Helpful Resources

For Individual's with Disabilities in need of homemaker services: State program called the Homecare Assistance Program out of the Mass Rehabilitation Commission. The program contracts with home health agencies that provide homemakers.  They arrange for the service on behalf of the individual and they pay for it. Requirements:  A person with a disability who is under 60 would have to meet their other eligibility criteria.  

Visit: https://www.mass.gov/home-care-assistance-program-under-60 for more information.

For a person who needs ongoing hands on assistance: The Personal Care Attendant Program.  This is for people who have Masshealth and need hands on assistance with at least two activities of daily living (eating, toileting, bathing, grooming, etc.  Individuals are assessed and based on the amount of time needed to perform daily living tasks they are allotted a specific number of hours for which they will have PCA help.  Once they have those hours they hire their own pcas, train them, manage them, schedule them, etc. Masshealth funds the service and there are agencies across the state that administer the program.  They process the financial piece including payroll deductions, unemployment, etc.  For more information visit: https://www.mass.gov/files/documents/2016/07/wm/pca-consumer-handbook.pdf  

Click here for an up to date list of agencies that run PCA programs: https://www.mass.gov/service-details/personal-care-management-pcm-agency-list  (Scroll down and click on Personal Care Management List)

An individual would contact one of those agencies to get more information and set up an evaluation.  

Unclear about what is needed and/or how to proceed?  Contact your local center for independent living, Center for Living and Working www.centerlw.org.  They are a disability advocacy organization and their main mission is to ensure that people with disabilities can live independently with the supports that they need. Independent living center might help individuals identify their unmet needs and the particular services and supports that might meet those needs. They are not case managers. They expect that a person with a disability who needs assistance will work in tandem with them to achieve the goals that they set for themselves as opposed to doing everything on a person's behalf.