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RESEARCH TRAINING CENTER ON 
PERSONAL ASSISTANCE SERVICES 
(RRTC on PAS) 

WORLD INSTITUTENDISABILITY 
510 - 16th Street, Suite 100 
Oakland, CA 94612 
Voice 510-763-4100 
Fax 510-763-4109 
TTY 510-208-9493 

Personal 
Assistance 
Services 
Management 

ANNOTATED 
RESOURCE LIST 
OF TRAINING 
MATERIALS 
FOR CONSUMERS 

Karyl Eckels 
and 
Susan T. Brown 

FORWARD 

The publications included in this resource list represent the views of the disability community 
regarding consumer-directed personal assistance services (PAS), an integral part of 
Independent Living philosophy. All of the selections give basic information on how people 
with disabilities can manage their PAS and obtain the skills necessary to function as the 
employer of their personal assistants. Independent Living Centers, some with limited 
resources, produced many of the selections, utilizing their wealth of knowledge and experience 
to mentor and share with other consumers. As you review this list you will notice that we do 
not recommend any particular publication. Thus you can obtain a variety, mixing and matching 
the information in a manner that is most useful to you. 

A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE To TRAINING AND 
MANAGING PERSONAL ATTENDANTS: VOLUMES 1 & 2. Ulicny, G. & Jones, M. (1987). 
Research and Training Center on Independent Living, University 
of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 66045, 913-864-4095. 
Volume 1, $14.10, Volume 2, $9.70, videotape 
$31.50, complete package, $45.00 (videotape & 
both volumes). Volume 1, Consumer Guide details 
the management process of working with personal 
assistants. The guide includes information on the 
importance of consumers assessing their needs, 
developing checklists, and abuse precautions. 
Volume 2, Agency Guide, designed for use in 
conjunction with Volume 1, assists agencies in 
developing a personal assistance services 
management training program for consumers. 

CONSUMER'S GUIDE To ATTENDANT CARE. 
Roberts, S. & Sydow, N. (1984). Access to 
Independence, Inc., 11310 Mendota Street, 
Madison, WI, 53714-1039, 608-242-8484, $16.00. 
This manual is both a guide and a workbook to 
teach consumers the necessary skills of personal 
assistant management. The book emphasizes good 
communication and basic management skills, and 
includes a section on how to give feedback to 
personal assistants. 

HIRING HOME CAREGIVERS-THE FAMILY GUIDE 
To IN-HOME ELDERCARE. Susik, D.H., M.A. 
(1995). American Source Books, Impact 
Publishers, Inc., P. O. Box 1094 San Luis Obispo, 
CA, 93406, 805-543-5911, $11.95. This is a 
comprehensive guide to utilizing consumer-
directed personal assistance service as a way for 
elders to maintain their independence. The 
author's knowledge of the aging service delivery 
system allows for a smooth translation of the 
consumer-directed personal assistance model for 
elder consumers, their families and aging service 
providers. The book thoroughly covers employing 
and managing personal assistants. Additionally it 
includes a discussion on alternatives to consumer-
directed services, appendices with resource 
information on taxes, and aging 

HOME HEALTH AIDES: How To MANAGE THE 
PEOPLE WHO HELP You. DeGraff, A. (1988). 
Published by Saratoga Access Publications, P.O. 
Box 1427, Fort Collins, CO, 80522-1427, 800474-
4010, $18.95. This 348 pp. book is currently 
in revision; the new edition should be available in 
late 1996. Written by a user of personal assistance 
services, Home Health Aides is a "step-by-step 
reference handbook, which extensively instructs 
recipients of assistance how to be in control of the 
help which they use. 


ANNOTATED RESOURCE LIST OF TRAINING MATERIALS FOR CONSUMERS 


How TO HIRE HELPERS: A GUIDE FOR ELDERS AND 
THEIR FAMILIEs.Task Force on Aging, Church Council of 
Greater Seattle, (revised 1988). Church Council of Greater 
Seattle, 4759 - 15th N.E. Seattle, WA, 98105, 206-5251213, 
$3.00. This 12-page booklet provides basic 
information on determining what help is needed, setting up 
contracts, advertising and interviewing, financial and legal 
considerations, and communication tips to help keep 
workers. 

How To MANAGE YOUR PERSONAL CARE ATTENDANTS. 
Alpha One Center for Independent Living, Maine's Home 
Based Care Program, (revised 7/94). Alpha One, 127 Main 
Street, South Portland, ME, 04106, 800-640-7200 v/tty, 
$20.00. This comprehensive 36-page manual covers the 
basics of attendant services (such as recruiting, hiring, 
firing contracts, etc.) as well as the philosophy of Personal 
Care Attendant Services and the history of the PCA 
program in Maine. Parts of the manual are specific to 
Maine's program, but most information in the manual is 
easily transferable. Of special interest are sample job 
descriptions, applications, contracts, duty checklists, and 
evaluations. 

INDEPENDENT LIVING WITH ATTENDANT CARE. Board, M. 
A., Cole, J. A., Frieden, L., & Sperry, J.C. (1980). ILRU at 
The Institute for Rehabilitation and Research, 1333 
Moursand Avenue, Houston, Texas, 77030, 713-520-0232, 
$3.50 each, $10.00 for the complete set.Three booklets in a 
series, subtitled as follows: A Guide for the Person with a 
Disability, A Guide for the Personal Care Attendant, and A 
Message to Parents of Handicapped Youth. A Guide for 
the Person with a Disability provides a basic introduction to 
attendant care models, interviewing, hiring and terminating 
attendants, provider/consumer relationship issues, and 
back-up systems. A Guide for the Personal Care Attendant 
discusses different kinds of disabilities, how and where to 
look for attendant jobs, and provider/consumer relationship 
issues. A Message to Parents of Handicapped Youth 
discusses basic independent living issues, including 
attendant care issues for family members of disabled 
children and youth. 

MANAGE YOUR PERSONAL ASSISTANCE. Grant MacEwan 
Community College, (revised 1992). Community 
Enrichment Project, City Center Campus, Building A, 107104 
Avenue, Edmonton Alberta, T5J 4S2, 403-497-5117, 
the booklets (series of 3) cost is $29.95, the videos(series of 
3) cost is $120.00. The booklet series, Steps to 
Independence, is a self-study guide for managing personal 
assistance and is complemented by the video series, 

Making Your Own Way. Module I, Identifying 
Attendant Care Needs, contains a checklist that 
examines the consumer's daily activities and a lifestyle 
inventory. The exercises help to assess the when, where, 
why, and how much personal assistance the individual 
needs to live independently. Module II, Hiring an Aide, 
includes a sample employment agreement, information 
on how to write job descriptions, and advertisements, as 
well as the basics of interviewing and screening personal 
assistants. Module III, Communicating With Your 
Aide, teaches effective communications. 

PERSONAL ASSISTANT HANDBOOK AND CLIENT 
HANDBOOK. Virginia Department of Rehabilitative 
Services, (no date). Contact the Department of 
Rehabilitative Services for the state of Virginia, 703960-
6946, free. This pamphlet is specific to the state of 
Virginia's Personal Assistance Service Program. The 
handbook describes the process of obtaining PAS through 
the Virginia Department of Rehabilitation and hiring an 
assistant. It includes a sample advertisement for personal 
assistants. 

PERSONAL CARE ASSISTANTS: How To FIND, HIRE, 
AND KEEP THEM. Rehabilitation Research and Training 
Center on Aging with Spinal Cord Injury (no date). Craig 
Hospital Research Department, 3425 South Clarkson St., 
Englewood, CO, 80123, 800-5RE-HAB8, (573-4228), 
free. This brief pamphlet includes topics on: organizing 
and consolidating needs, community resources, financial 
and contract issues, recruiting, and developing an 
effective provider/consumer relationship with your PCA. 

SMOOTHING OUT THE EDGES: A MANUAL ON 
ATTENDANT MANAGEMENT. Walker, P. (1989). Center 
for Independent Living, 2539 Telegraph Ave., Berkeley, 
CA, 94704, 510-841-4776, free. This 52-page manual 
discusses the basics of attendant care from an 
independent living perspective. It includes a number of 
exercises, checklists and sample forms. 

THE CONSUMER DIRECTED PERSONAL ASSISTANCE 
PROGRAM GUIDE. Concepts of Independence, Inc., 
(1995). 120 Wall Street, Ste. 1010, New York, NY, 

10005, 212-293-9999, free. This publication is a guide to 
receiving personal assistance service through the 
Concepts of Independence program. Chapter two 
provides a brief overview of hiring, training, supervising, 
evaluating, and terminating personal assistants. 

This project is supported, in part, by award number 90-AM-2061, to the National Council on Aging from the Administration on Aging, Department of Health 
and Human Services and the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation. Grantees undertaking projects under government sponsorship are encouraged to 
express freely their findings and conclusions. Points of view or opinions do not, therefore, necessarily represent official Administration on Aging policy.