Minnesota Issues Evaluation Report On State's Personal Care Assistance Services.

The Office of the Legislative Auditor in Minnesota has recently issued an evaluation report and summary to the Minnesota Legislature on the state's personal care assistance services. Below are the major findings and recommendations of the report:

Findings:

• Between fiscal years 2002 and 2007, estimated publicly funded personal care assistance (PCA) expenditures grew by 164 percent, from $153 million to just over $400 million annually
• Personal care services remain unacceptably vulnerable to fraud and abuse
• Provider agencies are allowed to administer PCA services without demonstrating their understanding of state requirements
• Many recipients strongly value the PCA services they receive, although there has been little systematic analysis of outcomes
• The Department of Human Services (DHS) has implemented a weak quality assurance review program for PCA services
• Minnesota has not implemented sufficient controls and guidance to ensure that assessments of individuals' need for PCA services are reasonably consistent around the state
• DHS protects vulnerable recipients by screening providers for records of criminal offenses, but many adult recipients do not have the abuse prevention plans required by state law
• Supervision of personal care assistants is sometimes inadequate

Recommendations:

• DHS should promptly and regularly analyze claims data to identify improper payments
• It should also conduct more quality assurance reviews and investigations of PCA agencies
• The Legislature should establish mandatory training requirements for PCA assessors and the provider agencies that administer PCA services
• The Legislature should require that all Medical Assistance State Plan PCA recipients have their services periodically supervised by a "qualified professional"
• The Legislature should amend statutes to give DHS responsibility for investigating all maltreatment reports involving unlicensed personal care provider agencies
• DHS should identify topics that all personal care assistants need to understand. PCA agencies and service recipients should arrange for training in these topics, as needed

Link to full report: http://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/ped/pedrep/pca.pdf

Link to report summary: http://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/ped/pedrep/pcasum.pdf