School Districts or Education Service Cooperatives seeking Medicaid reimbursement for Personal Care Services provided in accordance with a student’s Individualized Education Plan (IEP) may send paraprofessionals employed by the district or coop to attend the MITS Personal Care Training, which provides 10 hours of credit toward the total of 40 hours required to achieve DESE Personal Care Aide Certification. The remaining 30 hours will include CPR/1st aide (6 hours), and ADE modules assigned by the Special Education Supervisor (24 hours) provided by the individual district or coop.
The district must employ or contract a Registered Nurse (RN) to supervise the Personal Care services within the district, conduct personal care assessments, approve the para’s daily logs, and write the Plan of Service for prior authorization for all students that qualify for Medicaid reimbursement for Personal Care services. All nurses involved in the Personal Care services for the district/coop must attend the MITS Personal Care Training as well. Billable services include bathing, bladder and bowel requirements, meal prep/eating, dressing, incidental housekeeping, hygiene, shopping, mobility and ambulation.
Once the 40 hours is complete for each participating paraprofessional, the Special Education Supervisor or delegate should forward copies of all training certificates or documentation that serves as proof of completed training to the MITS Personal Care Coordinator in order to receive the DESE Certified Personal Care Aide certificate for each participant. Upon receipt of the DESE certificate(s), the district or coop will be able to bill Medicaid for the personal care services provided by the certified para(s), assuming all other requirements for School-Based Personal Care billing have been satisfied.
In addition, it is advisable for the school personnel who bill Medicaid Personal Care Services to attend the MITS Personal Care Training, if they have never done so.