What It Really Means to Be an Employer in Self-Directed Home Care
When you choose a self-directed home care program like Consumer Directed Community Supports (CDCS) or Community First Services and Supports (CFSS) Budget Model, you’re choosing more than just a different way to receive care. You’re choosing the ability to control your care —to decide who helps you, when and how.
That’s the heart of self-direction. It puts you, or the person you support, in the driver’s seat. But with that freedom comes a new title: employer.
Being an employer in self-directed care might sound complicated, but it’s really about guiding your support team while partnering with a Financial Management Service (FMS) provider — like PICS — to handle the paperwork. Let’s break it down.
Understanding the Employer Role
When you Hear “employer,” it might sound like running a business or managing a company. But in self-directed care, it’s much simpler than that.
Being an employer in CDCS or CFSS Budget Model means you have the authority to hire, train, schedule and supervise the people who provide your care or supports. These workers might be family members, friends or people you hire from the community.
Another important difference with either CDCS or the CFSS Budget Model is that you also get to decide your worker’s pay rate within the program’s guidelines. That means you can offer a wage that reflects someone’s experience or helps you attract and keep great employees. In the traditional agency model, the caregiver’s wage is set by the agency. This type of flexibility is a big part of what makes self-direction unique.
You also get to choose who you trust in your home, what schedule works best, and what kind of help fits your daily life. That’s what makes self-direction so personal — it’s built around your needs, not a preset agency plan.
As the employer, your responsibilities usually include:
- Hiring and training the workers who best meet your needs.
- Setting schedules and deciding what tasks your workers do.
- Approving time worked before it’s submitted for payment.
- Communicating with your workers to make sure things are going smoothly.
You don’t have to know every employment or tax rule—that’s where your FMS helps with. But you are the one guiding your support team day to day.
How Your FMS Helps
While you make decisions about your staff, you don’t have to handle everything by yourself.
That’s where PICS comes in. We partner with individuals and families across Minnesota who use CDCS or CFSS to help manage the financial and administrative parts of being an employer.
At PICS, we want to make managing services as easy as possible. As your FMS provider, we:
- Set up payroll for your workers so they’re paid accurately and on time.
- Handle employer and employee taxes.
- Keep your spending within your approved budget.
- Track documentation and records for compliance.
- Answer questions and help you stay organized.
In short, we take care of the technical parts so you can focus on living your life.
At PICS, we believe self-direction works best when participants and representatives feel confident and informed. Our team is here to walk beside you — from setting up your services to managing payroll and budgets.
PICS provides resources to help you manage your services with confidence. If you’re a representative helping someone self-direct, we also offer a Representative Toolkit with guidance on representative responsibilities, hiring, training and managing your caregivers to make your job easier. Also, check out our PICS Tips to Managing Self-Directed Services for practical strategies on communication, scheduling and organization.
We also understand that each person’s situation is unique. Some people hire one trusted worker. Others manage a small team. No matter your set-up, we’re here to guide you step by step.
If you’re exploring CDCS or CFSS or just want help understanding your role as an employer, PICS is here to help. Contact us today to learn more about how we can support you in managing your services with confidence and ease.