PCA Choice Service
PCA Choice services are available to both children and adults with disabilities, chronic diseases, behavioral diagnoses and mental illnesses who need assistance with personal care in their home
PCA Choice
Service overview
Self-directed Personal Care Assistance (PCA) Choice services are available to children and adults. Personal Care Assistance can help with the “activities of daily living” such as dressing, grooming, eating, bathing, transfers, mobility, positioning, and toileting for adults and children, as well as light housekeeping, laundry, and meal preparation for adults.
With PCA Choice, clients independently recruit, hire and train the PCAs who provide their care. The PCA Choice option gives them a greater level of responsibility in managing their care while Accra assists in handling the employment and management-related functions of their PCA. As a PCA Choice agency, Accra provides PCA services to Medical Assistance clients and clients receiving waivered services, but not to people seeking private pay.
Why choose Accra?
Accra has more than 4,000 PCA Choice clients, making it our largest program.
With PCA Choice, Accra:
- Provides qualified professional supervision, including a customized and comprehensive care plan for your services
- Bills the state for qualified professional supervision
- Pays and withholds taxes for PCAs and qualified professionals
- Pays a competitive wage and provides a significant benefits package, including PTO
- Facilitates criminal background checks for staff
- Maintains written agreements with clients, PCAs, qualified professionals and responsible parties
- Assures that staff have completed required training
I was proud of the support I received from Accra. I used to tell friends that our team at Accra cares about my needs and what I need more than anyone else. I was so lucky to have good people on my side and I hope to find the same thing in Maryland.
”
Zarina Abedi
Former PCA Choice client
GETTING STARTED
How to get PCA Choice services
1.
Apply for Medical Assistance
Apply for Medical Assistance by contacting your county human services office.
2.
Get an assessment for PCA services
Contact your county or health plan to request an assessment for PCA services. An assessor will contact you to conduct an assessment, which will determine if you qualify to receive PCA services and if so, for how many hours per day. Tell the assessor at the time of the assessment that you want Accra to be your PCA Choice provider.
3.
Contact Accra
If you have PCA services through another company, we will have you sign a “change of agency” form and help coordinate the transfer of services to Accra. Please call 612-439-9720 or email us at PCAIntake@accracare.org to start the process of transferring or starting services.
We can help you find a local caregiver
Existing Accra clients can search our job board to find support workers who best fit their needs.
PCA Choice client responsibilities
- Recruiting, hiring and training the PCA staff
- Providing back-up staff as needed
- Providing daily supervision and scheduling PCA staff
- Monitoring and evaluating PCA staff
- Maintaining documentation of the PCA tasks and services
- Verifying and signing PCAs timesheets.
- Attending all visits
PCA Choice caregiver qualifications
- Be able to provide the authorized cares found in the client’s care plan
- Pass a criminal background check, and qualify for a PCA provider number from the Minnesota Department of Human Services
- Be willing to enter into a written agreement with the client and the PCA Choice provider that outlines their roles and responsibilities
- Comply with current state laws and regulations regarding PCA services
- Be 18 years old, or be 16 or 17 years old with additional training