By Julie Erdmann
Director of Marketing
Community Care

Participants enrolled in Community Care’s PACE, Family Care Partnership and Family Care programs have an option that allows them to choose to direct some of their services — the Self-Directed Supports option.

The SDS option allows program participants to hire a trusted relative, neighbor or friend with the appropriate background to help provide some of their care, with the approval of their Community Care team.
Here’s how it works:

• Participants tell their Community Care team they want to discuss SDS as an option.
• The participant and the team will identify the outcomes desired and develop a plan of self-directed supports to help achieve those outcomes.
• The participant’s Community Care team will establish an individual service budget for the support services a participant has chosen to include.
• With help from the Community Care team and the participant’s family and/or significant others, a participant will determine who provides supports and at what costs.
• The participant will hire and pay services providers, or may arrange support services through Community Care as a co-employer.
• The participant will monitor services and budget to make sure the quality and costs are acceptable.
• The Community Care team will receive monthly reports of services provided, costs and balances remaining.

The SDS option is flexible, allowing participants to choose to manage some or all of their long-term care services. The Community Care team will monitor the quality and costs of the services provided under the SDS option to make sure that the participant’s desired outcomes are achieved. Community Care supports participants in making their individualized Self-Directed Supports plans successful.