Participant Direction

Many older adults find a care provider by going through a certified personal care service agency. But perhaps you already know someone who you think would be a good fit, or you’d just prefer to choose and hire a care provider for yourself. 

Participant direction — also known as self-direction — is an option available to individuals on Ohio’s PASSPORT Medicaid Waiver Program. Participant direction is designed to give individuals more choice and control over how, when, and by whom they receive their services.

In participant direction, you recruit and hire your own care provider. The person you hire becomes certified through the Ohio Department of Aging (ODA) instead of getting hired as an employee through a certified personal care service agency. YOU are the employer, and the provider is your employee. You are the employer of record and are responsible for recruiting, hiring, firing, managing, and evaluating provider performance, keeping employer records, and setting the provider’s work schedule. You can designate a representative of your choice to assist with some, or all, of your employer responsibilities.

There are two service options that fall under participant direction. The main differences between the two are in whether they can provide you with transportation and in how their hourly pay rate is set.

• Choices-Home Care Attendant Service (C-HCAS)
  Your care provider can assist you with tasks such as money management, ADLs (bathing, dressing, feeding, toileting, etc.), IADLs (grocery shopping, meal preparation, managing transportation, house cleaning, etc.), escort and transportation, errands outside the home, respite, homemaking, and home maintenance and chore tasks. Your provider can transport you under C-HCAS if they show proof of active driver’s license and general liability vehicle insurance. You set the provider’s hourly wage with the help of your case manager.
• Consumer-Directed Personal Care Service (CD-PCS)
  Your care provider can assist you with tasks such as ADLs (bathing, dressing, feeding, toileting, etc.), IADLs (grocery shopping, meal preparation, managing transportation, house cleaning, etc.), errands outside the home, respite, and homemaking, but they cannot transport you as a task under CD-PCS. Their hourly pay rate is set by the state.

If you’re interested in taking advantage of one of these service options, please talk with your PASSPORT care manager to decide what option will be the best fit for your individual situation.