CDPAANYS

CDPAP is an alternative to traditional home care programs often categorized with personal care. However, unlike personal care or other home care programs, CDPAP has an amendment to the Nurse Practice Act that legally allows anyone to perform tasks that typically only a nurse would be allowed to do, such as administer medications, as long as it is the consumer who is training and supervising the personal assistant (PA).

Unlike traditional home care programs where an agency employs the different “levels” of home care worker - “homemaker,” “personal care aide,” “home health aide,” “Licensed Practical Nurse,” and “Registered Nurse” - CDPAP has one level of worker - the Personal Assistant (PA). In traditional models, the agency schedules and supervises the traditional levels of workers. Under CDPAP, the home care recipient (consumer) is responsible for the employment responsibilities - recruitment, hiring, training, supervising, scheduling and terminating, if necessary, their choice of PA.

Who Can Use the Program?

County caseworkers and nurses assess each individual for his/her CDPAP eligibility.

Be Medicaid eligibile;
Be eligible for home care services, personal care services, or private duty nursing;
Require some or total assistance with one or more home care, personal care, or skilled nursing service;
Have a stable medical condition; and
Be self-directing or have a designated representative who is willing and competent to assume the roles and responsibilities that go with the program.

The definition of a self-directing consumer is:

“a consumer who is capable of making choices regarding the consumer’s activities of daily living and the type, quality and management of his or her consumer directed personal assistance; understands the impact of these choices; and assumes responsibility for the results of these choices.” (10 NYCRR 505.28(b)(9))

Since the consumer assumes employer responsibilities, (to recruit, hire, train, supervise and terminate) s/he must be capable off performing these duties. Directing the personal assistant and completing required paperwork are core competencies.

The CDPAP organization, known as a fiscal intermediary (FI) will provide administrative framework on behalf of the employing consumer. The FI works to facilitate processes such as: collecting paperwork, payroll, benefits and supporting consumers to navigate directing their program.

The fiscal intermediary members of the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Association of New York State (CDPAANYS) strive for the best check and balance model while affording consumers the highest level of empowerment, consistent with the original philosophy of CDPAP.