Community First Services and Supports

CFSS is replacing the current Personal Care Assistance (PCA) program and the state-funded Consumer Support Grant (CSG) benefit.

On the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) website, you can learn more about CFSS and watch a series of training videos that provide general information for people who use CFSS and their families. Follow the links below to go directly to specific training videos.

Once it is time for current clients to transfer homecare services to CFSS, you must choose a consultation services provider. This provider helps you identify which delivery model best meets your needs. Under CFSS, the agency you select as your consultation provider cannot be the agency that provides your homecare services. This means you will have to choose two different agencies to coordinate your homecare services: the consultation provider and the service provider. You can follow this link to find a list of consultation services providers that have been approved by DHS. Accra can be your service provider, but it cannot be your consultation provider.

CFSS has two service delivery models, the agency provider model and the budget model. Accra provides both models, so we can provide your CFSS homecare services regardless of which model you select.

In both models, you or your responsible party:

• Directs all care;

• Has a say in selecting your worker, who can be your spouse or a parent if the person who needs care is a minor;

• Writes the plan with assistance from the consultation services provider as desired; and
• May purchase goods.

In the agency provider model, you select a provider that serves as the caregiver’s employer. DHS uses PCA agencies, including Accra, to deliver these services. 

If you were already receiving PCA services, you can keep your current, trusted caregiver. If you did not already have a caregiver, Accra will make a reasonable effort to fulfill the request for your preferred support worker.

In the budget model, you employ your support workers and have a budget rather than service units. You are responsible for the recruitment, hiring, training and supervision of your support workers. You also select a financial management services (FMS) provider, from a list including Accra, to help you comply with applicable laws.

Accra offers both the agency model and the budget model so that we can serve our current and future clients under CFSS. Accra has experience as a PCA Choice provider and as an FMS provider, so we can continue to serve current clients when you transition to CFSS services and choose which model works best for you.

People who use CFSS have more options and supports:

• Unlike PCA, in CFSS, a person’s spouse or the parent of a minor may serve as that person’s support worker.
• People may choose to purchase goods to aid in their independence.
• The state provides a budget that the provider agency or the person may use to train workers to support the person’s individual needs.
• The consultation services provider provides education and support in writing the person’s plan.

The Department of Human Services started the transition to CFSS on Oct. 1, 2024. People who receive services through the PCA program or CSG benefit transition to CFSS during their regularly scheduled annual reassessment.

The transition for everyone currently utilizing PCA and CSG services to CFSS is estimated to take 15 months, so your transition to CFSS may not be for a year or more after the CFSS program began on Oct. 1, 2024.