Managing Personal Care Services

Personal care attendants (PCAs, sometimes called personal care assistants) can help people with disabilities live more independent lives. An attendant typically works directly for and is employed by you, the person with the disability.

The role of a personal care attendant is to help you be able to do what you need to do. Your attendant may help you when you are dressing, going from one place to another, preparing meals, bathing, or other activities.

Personal care attendants can also help you do different types of tasks in the workplace. They can help with personal care, like in the restroom or at lunch breaks, or can help with job-related tasks, like help with reading, interpreting, lifting or reaching work materials, and traveling between work sites.

Paying for Personal Care Services

Some or all of the cost of hiring your personal care attendant may be paid by:

• Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Services as part of your individualized employment plan
  
• Private payments by you or your family

Finding Personal Care Attendants

Some people with disabilities rely on their family or friends for personal care services. Others decide to hire individuals who are not their family or friends. You can find good PCAs a number of different ways, including your local Center for Independent Living, online, or through a Personal Care Services agency. The Iowa Care Planning Council has a list of Home Care Services. Trualta, an online platform for caregivers, explains Personal Care, including how to find attendants (access to Trualta is free in Iowa).

Ensuring a Good Relationship

Since you will likely be the person who hires, trains, and manages your PCA, it is important to make sure you learn how to do that. You’ll also be spending a lot of time with your attendant and need to make sure the two of you have good communication and a good relationship.

Personal care services can be crucial to your ability to live independently. For more information on how to have good communication, tips on how to hire a personal attendant, and much more, take a look at the following resources:

• Making the Move to Managing Your Own Personal Assistance Services (PAS): A Toolkit for Youth with Disabilities Transitioning to Adulthood is a complete guide with fact sheets and tips for all sorts of topics, like finding, hiring, training, and managing a PCA.
• A Good Job is a six-minute animated video that talks about how to improve your relationship with a personal care assistant.
• The nonprofit Paralyzed Veterans of America offers a guide to Managing Personal Assistants.