What Services Can the Member Get in Consumer Direction?

When a member uses Consumer Direction, they can get help with certain kinds of care. The type and amount of help depends on what they need. This is written in their Person-Centered Support Plan (PCSP).

They cannot get more services just because they use Consumer Direction. Even if the workers are paid less, the member can only get the services listed in their plan.

Here are the services the member may be able to get:

1. Personal Assistance

(Up to 215 hours a month for Group 6; Group 5 may have fewer hours)

This means a worker helps the member with daily tasks like:

  • Getting out of bed

  • Bathing and getting dressed

  • Cooking and eating meals

  • Cleaning their space and doing laundry

  • Running errands

  • Going to work or into the community

This help is only for the member—not for others in the home.

The member can also get help training someone they know to do this kind of care.

2. Supportive Home Care

(Subject to the spending cap in their group)

This is like Personal Assistance, but it’s for members who live at home with family.

It includes help with:

  • Personal care

  • Meals, laundry, and cleaning

  • Going to work or into the community

The worker helps with things the family cannot do. The help is only for the member—not the rest of the household.

3. Hourly Respite

(Up to 216 hours per year)

This service gives the member’s unpaid caregiver (like a family member) a break. A worker supports the member for a short time so the caregiver can rest.

4. Community Transportation

(Up to 225 hours per month)

If there is no public transportation and no other way to get there, a worker can:

  • Help the member get to work

  • Go with the member into the community (like to the store, doctor, or pharmacy)

The worker can ride along or drive the member if:

  • The worker agrees

  • The worker has a valid driver’s license and car insurance

  • CDTN gets a copy of both

If the member will have a worker go with them or drive them, this must be written in the job description and Service Agreement.

The member can use part of their service hours for this, but:

  • They cannot get extra hours just because they’re going out

  • They cannot pay for the worker’s gas or trips back home through ECF CHOICES

If the member and worker agree on gas or mileage, it must be included in the Service Agreement.

The member can still get some services from provider agencies instead of Consumer Direction.

If a service is not allowed through Consumer Direction, it must be provided by an agency that works with their TennCare health plan.