St. Louis Consumer Directed Services Provider

What a CDS vendor does for you

In Consumer Directed Services you are the employer of record for your attendant: you choose, train, schedule and supervise the person who helps you. The vendor's job is the administration around that relationship. Missouri law sets out what a vendor must do for you:

• Payroll and taxes. We collect and verify the timesheets you and your attendant sign, pay your attendant on your behalf and make the payroll and employment tax payments on time.
• Records and registry checks. We keep the employment records the program requires and make sure your attendant is registered with the Family Care Safety Registry and screened before they start.
• Orientation and check-ins. We walk you through your responsibilities as the employer and how to supervise your attendant, and we make at least one face-to-face visit each year to see how the services are going.

We do not decide who is eligible or how many hours are authorised — those are set by the state through the Division of Senior and Disability Services (DSDS) and your care plan.

How to compare CDS vendors

Participants choose who provides their CDS. Every vendor works under the same state rules, so the differences are in how the work gets done. Five questions worth asking any vendor, including us:

1. 1. How do you handle timesheets and payroll?

   Missouri law makes the vendor responsible for collecting and verifying the timesheets you and your attendant sign, paying the attendant on your behalf and paying the payroll taxes on time. Ask how timesheets are submitted and how quickly questions are answered.

2. 2. What orientation do you give me as the employer of record?

   The participant is the attendant's employer of record, and vendors must provide orientation on employer responsibilities and attendant supervision. Ask what the orientation covers and who you can call afterwards.

3. 3. How do you run registry and background screening for my attendant?

   Vendors must make sure attendants are registered with the Family Care Safety Registry and screened before state funds pay for their work. Ask what the attendant needs to bring and how long the vendor's own steps usually take.

4. 4. Who visits me, and how often?

   Vendors are required to monitor service delivery with at least one face-to-face visit each year. Ask who makes that visit and how to reach them between visits.

5. 5. Where is your office, and who answers the phone?

   A vendor needs a physical business location. Ask whether you will talk to a local coordinator or a call centre, and in what hours.

Service area

We serve St. Louis City, St. Louis County and St. Charles County from one office at 813 N. Kingshighway Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63108. Orientation and visits are arranged around you — at home or by phone where the program allows. Details of the counties we cover and the area agencies that serve each one are on our service area page.

Not in the program yet? Referrals go to the state's HCBS Intake line at 1-866-835-3505 or the online referral form; our guide to applying for CDS in Missouri lists each step.