists individuals as they progress towards their defined “Good Life”. Personal Supports services are designed to be habilitative in nature; meaning they should support people to learn, keep or improve skills and functional abilities. They can assists participants who live in their own or family homes with acquiring, building or maintaining skills to necessary to maximize their personal independence. Personal Supports includes in home skills development and community integration and engagement skills development. Examples of in home skills development include learning how to do household chores or maintain a room/house, learning how to get dressed without assistance, or preparing meals. Community integration and engagement skills development include activities such as learning how to go grocery shopping, learning how to volunteer in the community, or learning how to independently use public transportation.

There are instances where the assessed need does not align with the scope of personal supports services. In these cases, other services should be explored including Medicaid’s Community First Choice (CFC) “Personal Assistance Services.”   For example, if a major focus of an individual’s needs involves personal care/ a need for assistance for activities of daily living such as bathing, toileting, and preparing meals for them, then CFC Personal Assistance Services is a more appropriate service. Personal Assistance Services are designed to assist individuals with services that are necessary for daily living.

There are some individuals in which both the DDA’s Personal Supports and CFC’s Personal Assistance Services are necessary to obtain the “Good Life.” However, the services cannot be used at the same time.

To determine which service is most appropriate, the DDA encourages individuals and their teams to consider what a “day in the life” looks like for the person including goals, supports needed, specific tasks being performed by the staff and the times services are being used. This daily schedule will help the person and their team to identify appropriate services to request to meet the unmet assessed need. It will also help the DDA to determine if an individual’s habilitative and health and safety needs are being met by the services and supports requested. If you have any questions about the appropriateness of DDA’s Personal Supports and/or CFC’s Personal Assistance Services, feel free to contact your regional office.