ARE YOU "READY"? A Personal Assistant Bonus Program To Recognize
Excellent Employees
2001
by Donna Kekstadt
The Northwestern Illinois Center for Independent Living (NICIL) has offered
a personal assistant (PA) referral program for the last fifteen years.
The personal assistance coordinator recruits and trains a pool of qualified
assistants. NICIL's goal is to provide personal assistants who are well
trained and who understand and support the independent living philosophy.
Personal assistants in the NICIL pool must successfully complete a two-day
training that includes information on specific disabilities, universal
safety precautions and bowel and bladder care. People with disabilities
who hire assistants speak and answer questions at every session. Participants
take a quiz at the end of the orientation.
After completing the training, personal assistants fill out an application.
References are checked; and following the return of three good references,
a PA is eligible for referral. The PA and the personal assistance coordinator
together fill out a profile that indicates where the PA is interested
in working, when he or she is available and what he or she is available
to do.The person with a disability also completes a profile indicating
the hours and types of assistance needed. The personal assistance coordinator
matches the consumer and assistant profiles and provides the consumer
with a list of potential PAs to interview. The person with a disability
is the employer, not NICIL. Personal assistant management training, which
covers writing a job description, checking references, interviewing, communicating
effectively and preparing for emergency back-up is offered to people with
disabilities who request a PA referral. A management manual is left with
the consumer and the PA coordinator will assist with interviewing if asked
to do so.
NICIL maintains contact with personal assistants who have been hired
in order to track their availability. Profiles are updated regularly.
Personal assistant trainings are offered at least twice a month so that,
as PAs are hired, the program continues to have an active list of people
who are available.
Personal assistants are paid by the State of Illinois through the Department
of Human Services Home Service program. Any individual in Illinois with
a disability that has lasted or will last at least one year and is under
the age of sixty may qualify for the Home Service program. The person
may own a car, home and have $10,000 in liquid assets and still be eligible.
A doctor's verification of disability is required.
A case manager completes a determination of needs, and the Home Service
program may then fund a personal assistant to go into the home and assist
the person with activities of daily living. The PA is paid $7.00 per hour,
with no holidays, sick days, medical, vacation or travel benefits.
The PA turnover is great as the wages are low and there are no benefits,
even if an assistant has worked for years for the same person and has
been reliable. No merit raises or travel are included. The motivation
to stay seems to be the dedication and knowledge the PA has that their
job has made it possible for their employer to achieve a dream: to live
in his or her own apartment, get up when he or she wants to, eat what
he or she likes, go to a movie, have a party and invite friends over,
have a job, have a life.
People with disabilities who hire PAs are faced with the challenge of
keeping reliable, honest assistants. In trying to identify tangible ways
in which employers who are usually on fixed incomes could recognize and
reward the PAs who do this important work, the personal assistance coordinator
developed the "READY" Bonus program. The "READY" Bonus
gives an employer the opportunity to nominate an excellent PA for a $50
award and certificate. The criteria are simple:
ARE YOU "READY"?
R Reliable: Is on time
as agreed unless other arrangements have been made.
E Energetic: Uses the
time effectively.
A Attitude: Is positive/willing
to communicate.
D Demonstrates: An understanding
of independent living philosophy through words and actions.
Y Your: Employer's privacy
is respected and confidentiality is honored.
To be eligible for the “READY” Bonus, the PA has to have
attended the NICIL two-day orientation, had references checked and be
in the active PA file. The PA must have worked for at least three months
for the employer. A call or letter is all it takes for an employer to
nominate a PA. A family member or service provider may also nominate a
PA, depending on circumstances. The personal comments are recorded, and
one PA is selected by the 15th of the month. The check is delivered in
person by the personal assistance coordinator at the consumer’s
home and a photo is taken.
Personal assistants who have been recognized in the "READY"
Bonus program are then eligible to win a $250 Personal Assistant of the
Year award. The twelve excellent personal assistants recognized in the
previous year are invited with their employers to NICIL’s annual
meeting and a drawing is held, lottery style. One name is drawn from the
hat, and the PA must be present to win.
The personal assistance program is funded through the Home Service Grant.
Funding for the "READY" Bonus program also comes from that source.
NICIL also conducts fund raisers and accepts a $5 donation for the PA
orientation. The bonus does not negate the fact that better wages and
benefits for personal assistants are necessary. The award is a small token
of thanks from the employer and NICIL until a living wage and benefits
are reality.
NICIL encourages staff, consumers and personal assistants to advocate
for better home and community based services. The Department of Human
Services encourages independent living and consumer control; however,
funding is disproportionate. Only 20% of allocated money from the state
is used for community-based services, while 80% is designated for nursing
homes.
NICIL staff provide information and facts about community-based living
and equal access for all. The personal assistance coordinator is involved
in educating legislators, professionals, family members and community
service providers. When new consumers meet with the personal assistance
coordinator to fill out a profile, they discuss legal rights, PA wages,
obstacles and solutions and working to make a difference. A list of their
state and federal legislators is available for consumers who want to write
or call about issues that concern them. Issues such as low wages and lack
of opportunities for people who may look or sound different are also discussed
at personal assistant orientation sessions. Personal assistants are encouraged
to get involved and learn how the system works.
These advocacy efforts are making a difference. The successes we have
seen involve more than people with disabilities moving into their homes
and finding good personal assistance, more than the small PA wage increases.
The real success is empowerment, seeing people getting involved, knowing
the issues, not giving up, building coalitions and working together. People
who would have been evicted because of their disability and lack of knowledge
about the Home Service program have remained in their homes. A young mother
who was injured in an accident and has a traumatic brain injury was put
in a nursing home without her consent. Through advocacy and determination
she went back home, received Home Services and hired good personal assistants.
She goes to therapy, speaks at orientations and testified at the Committee
for Disability Issues in Springfield. This is real life and the success
of the personal assistant program. The "READY" Bonus is just
a little frosting on the cake!
Contact Information
Donna Kekstadt
Personal Assistance Coordinator
Northwestern Illinois Center for Independent Living.
229 First Ave., Suite 2
Rock Falls, IL 61071
(815) 625-7860 (V)
(815) 625- 7863 (TTY)
nicil@essex1.com
About the Author
Donna Kekstadt, personal assistance coordinator
at NICIL for ten years, has a diversified background in the field of education
and disabilities. She has a degree in education and is a certified vision
and hearing specialist. Donna started an early childhood program and developed
a widely used curriculum. She had an accident seventeen years ago with
an injury to the brain (invisible disability) and also is a peer counselor
at NICIL. Donna's sister is disabled and receives Home Services daily.
Donna is an advocacy committee member of the Illinois Network of Centers
for Independent Living (INCIL). She is the Co-Chair of the Personal Assistance
Coordinator Meeting and has testified before the state legislature. Her
goal is to see major changes in allocation of monies for programs that
serve people with disabilities and the elderly and to see consumers included
in policy making.
|