Federally approved BI, CAC, CADI, DD and EW waiver plans, Alternative Care program (Minn. Stat. §256B.0913)

Effective Feb. 1, 2025, DHS will start the rolling implementation of the CDCS unbundling project. The current CDCS policy and CDCS unbundling project policy will be in effect at the same time. For more information, refer to the Dec. 10, 2024, eList announcement.

This page does not include policy for unbundled service categories.

Personal assistance: CDCS service category that includes services to help a person with their activities of daily living (ADLs) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) through hands-on assistance, cues, prompts and instruction.

Personal assistance may include:

A person can receive personal assistance from multiple people and in multiple areas of their life. For example, a person may employ different people to:

A person may also employ a personal care assistant (PCA) from a PCA agency to help with ADLs and/or IADLs.

A person can receive personal assistance services in their home or in the community.

A person who uses CDCS or their representative determines the qualifications a provider needs to deliver personal assistance services and documents them in their CDCS Community Support Plan (CSP).

Under CDCS, the personal assistance provider does not need a license, certificate or credentialing unless required by the person or their representative.

If a person chooses to use a traditional waiver/AC service or a PCA to meet their personal assistance needs, the provider, whether hired as an individual or through an agency, must meet all the service-specific provider requirements.

Examples of provider qualifications

A person hires their neighbor to provide hands-on assistance with ADLs and assistance with IADLs in the morning and at night. In their CDCS CSP, the person documents the qualifications the provider needs to meet. The qualifications may include:

Background study requirements

A person who provides direct-contact services (as defined in Minn. Stat. §245C.02, subd. 11) must meet Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 245C background study requirements. For information, refer to CDCS Manual – Background studies for direct-contact CDCS services.

Wage rates

A person who uses CDCS or their representative determines the hourly wage rate for the CDCS worker. A person can pay a worker an hourly wage rate that aligns with the:

A person should consider the following when determining their worker’s hourly wage rates:

Note: Wages for workers with similar job duties may vary across the state. In addition, a worker supporting a person with higher needs (e.g., behavior, physically demanding care), could receive higher wage rates in all areas of the state.

Personal assistance services are the only services for which a spouse or parent of a minor may be paid with CDCS funds. For more information, refer to CDCS Manual – Paying a spouse or parent of a minor for personal assistance.