	Home Care and Support Services: Home Health Aide Services, Personal Care Aide Services, and Homemaker Services

Introduction

Administration and Management

Service Delivery Administration Standards

Service Standards

PA-HCS 10: Personnel Who Provide Services to Older Adults and Special Needs Individuals

Services are provided by, and with the supervision of, personnel who are qualified by professional training and experience to meet the service needs of older adults and other special needs populations.

NA The agency's care and support services are not specifically designed to serve older adults or individuals with special needs.

PA-HCS 10.01

All direct service personnel have the experience, personal qualities, and practical skills to work effectively with the population served.

PA-HCS 10.02

Personnel who provide assessment, care management, and supervision of care for individuals with profound social or emotional problems and complicated medical conditions:

are qualified by an advanced degree from an accredited program in an appropriate human service field and a minimum of two years supervisory experience in direct services, or case management; or
have a bachelor's degree and an equivalent number of years supervisory experience and demonstrated skills providing level of care decisions for in home service delivery.

Interpretation: Individuals can demonstrate competence through a combination of appropriate supervision by an individual with an advanced degree, specialized training, experience, and skills.

NA The agency does not provide services to individuals with profound social, emotional problems, and complicated medical conditions.

PA-HCS 10.03

The agency provides case consultation to its direct service providers through the availability of a supervisor or case manager during all operating hours.

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	PURPOSE: Individuals who receive Home Care and Support Services obtain a maximum level of independence, functioning, and health, and extend the time it is possible to live safely at home and in the community.

RELATED FILES


	SERVICE One or more organization-operated programs or activities that have a common general objective and deploy the organization's material and human resources in a planned and systematic manner. An organization that publicly promotes or identifies itself in writing as offering a service, is licensed to deliver a service, assigns personnel and/or space to a service, or allocates financial resources to a service is considered to offer that service.


	COMMUNITY A specific group of people living in the same locality and who may share a common culture, values, and norms. Communities can also be defined by race, religion, ethnicity, age, occupation, political status, tribal affiliation, interest in particular problems or outcomes, or other common bonds. The term "community" encompasses worksites, schools, tribes, residential neighborhoods, business districts, recreational areas, and health and human service sites.


	SUPERVISION Assumption of responsibility for directly overseeing and evaluating the work or work products of personnel within an organization. Also includes inspecting the act or process of accomplishing a function or activity.


	PERSONNEL The body of employees and/or volunteers that carries out the organization's tasks under the organization's administration and/or supervision. This definition does not include foster parents who are specifically referenced in relevant standards


	TRAINING Instruction so as to make fit, qualified, or proficient in a skill or body of knowledge.


	SPECIAL NEEDS A designation used in reference to conditions or characteristics of a person that reflect a need for special care, services, or treatment. When the term is used in the context of adoption services, special needs refers to conditions that make a child harder to place for adoption. This includes children who are members of sibling groups, older children, children with disabilities, children of certain racial /ethnic backgrounds, etc. When the term is used in the context of foster care it refers to the need for a higher degree of specialized case services and attention due to mental and physical disabilities. When the term is used in the context of out-of-school time services, a child or youth may have special physical, behavioral, medical, emotional, or cognitive needs that should be addressed or accommodated. The term is also used in other contexts. See also DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES.


	ASSESSMENT An evaluation, which utilizes professional expertise and skills in the collection and analysis of data to understand and describe the nature of service needs of an individual, family, or group. Assessment, as in needs assessment, is also used to determine priorities of program planning and service development for the organization as a whole. See also DIAGNOSIS.


	ADVANCED DEGREE A degree at the Master's level or beyond from an institution of higher education. An advanced degree does not include a Bachelor's degree, an associate's degree, or an educational certificate.


	PROGRAM A system of services offered by an organization. For example, an organization providing a mental health service may offer several mental health programs to different populations, e.g., a mental health program for adolescent teens. The word "program" can be used interchangeably with the word "service" or to describe specific programs.


	CASE A general term used to designate clients (including individuals, families, and groups) served by an organization for purposes of monitoring the provision of services. A foster care case is generally based on the placement of an individual child, although casework for the child may include services to the child's family. A child protective services case is based on an entire family household if a family assessment model is used; otherwise a case is defined as a child.


	MANAGEMENT See ADMINISTRATION