In-Home Care Resources

In-home Care Photo Many resources and services are available to assist older people and people with disabilities with help in the home. Publicly-financed services include the following:

Medicaid In-Home Care: Medicaid-funded in-home care is the largest in-home care program administered by Senior & Disabled Services. It helps over 1,000 senior citizens and adults with disabilities each week. At the same time, its eligibility requirements are the most restrictive of the in-home care programs administered by S&DS. To be eligible, a person must have few financial resources, limited monthly income, and significant personal care needs.

To access Medicaid-funded in-home care, contact S&DS’ Information & Referral service and request an intake appointment. If, on the basis of a brief screening interview, you appear eligible, the I&R staff member with whom you are speaking will schedule you for an intake appointment. At this appointment, an S&DS Case Manager will determine your eligibility and, if eligible, will help develop a plan of care. This plan will identify the number of hours per week and types of in-home help that you will receive.

Medicaid-funded in-home care is usually provided by a client-employed but State-paid Home Care Worker. Under this arrangement, you, as the client, are responsible for recruiting, interviewing, hiring, training, and supervising the Home Care Worker. Your S&DS Case Manager can assist you with these tasks if you need help. In addition, S&DS manages the payment of wages and benefits to your Home Care Worker.

Oregon Project Independence (OPI): OPI is an in-home program funded by the State Legislature for older Oregonians (60+ years of age), and for individuals less than 60 years of age with dementia. It helps people who are not financially eligible for Medicaid-funded in-home care, but who have significant care needs. Usually, OPI clients receive no more than four hours of help in the home each week, with the focus being on meeting their personal care needs.

To access OPI in-home care, contact S&DS’ Information & Referral service and request an intake appointment. If, on the basis of a brief screening interview, you appear eligible, the I&R staff member with whom you are speaking will schedule you for an intake appointment. At this appointment, an S&DS Case Manager will determine your eligibility and, if eligible, will help develop a plan of care. This plan will identify the number of hours per week and types of in-home help that you will receive.

OPI in-home services are usually provided to S&DS clients by employees of Addus Health Care, a subcontractor of Senior & Disabled Services. Recipients of OPI in-home care may be required to pay for a portion of the cost of the service they receive. The extent of their financial contribution is calculated based on their monthly income, using a sliding-fee schedule developed by the Oregon Department of Human Services.

An OPI brochure that provides an overview of the progam is available in PDF format.

Senior Connections’ In-Home Services: Some older people (60+) do not qualify for either Medicaid-funding or OPI-funded in-home care but, at the same time, need help in order to remain in their own homes or apartments. Usually, they are beginning to need help, but are not to a point where they meet the service eligibility requirements for these other programs. As examples, they may require assistance with grocery shopping, meal preparation, bill paying, and light housework. Resources administered by S&DS’ Senior Connections Program may be able to meet their needs. The Program’s Area Coordinators can screen and authorize Meals on Wheels, escorted transportation to medical appointments, and bill paying assistance, and can help recruit, place, and supervise volunteers to assist older people with their in-home care needs.

Home Health Services: Medicare, the federal health insurance program for older people and many adults with disabilities, pays for rehabilitative home health services. These services are not custodial in nature, must be ordered by a doctor, and provided or supervised by a registered nurse.

Private resources to help meet the in-home care needs of older people and people with disabilities include private in-home, home health, and case management agencies, as well as privately-hired in-home workers. For a list of private agencies offering these services, refer to the “yellow pages” in the telephone book. Examples of people seeking private in-home workers can be found in the Help Wanted sections of local newspapers.

PDF files require Acrobat Reader.

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