Personal care assistants (PCAs) are trained professionals who provide vital services to people with disabilities or chronic illnesses to help them to live as independently as possible and to participate in their communities.  PCAs may help their clients with activities of daily living (ADLs), such as bathing, getting dressed, and eating. They may also assist with activities in the community such as grocery shopping and getting to appointments. PCAs work in a variety of settings, including a person’s home, group homes, and day services programs. Most work full time, although part-time work is common and a PCA’s work schedule may vary.

Below, you will find just a few examples of evidence-based resources produced by the NIDILRR grantee community that support PCAs and their clients in this important relationship:

• The project, RTC: Rural – Rural Solutions to Strengthen Disability Community Capacity, recently released a new factsheet, Finding a Good Fit: Tips on Hiring Rural Personal Assistants. The factsheet uses interviews with people from rural communities who receive personal assistance services (PAS) to highlight the most important qualities in PCAs and how to pick the one that matches one’s needs.
• The recently completed Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (RRTC) on Community Living and Participation released a report, Community supports in crisis: No staff, no services, that examines the nature and scope of the staffing crisis within the direct support professional workforce, including PCAs, who serve people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). The report details the unique characteristics and responsibilities of this workforce and provides an overview of the crisis and its impact on people IDD.
• The Model Systems Knowledge Translation Center (MSKTC) released a factsheet, Personal care attendants and spinal cord injury (SCI), that offers suggestions on finding, interviewing, funding, and managing a PCA to assist a person with SCI. The factsheet defines what a PCA is, what help PCAs provide, and more. This factsheet is available in Spanish (PDF).

To learn more about these and other products from the NIDILRR community, contact NARIC’s information specialists.