What You Need to Know About the CDS Program

As family members of our senior loved ones, we want to make sure that they are receiving the best care possible. We know this too well as a provider of elderly care in Florissant, Missouri at Quality Assurance Services. That said, who else is best suited to give this type of care than you?

Consumer Directed Services (CDS) is designed to fill this need. Offered under the Medicaid program, it provides training, resources, and qualifications to the personal care attendant (PCA) as chosen by the participant to provide their care. The CDS program is open to a family member, a relative, or a loved one, excluding a spouse.

Interested in the program? Here is what you need to know about it first:

• It follows a similar employee-employer arrangement

  Since the participant is the employer of the attendant, the participant also has the responsibility to interview, hire, schedule, and terminate their prospective nurse in St. Louis County, that is, their PCA, as needed.

  However, it allows for more flexibility and choice. In the hands of a family member or loved one as their PCA, your senior loved one does not need to adjust. They also have more power to influence the design and delivery of their care, including where and when they receive it.

• The participant cannot just choose anyone to be their attendant

  While the key feature of the CDS program is choice, the participant also has to make sure that the person they choose can qualify as a PCA and deliver services, including personal care services, such as bathing, dressing, grooming, toileting, meal preparation, and feeding assistance. PCA is also responsible for taking on errands such as shopping, paying bills/banking, picking up medication, etc.

We offer the program under our home care services in Missouri. For more information about the program, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us.