Agency With Choice

What is Agency With Choice?

​

Agency with Choice (AWC) is a form of home care services that helps people with intellectual developmental disabilities and their families/advocates to plan, schedule, hire, and maintain their own Support Service Professional according to their Individual Support Plan (ISP).

If a person with a disability (consumer) needs support, they can hire a qualified individual to provide services according to the individual requirements in their service plan. Abilities in Motion becomes the employer of record, handling the paperwork, payroll, and other administrative work.

​

​

​

What does Agency With Choice offer?

​

• orientation and training,

• assisting in managerial duties,

• in-home visits to maximize participant’s budget, and

• (most importantly) support to ensure the participant maintains independence

​

​

​

Agency With Choice Services​

​

Services that can be provided by the Support Service Worker are based on the participant’s Individual Service Plans. Those services may include:

​

• In-Home and Community supports

• Overnight Respite (out of home)

• Hourly respite

• Companion

• Supported Employment

• Homemaker/Chore

​

​

​

Participant-Directed Services​

​

Participants can:

• Choose who to hire as a worker

• Manage their own support workers

• Determine their worker’s schedule

• Decide on their workers duties based on the ISP

​

​

​

How do I start AWC services?​

​

To qualify, a prospective AWC consumer must:

​

• Live in a private residence

• Have an ISP that allows consumer-directed services

• Have a referral from the local Administrative Entity for the Office of Developmental Programs. (In Berks & Schuylkill Counties, this agency is Service Access and Management, Inc.)

​

With those requirements in place, a consumer can select Abilities in Motion to provide AWC services. An AWC Program Specialist contacts the consumer within 24 hours to set up an in-home visit with the consumer, support workers, and others. During this visit, the Specialist reviews roles and responsibilities, completes paperwork, and conducts orientations. The Specialist reviews program requirements, budgetary limits, pay period schedules, service plan allotments, fraud and abuse, and other topics.

​

After the Program Specialist has all of the required paperwork, the consumer enrollment packet is reviewed and clearances are processed. If all required documentation is received from the enrollment visit and all clearances are satisfactory, the consumer may begin services as early as the next business day following the enrollment visit.