Definition
Direct support professional” means an individual who:
(a) Provides services to a participant in accordance with Section 4 of this administrative
regulation;
(b) Has direct contact with a participant when providing services to the participant;

Requirements
1. Eighteen (18) years old and has a high school diploma or GED; or
2. Twenty-one (21) years old;
(d) Meets the personnel and training requirements established in Section 3 of the SCL regulations;
(e) Has the ability to:
1. Communicate effectively with a participant and the participant’s family;
2. Read, understand, and implement written and oral instructions;
3. Perform required documentation; and
4. Participate as a member of the participant’s person-centered team if requested by the participant; and
(f) Demonstrates competence and knowledge on topics required to safely support the participant as described in the participant’s person-centered service plan.

Job Description
-Personal Assistance Providers will ensure the following regulations and job descriptions are followed:
Shall be provided by a direct support professional;
(b) Shall enable a participant to accomplish tasks that the participant normally would do for himself or herself if the participant did not have a disability;
(c) Shall be available only to a participant who lives in the participant’s own residence or in the participant’s family residence;
(d) May be participant directed and if participant directed, may be provided by an immediate family member, guardian, or legally responsible individual of the participant in accordance with Section 10 of this administrative regulation;
(e) Shall include:
1. Hands-on assistance (performing a task for a participant);
2. Reminding, observing, guiding, or training a participant in activities of daily living;
3. Reminding, observing, guiding, or training a participant in instrumental activities of daily living;
4. Assisting a participant in managing the participant’s medical care including making medical appointments and accompanying the participant to medical appointments; or
5. Transportation, which is not otherwise available under the Medicaid Program, to access community services, activities, and appointments;
(f) Shall take place in a participant’s home or in the community as appropriate to the participant’s need;
(g) Shall not be available to a participant:
1. Receiving paid residential supports; or
2. Under the age of twenty-one (21) if medically necessary personal assistance is available as an early and periodic screening, diagnostic, and treatment service;
(h) Shall not supplant an educational service available under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1401 et seq.); and

DOCUMENTATION
1. A note for each contact, which shall include:
a. A full description of each service rendered;
b. Evidence of training or service to support outcomes designated in the participant’s person-centered service plan as appropriate;
c. The date of the service;
d. The location of the service;
e. The beginning and ending time of the service;
f. The signature and title of the direct support professional providing the service; and
g. The date the entry was made in the record; and

MOST IMPORTANTLY ALL STAFF WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR MONITORING AND ENSURING THE HEALTH, SAFETY, WELFARE, INTEGRITY, PRIVACY, AND THE RIGHTS OF ALL PARTICIPANTS.