Training and orientation

Training in Consumer Directed Services is split in a way that is unusual, and worth understanding: we orient you to the program, and the consumer trains you on their care.

Why the consumer trains you

This is the design of the program, not a gap in ours. The consumer directs their own care — they know how they want to be transferred, which shoulder is painful, what order the morning routine goes in. Nobody else can teach you that, and a standardized class would teach you a generic version of it.

Missouri law reflects this. RSMo 208.900 makes vendor responsibilities “monitoring and oversight of the personal care attendant, orientation, and training of the consumer” — the consumer is trained to be an employer, and then instructs their attendant.

What our orientation covers

• What CDS is, and the roles of consumer, attendant and vendor.
• Which tasks are authorized, and why the care plan is the boundary.
• Timesheets: what your signature certifies, deadlines, and common errors.
• Electronic visit verification — how to record visits correctly.
• Payroll, tax withholding and how to read your pay stub.
• Confidentiality and the consumer’s privacy in their own home.
• Recognizing and reporting abuse, neglect and exploitation.
• Program integrity — what Medicaid fraud looks like and how to avoid it.
• Who to call when something goes wrong.

What the consumer teaches you

• Their transfer technique and what hurts.
• Their bathing and dressing routine, in the order they want it.
• Where things are kept and how they like the kitchen run.
• Their schedule, and what counts as an emergency.
• Their preferences — which matter more than your habits.

Going further on your own

Nothing beyond orientation is required, but attendants who want to build real skill often look at:

• Safe transfer and body mechanics training — the single highest-value skill for avoiding injury to you and to the consumer.
• Basic first aid and CPR through the American Red Cross or American Heart Association.
• Condition-specific education — dementia, stroke recovery, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury — depending on who you care for.
• Free caregiver education through the Missouri Area Agencies on Aging.

If you want to move toward clinical work later, a CNA program is the usual next step. Attendant work is a reasonable way to find out whether you like care work before committing to that.