Personal Assistance
Personal assistance means assistance with normal personal maintenance and household care activities at the direction of the recipient of services, his/her family member or guardian, in accordance with an established Plan of Care. Personal Assistance services include attendant care, specified household chores, assistance with shopping appointments or other errands essential to community integration. The purpose of personal assistance is to provide necessary support for eligible people to meet their daily living needs and improve integration into the community.
Personal assistance services are described as follows:
1. Attendant Care Services:
a. Bathing in bed, in the tub, or shower;
b. Using toilet or bedpan;
c. Grooming: care of hair, including shampooing, shaving and the ordinary care of nails;
d. Helping recipient in transferring from bed to chair or wheelchair, in and out of tub or shower;
e. Care of teeth and mouth;
f. Changing bed linens with recipient in bed;
g. Helping with eating and preparing meals, including special therapeutic diets for the recipients;
h. Dressing;
i. Ambulation, indoors and out;
j. Escorting recipient to clinics, physician’s office, related medical therapies, recreation activities and/or other trips;
k. Assisting with medication that can be self-administered;
l. Assisting recipient with use of special equipment such as walker, braces, crutches, wheelchair, etc., after thorough demonstration by a registered professional nurse or physical therapist, with return demonstration until registered professional nurse or physical therapist is satisfied that recipient can use equipment safely; m. Assisting recipient in implementing physical or occupational therapy, or speech language pathology programs.
2. Household Chores:
a. Care of kitchen, including maintenance of general cleanliness of refrigerator, stove, sink, and floor, dishwashing;
b. Care of bathroom, including maintaining cleanliness of toilet, tub, shower, and floor;
c. Care of recipient’s personal laundry and bed linen (may include necessary ironing and mending);
d. Bed making and changing of bed linen;
e. Window washing;
f. Lawn cutting;
g. Putting out garbage;
h. Other necessary household chores related to Independent living.
3. Errand Services:
a. Routine errands for recipient such as picking up medication, picking up prepared meals, marketing, or any short trip to perform a specific task.
An Overview:
Services Available through (YMHDD) and
This Overview provides a general description of the wide range of services available to individuals who are enrolled on New Jersey’s Medicaid Community Care Waiver (CCW) and the Qualified Provider YMHDD. The specific services individuals receive is based on their assessed need incorporated into their Service Plan, which is reviewed and updated annually. Specific questions about waiver services should be directed to a case manager.
1. Case Management Services
“Case management services” help individuals learn about and gain access to any
service that can help address their needs. These include, but are not limited to,
Medicaid waiver and Medicaid State Plan services as well as medical, social,
educational, county and municipal services. Please call your local Division of Developmental Disabilities, Community Service Office, located at 2 Echelon Plaza, 221 Laurel Road, Suite 210, Voorhees, NJ 08043, (856) 770- 5900 and ask for a Real Life Choice Assessment for Self-Directed Day Services.
2. Individual Supports
“Individual supports,” sometimes referred to as “personal assistance services,”
provide an individual with the assistance he or she needs to live in, and become
part of, the community. These generally are tasks and activities related to selfcare, personal maintenance, habilitation and household duties. They are
performed in an individual’s own or family home, or in another community-based
setting (such as a group home or a supported apartment) at the direction of the
individual receiving the assistance, his or her family member or guardian.
The people who provide individual supports usually are staff employed by
agencies that either administer and provide services in community residences,
such as group homes or supported apartments, or that provide services in an
individual’s home. Individual supports also may be provided by some members of the individual’s family. The waiver will not pay for services furnished by the individual’s parent (or step-parent) or spouse, or by a guardian, legally responsible relative or a relative who lives with the person receiving the service. This rule will only be waived during periods of transition, such as when a new staff person has been hired but not yet started work. In these cases, relatives residing in the individual’s home will be permitted to provide services for a period of no more than 30 days a year and for no more than 40 hours/week.
Some examples of Individual Supports/ Personal Assistance Services include:
• Attendant Care Services:
o Bathing in bed, in the tub, or shower;
o Assisting in the use of a toilet or bedpan;
o Grooming: hair care (including shampooing), shaving and ordinary nail
cares;
o Helping individuals transfer from bed to chair or wheelchair, or in and out
of a tub or shower;
o Caring for the teeth and mouth;
o Changing bed linens with an individual in bed;
o Assisting with eating and preparing meals, including special therapeutic
diets;
o Dressing;
o Ambulation (walking), indoors and out;
o Escorting individuals to clinics, physician’s offices, related medical
therapies, recreation activities and/or other trips;
o Assisting with medication that can be self-administered;
o Assisting with the use of special equipment such as a walker, braces,
crutches, wheelchair, etc., after a thorough demonstration by a registered
professional nurse or physical therapist, until that person is satisfied that
the individual can use the equipment safely;
o Assisting in implementing physical or occupational therapy, speech
language pathology programs or psychological/behavioral programs.
• Household Chores:
o Kitchen care, to include washing the dishes and making sure the
refrigerator, stove, sink since and floor are clean.
o Bathroom care, to include cleaning the toilet, tub, shower, and floor;
o Laundry, to include caring for an individual’s personal items and bed linen
(may include necessary ironing and mending);
o Making and changing beds, washing windows, cutting lawns and putting
out the garbage
o Other household chores necessary for independent living.
• Routine errands, such as picking up medication or preparing meals, shopping or
any short trip to perform a specific task. It is important to note that these services
are not meant to isolate the individual from the community; therefore, the
individual should accompany the Individual Support Staff wherever possible.
3. Respite Services
“Respite” is care that individuals receive when their parent(s), guardian or other
immediate caregiver is temporarily absent or disabled. Respite services may be
provided at the provider’s business location or private home, in the home of the
individual with developmental disabilities, or in a location approved by the
individual or his/her legal guardian.
DDD bases decisions about whether to grant a request for respite on guidelines
that address what constitutes a need for respite, what respite is and who can
provide respite. In some cases, state laws and regulations also define who can
provide respite services.
DDD may approve members of the individual’s family to provide respite.
However, the division will not pay for services furnished by the individual’s parent
(or step-parent), spouse, or by a guardian, legally responsible relative or a
relative residing in the service recipient’s residence.
4. Supported Employment Services
“Supported employment services” make it possible for some individuals with
developmental disabilities to work and earn an income. These are individuals
whose disabilities are such that they need intensive support in order to perform
paid employment in a work setting on an ongoing basis. One example would be a
job coach who works with a consumer at a community job. Even with these
services, the individuals are unlikely to be able to perform competitive
employment at or above the minimum wage.
Supported employment can occur in a variety of settings, including work sites in
which persons without disabilities are also employed. It may include supervision
and training.
It is important to note that the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Services
(DVRS) is the primary provider of this service. This service can only be
accessed through the CCW :
1) if it is determined that additional follow along Job Coach hours are
required after DVRS has completed its own Supported Employment
process; or
2) in cases where DVRS finds the individual cannot benefit from its
Supported Employment Services and a qualified DDD provider can
guarantee employment if Supported Employment Services are provided.
If transportation is available to the individual at no cost, he or she will be
expected to use it. Otherwise, it can be provided between an individual’s
residence or pickup/drop off site and his or her supported employment sites, up
to a distance of 38 miles or a total of one hour and fifteen minutes travel time one
way, based upon whichever limit is reached first.
Volunteerism is not included in Supported Employment Services.
5. Support Coordination (Supports for Self-Direction)
“Support Coordination” is the assistance individuals and their families receive as
they learn to self-direct their own services by using an individual budget.
Individuals who self-direct are responsible for managing their own services and
recruiting, hiring and, if necessary, firing the staff that provides those services.
Support Coordination is provided by a Support Coordinator. The Support
Coordinator introduces individuals and their families to the services and supports
available through the waiver and helps them arrange to get them for the
individuals. The Support Coordinator also introduces them to the process of
creating an Essential Lifestyle Plan (ELP), which is the Service Plan for people
who self-direct.
6. Transportation Services
“Transportation Services” refers to transportation that allows individuals to travel to waiver services and supports when it is not otherwise provided. Examples of
transportation services covered by the waiver include the cost of personal drivers*,
taxi fares and train and bus tickets. The waiver also covers transportation services
such as Access Link that are provided by municipalities, counties, or private
contractors. Individuals must select the service that is the most cost-effective means
of transportation available. The State establishes the mileage reimbursement rates.
*The waiver covers two different types of personal drivers:
1. Self-Hire – An individual and his or her family hires their own driver. The driver
uses his or her personal vehicle
2. Agency Hire – An individual and his or her family contracts with an agency to
provide a driver. The driver uses his or her personal vehicle.