Rights & Responsibilities

What are my rights and responsibilities as a customer of brokerage support services?

As a customer of brokerage support services, you have the right to:

Choose your brokerage.

In the Portland Metro area, you have the choice of having your case management services delivered to you through a brokerage, such as Community Pathways, or a community developmental disabilities program (CDDP) through your local county. Your choices in the metro area include:

Brokerages serving the Portland Metro area 

  • Community Pathways, Inc. (Clackamas, Multnomah, Washington counties)

  • Inclusion, Inc. (Clackamas and Multnomah counties)

  • Independence Northwest (Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington counties)

  • Mentor Oregon Brokerage (Washington, Clackamas and Multnomah counties)

  • Self Determination Resources, Inc. (Washington County only)

  • United Cerebral Palsy Connections (Clackamas and Multnomah counties)

Community Developmental Disability Programs

  • Clackamas County

  • Multnomah County

  • Washington County

Note: After you have been referred to one of the brokerages for services, you still have the right to choose to transfer to one of the other brokerages contracted to serve your county of residence.

Choose your Personal Agent.

Upon entering a brokerage, you are assigned a personal agent (PA) who will assist you in developing your individualized support plan (ISP).  If you are unsatisfied with the arrangement for any reason, you may choose to switch to a PA who you feel more compatible with. 

Choose your own services.

Your ISP is about you and what you want and need. Your PA will use "person-centered" planning techniques in their discussions with you to ensure your plan is truly a plan for and about you. Together you will create goals and identify what supports and services will need to achieve these.

Choose where you get your services.

If you believe you need 24-hour services, you can choose to live in a group home, foster home or in supported living.

Review and revise your plan.

Once completed and approved, your PA will give you a copy of your ISP.  You have the right to review and change your plan at any time. Simply contact your PA to have them initiate the changes. Once completed, the changes will need to be signed by you or your legal guardian before they can be implemented.

Work with qualified providers.

Once you decide what you need on your ISP, you have the option of choosing from a pool of providers, who have gone through the state's required qualifying process, to meet your needs. You have the right to make sure the people who are helping you meet your needs are qualified to do the job. Your PA will assist you in creating a service agreement with your provider.  The service agreement is a document signed by you and your provider that outlines your needs and goals. You have the right to change providers at any time.

Be safe from abuse.  

All Community Pathways, Inc. staff, and the providers who work for you, are “Mandatory Abuse Reporters” according to Oregon’s law.  This means that if we witness, suspect, or receive a report of someone hurting you physically, verbally, sexually, or financially, we are obligated to report the abuse to the county protective services office or to the local authorities.

Move within the state of Oregon without losing services.

Oregon contracts with support service brokerages located across the state.  If you move or are planning to move to a new county, your PA can assist you in transferring your plan and services to a brokerage serving your new county of residence.

Withdraw from services.

You have the option of declining services if you decide you do not want them.

Be notified of termination of services.

If your PA cannot get in touch with you for your annual plan renewal, or you move out of state, or lose Medicaid, your PA is required to immediately notify you in writing. You will receive a letter and notice of planned action (NOPA). You can contact your PA to assist you in figuring out what can be done to reinstate your services. 

File a grievance or concern with Oregon DHS.

If you are ever unhappy with any of your services through the brokerage or are told that something you want to purchase with your plan is “unallowable,” you can always file an appeal or “Fair Hearing Request” with the State Department of Human Services - Seniors and People with Disabilities division. Your PA can give you a form to fill out and assist you in finding the appropriate person to talk to.

File a grievance or concern with Community Pathways, Inc.

If you have a problem with your services at Community Pathways, Inc., you should:

  1. First, contact your personal agent (PA).

  2. If your PA cannot help you or you do not feel comfortable addressing the issue with them, you may contact your PA's direct supervisor.

  3. If you are unsatisfied with this outcome, you may contact the brokerage's executive director, who will investigate the facts supporting or disproving the grievance and will take appropriate actions on grievances within five (5) working days following the receipt of the grievance. The executive director will review the grievance and provide a written response within fifteen (15) days following the receipt of the grievance. If you are not satisfied with the outcome, you may request information on what steps to take next

 

Your Responsibilities

 

You have the responsibility to direct the development of your individual support plan

Your PA will assist you by giving you information, but you are the one who should decide your goals and needs on your plan.

You have the responsibility to understand the limitations of the plan

The brokerage system is governed by rules set forth by Medicaid. There are some things your plan cannot pay for according to those rules. Your PA will help you learn what can and cannot be paid for through your plan. If something cannot be paid for with plan dollars, your PA can help you find other ways to get your needs met.

You have the responsibility to authorize services being delivered to you

In addition to authorizing your plan by signing it, you will be expected to sign off on all time sheets or invoices your providers submit for payment. Your signature verifies that your provider worked with you on the dates and times they claim on their invoices and allows you and your PA to monitor their work to ensure they are fulfilling their obligations agreed upon in the service agreement.

You have the responsibility to ensure that services being provided to you are considered a “social benefit”

All plan dollars spent must be a “social benefit.” A social benefit describes a service intended to assist an adult with disabilities to function in society on a level comparable to that of an adult who does not have such disability.  For example, your plan cannot pay for items such as admission into a movie because movie tickets are an item that everyone in the community, regardless of ability, must pay for.

You have the responsibility to let Community Pathways, Inc. know if you are dissatisfied with your services

Community Pathways wants to serve the individuals we support in the best way possible.  If you are unhappy with your plan or services, please let us know.