Agency With Choice
Is Agency With Choice Right for Your Family?
By Ade Obadare, Founder and CEO of Elevate Spectrum
You want your loved one to have support from people they trust. You may already have staff who you would like to keep, or you may want more involvement in choosing staff and organizing the day.
Agency With Choice gives you that involvement in your loved one’s support and may allow you to offer staff higher wages. Participants choose and manage their direct support professionals, or DSPs. Elevate employs approved staff and handles its employer and service provider responsibilities. An authorized representative may also help the participant manage their role.
Here is a practical way to consider whether the arrangement could work for you.
Start with what matters to your loved one
Think about the support they need, the people they feel comfortable with, and how they want to spend their time. Include them in the conversation using the communication methods that work for them. Family members can also share useful knowledge while helping the person express their own preferences.
Identify what you want to keep and what you hope to improve. Perhaps there is a trusted DSP you want to retain or a part of the week that needs more dependable coverage. Those details give the discussion a useful starting point.
Understand what you would manage
Under Elevate’s AWC arrangement, the participant or authorized representative takes responsibility for:
- Recruiting preferred staff.
- Arranging schedules and backup coverage.
- Explaining daily routines, preferences, and expectations.
- Reviewing and approving staff timesheets each week.
- Reporting staffing gaps, performance concerns, and changes affecting support.
Think about who would handle each task and when they would do it. Consider a busy week, including what happens when the person managing the arrangement is unavailable.
Understand what Elevate handles
Elevate employs approved DSPs and remains responsible for:
- Reviewing candidates and approving employment.
- Completing required employment checks and staff training and preparation.
- Handling payroll, taxes, workers’ compensation, and applicable benefits.
- Making employment decisions.
- Monitoring service quality and responding to reported concerns.
A relative or trusted DSP still needs to meet the requirements and complete onboarding before working through Elevate.
Choose a manageable next step
Before deciding, write down:
- What you want to preserve or improve.
- Who would manage the weekly staffing responsibilities.
- What questions and concerns you still have
Review those points with the appropriate team members. You may find that Agency With Choice fits your circumstances, needs more preparation, or is not the right option for now. The aim is to choose the support structure that respects your loved one’s preferences and works for your family.
Warmly,
Ade
Founder & CEO, Elevate Spectrum