Support during Crisis Situations
During these challenging times the Intellectual and Developmental Disability (I/DD) community is at high risk for negative health outcomes due to Covid-19. Self-Directed services, also known as Participant Directed services, are an effective option for protecting this vulnerable population while maintaining a focus on person centered practices. Applied Self Direction, the national experts on Self Direction, have published the following key reasons self-direction is a valuable programmatic tool during this crisis:
- Self-Directed services allow clients to hire friends, family or other members of their household enabling them to stay at home while limiting their exposure to outside agency workers as recommended by the CDC.
- Labor shortages have arisen due to the infection of direct service professionals, choosing to stay home and the closure of school and community-based programs. By accessing their personal networks, clients may find support workers they can trust who may be recently unemployed providing flexibility and continuity of support.
- Access to necessary goods and services is severely limited during the crisis. Participant directed services can provide for unanticipated but necessary purchases of goods and services such as meal delivery, household staples and other supplies unique to each person’s needs.
- Sustainable services are always a consideration, but especially important during this time of economic uncertainty. Participant directed services lack traditional agency overhead thereby providing better value for public dollars expended.
I/DD agencies bear an important responsibility for ensuring the health and welfare of participants during crisis situations like COVID-19. Rapid response is often necessary to avoid delays in care and to adjust program resources. Aveanna Healthcare’s Support Services can leverage existing systems and innovative solutions to quickly assist during this time.
With over a decade working with I/DD agencies and all of the resources and expertise of a national healthcare agency, we can provide:
- Employer of Record, Respite, Personal Assistance, Daycare, and Financial Management Services (FMS) via a Participant Directed and Person-Centered model
- Authorization based reimbursements for crisis services such as transportation, daycare and emergency provisions based on program limitations
- Streamlined enrollment of workers, including background checks
- Digital timecards and payroll processing
- Worker’s compensation insurance
- General and liability insurance
- Multilingual staff to assist clients and workers
Billing in arrears is available for rendered services further protecting state and department funds.
Contact us today to discuss how we can assist your agency during this crisis or in the future. IDDSupport@Aveanna.com