Personal Care Services (PCS) include a range of hands-on human assistance provided to persons of all ages with disabilities and chronic conditions to enable them to accomplish tasks that they would ordinarily do for themselves if they were not disabled. The services are primarily provided by a paraprofessional aide in a person’s home and include assistance with common activities of daily living (ADLs) such as eating, dressing, bathing, toileting, and mobility.  Services are provided on a scheduled and intermittent basis to supplement other community services and the care, assistance, and support provided by the recipient’s family and other informal caregivers.

Medicaid in-home PCS does not require the recipient to meet Medicaid nursing facility level of care requirements to participate and are generally not adequate in scope and amount to replace facility-based services for recipients who require ongoing care, supervision, or monitoring by a nurse or other health care professional. This program is appropriate for recipients whose needs for assistance can be safely met in the home by family members and other informal caregivers supported by scheduled visits by specially trained PCS aides.