Recruiting, Selecting, and Retaining Direct Service Workers to Provide Self-Directed HCBS

1. Listen

2. Read

Keeping good records about your employees is an important part of directing your own supports.  Make sure you know what kinds of records you need to keep.

The kinds of records you may need to maintain are:

Records Needed to Monitor Your Budget

It’s important to keep your service plan and budget so you can review them whenever you need to.  This will help you or your authorized representative monitor the services you planned for and how much is allocated to spend on your services.  Your financial management service will send out regular budget reports.  It’s important to review these to make sure that there are no mistakes and that you are not over-spending or under-spending on your budget.

Time and Activity Documentation

1. Time and activity forms - Some programs have specific time and activity forms that DSWs are required to complete.  These serve as both a record of what supports the DSW provided as well as the hours worked.  Other kinds of self-directed programs may have simpler time sheets for DSWs to complete. Your financial management service will provide you with the correct time sheets to use.
2. Approving time sheets – You or your authorized representative will be responsible for approving all of your DSWs’ time sheets.  It’s important that the time sheets are accurate. If you know that time sheets are inaccurate and you approve them, that is fraud.  Never sign a blank time sheet.
3. Progress notes (if required) – Some self-directed programs require regular progress notes.  If these are required, have a notebook or binder to keep all of the progress notes together.  Make sure that the DSW dates and signs them and follows your program’s rules about what kind of information the progress notes should contain.