Personal Assistant

Presented at the Gerontological Society of America's 54th Annual Scientific Meeting, this presentation includes detailed stories of consumers' experiences with the cash option.

Detailed information on the Independence Plus program including definitions for legislation and program information.

Based primarily on interviews with demonstration staff and other stakeholders, this paper draws lessons from their learning process on the design of basic features, in the Cash and Counseling demonstration programs. The lessons pertain to cooperating with existing service providers; outreach and enrollment; counseling and fiscal services; consumer spending plans and allowances; controlling program costs; and preventing misuse of the allowance and exploitation of the consumer.

This article describes the importance of examining views from multiple key stakeholders involved in implementing CD programs. The report focuses on the three background studies that informed the Cash & Counseling Demonstration and Evaluation, as well as results from the first year of implementation.

Implementation issues discussed in this article are centered around how consumers, providers, payers, and policy makers are affected by consumer-directed programs. The information for the report was gathered through interviews with twenty policy experts from the aging and disabilities community.

This report estimates the effects of Cash & Counseling on the caregivers who were providing the most unpaid assistance to adult beneficiaries when those beneficiaries volunteered to participate in the demonstration and completed a baseline interview. The caregivers in this analysis--identified by beneficiaries as their primary informal caregiver at baseline--were interviewed about 10 months later.

This report assesses the effects of Cash & Counseling on Medicaid beneficiaries' primary informal caregivers and describes the experiences of their directly hired workers. The abstract (free) and full report (subscription required) are available.

A two page open ended questionnaire to help consumers determine what services and purchases will help meet their needs.

West Virgina uses this brochure with participants in their Personal Options program. The brochure covers financial management and resource consultant services.

This notebook is used for training consumers in Florida's Consumer-Directed Care Plus program, this notebook highlights roles and responsibilities for consumers.