What is Consumer Direction?

Consumer Direction is a way for you to have more control over your child’s care. It means you get to choose who helps your child and how they help. However, it can also be very time-consuming and stressful.

Usually, services that help people with disabilities are run by an agency. But with Consumer Direction, you are the boss. The people who help your child work for you, not an agency.

This gives you more freedom, but it also means you have more responsibility. You will have to do the things like:

• Find and hire the people who will help your child.

• Explain what their job is and what you expect them to do.

• Train them so they know how to help your child the way you want.

• Decide their work schedule.

• Make sure they only work the number of hours your child is approved for.

• Make sure they don’t work more than 40 hours a week (or you might not be allowed to stay in the program).

• Use a system called EVV to keep track of their work hours.

• Check their work to be sure it’s done right.

• Talk to them if there are problems.

• Fire them if they are not doing a good job.

• Pick how much they get paid (within a range the State allows).

• Keep notes about the care your child gets.

• Make a backup plan in case someone can’t come to work.

• Use your backup plan when needed—your child must still get care.

What Help Will You Get in Consumer Direction?

If you choose Consumer Direction, you will get help from Consumer Direct Care Network Tennessee (CDTN).

They will help you in two ways:

1. Help with Paperwork and Paychecks

CDTN will:

• Help you fill out the papers you need to become an employer.

• Help your workers fill out the forms they need to work for you.

• Give training to you, your helper (called a Representative, if you choose one), and your workers.

• Make sure your workers are allowed to work with your child. This includes:

  • Doing a background check.

  • Checking that they are not on a list that says they cannot work.

• Help you check that your workers are using the EVV system correctly to track their time.

• Pay your workers for the hours they work.

• Take care of all the taxes that need to be paid for your workers.

2. Help from a Supports Broker

CDTN will also give you a Supports Broker. This is a person does NOT do case management and is different from your support coordinator.

The Supports Broker can help you:

• Find and interview workers

• Write down what the job is (called a job description).

• Train workers.

• Make a schedule that matches your child’s care plan.

• Make a backup plan for times when a worker can’t come.

TennCare pays Consumer Direct Care Network Tennessee (CDTN) to provide these services to you.

Hiring Friends and Family:

You may already know who you want to hire to give your care. It could be a friend. It could be a family member.

• You cannot hire your spouse.
• You cannot hire your Representative.
• You cannot hire a legal guardian/conservator of the member.
• You cannot hire a Power of Attorney.
• You cannot pay people to provide care they would have provided for free.
• You cannot pay anyone who lives with you to provide Personal Assistance, Hourly Respite, Supportive Home Care, or Community Transportation.

Managed Care Organizations (MCOs) can remove members from Consumer Direction

Sometimes, the member may not be able to keep getting care through Consumer Direction. This happens if it’s not safe or if things are not working the right way.

This can happen if:

• The person helping the member with Consumer Direction (called a Representative) can’t help anymore, and there’s no one else.

• The member can’t find or keep workers to provide their care.

• The backup plan isn’t working when a worker doesn’t show up.

• The workers are not using the EVV system the right way to track their time.

If the Support Coordinator thinks it’s not safe for the member to stay in Consumer Direction, they can ask for it to stop. TennCare will make the final decision.

Before anything changes, the member will get a letter. The letter will explain how to ask for a review (appeal) if the member or family believes things can be fixed so it’s safe to keep going.

If the member stops using Consumer Direction, TennCare will continue serving the member through their provider agencies.