AG 2003 05 16 - Laserfiche WebLink

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clients harbor feelings of guilt and inadequacy because they are cognizant of the heightened stress their caregivers experiince in order to provide care in the home environment. The autonomy that CDS giv~ would also help to relieve these feelings of guilt felt by the clients in curtailing the freedom of~eir families. Self-esteem levels would rise in clients by knowing that they have independence in training individuals specifically to meet their unique needs. The unpaid family members' qual_ity of care would also improve due to decreased stress levels. By allowing clients to hire friends and extended family members, there would be greater reliability and continuity of care. Additionally, with the shortai~e in direct care staff, by participating in CDS, clients are able to increase the pool of paid car~ivers available to them. The State of North Carolina has projected that 30,850 direct care work's will be needed between 1998 and 2008. This shortage places our frail population in jeopardy e/entering an institutional setting simply because there are not direct care workers available to meet their needs. As the CAP/DA lead agencyln Cabarrus County, we are fully funded by Medicaid. It is .., anticipated that the CAP/DAbvaiver will be modified or an additional component will be developed to allow for consu}ner-directed services. Once the Division of Medical Assistance submits the waiver, approval~is expected soon after July 1, 2003. Cabarms County DSS has b~n a CAP/DA lead agency since 1988. Nine CAP/DA case managers are employed. Oftlae nine, six have a wealth of experience in coordinating services and the monitoring of services to assure quality care is maintained. Three of the nine case managers are newly hired, one in September 2002 and the other two in April 2003. For a short time, the SA Demo Program [vas placed in the CAP Unit, which helped to increase knowledge of other avenues of meeting eli ~e[at needs. The agency also has in-home aide services provided through Home and Commura!y_' Care Block Grant Services and Medicaid Personal Care Services. Our agency is well versed in providing home based services to the community. We have also had experiencefin running one of the largest home care agencies in the area employing over 200 in-homeiaides. Approximately one year ago, the agency contracted our In- Home Aide Services Prograr~__ to a staffing agency, Good Health Services (GHS) based in Raleigh, to hire, test, and traii~ in-home aides. Currently, GHS has approximately 170 aides employed. Cabarms County DSS still maintains direct supervision of the in-home aides and bills EDS for direct care provided_-by the staff to reimburse GHS for payment of the aides. The grant funds of $20,000 x~o_ uld be used to train in-house staff in the area of counseling/consultation rathe~ than case management. The funds would also be used to defray criminal record checks of dir4ct care workers. There may be instances where the client wishes the potential attendant/aide t~ted for TB and/or Hepatitis B. Consumers will also need training in how to manage their budges appropriately, complete paperwork, and advise attendant(s)/aide(s) of their d[ties and responsibilities. Moreover, consumers will need training in how to interview, hire, anCl fire direct care staff.