Personal Care Attendant (PCA)

Contact Agency:

Alaska Department of Health & Social Services
Division of Senior & Disabilities Services
Personal Care Assistance Program
550 W 8th Ave. Anchorage, Alaska 99501
phone: (907) 269-3666 or (800) 478-9996

General Information:

The following requirements apply to any person working as a PCA for a client who is currently eligible to receive PCA services through the State of Alaska Medicaid PCA Program.

For more information on becoming a PCA, contact an agency from a list of certified agencies. For information on Agency-based PCA training, contact a PCA Agency from the list of Certified agencies. The list of approved personal care training program providers is available at www.hss.state.ak.us/dsds/pca/documents/pcatrainerlist.pdf

Requirements for providing care to a person in the Consumer-direct Model:

Consumer direct model allows each consumer to manage his or her own care by selecting, hiring, firing and supervising their own personal care assistant. The agency provides administrative support to the consumer and the personal care assistant.

1. Must be at least 18 yrs of age
2. May not have been denied a health care provider license or certification for a reason related to patient services, or ever had a license or certification revoke
3. Must be able to independently assist the recipient with the specific ADL and services provided to the recipient
4. Pass a background check, submitted through the PCA agency to the Background Check Unit
5. Provide proof of having and maintaining a certificate in first aid and CPR (may be waived for up to 6 months due to reasonable cause)

Requirements for providing care to a person under the direction of an

Agency-based program:

Agency-based programs allows consumers to receive services through an agency that oversees, manages and supervises their care.

1. Must be at least 18 yrs of age
2. May not have been denied a health care provider license or certification for a reason related to patient services, or ever had a license or certification revoke
3. Must be able to independently assist the recipient with the specific ADL and services provided to the recipient
4. Pass a background check, submitted through the PCA agency to the Background Check Unit
5. Provide proof of having and maintaining a certificate in first aid and CPR (may be waived for up to 6 months due to reasonable cause)
6. Provide 3 letters of reference
7. Meet one of the following criteria:

• hold a valid license as a nurse in this state
• hold a valid certification as a certified nurse aid in this state
• satisfactorly completed PCA training (go to http://www.hss.state.ak.us/dsds/pca/documents/pcatrainerlist.pdf) for the complete list of approved training programs)
• have completed experience or training equivalent to the training specified within 5 years, and passed the standardized test approved by the state

last updated February 2012
The information on this page is updated annually and may have changed during the year. Contact the licensing agency for any changes.