Choose a CDPAP personal assistant by matching the authorized work and schedule to someone who can reliably do it under the consumer’s direction. Then confirm registration, required documents and the approved start arrangements before treating the person as ready. Knowing or trusting a candidate does not replace clear instructions or completed onboarding.
Checked November 5, 2026. The checklist and working agreement below are family planning aids, not employment contracts or individualized clinical advice. CaringNYC does not recruit, screen or employ assistants.
Write the work before choosing the person
Begin with the actual plan of care and authorization. List the duties, days, likely communication needs and practical constraints. Separate an authorized care task from a household preference. For example, the person’s preferred way to arrange clothing is an instruction; adding unrelated household work is a different request.
Under Social Services Law § 365-f, recruiting, supervising and scheduling assistants remain consumer-direction responsibilities. Payroll administration does not supply those day-to-day decisions. Identify who will explain the work, observe whether instructions are understood and respond to a problem.
Check whether the proposed role is permitted
The Department of Health’s current CDPAP page says a personal assistant may be a friend or family member, but not the consumer’s spouse, designated representative or the parent of a consumer under 21. Have PPL and the authorizing office confirm a candidate’s specific arrangement before relying on it. Family relationship alone neither completes onboarding nor establishes eligibility.
A useful household question is whether the candidate can accept direction from the consumer. A family member may be accustomed to making decisions for someone, while the consumer wants to give their own instructions. Discuss privacy, preferences and respectful disagreement before scheduling paid care.
Interview for the actual situation
Use questions that require an explanation rather than a quick promise. Keep notes about availability and unresolved training needs.
- Which listed shifts can you reliably cover, including travel time?
- Which tasks have you done before, and which would require instruction or further help?
- How would you check an instruction you did not understand?
- How would you tell us promptly that you were delayed or unable to come?
- How will you protect the consumer’s privacy when other relatives ask about their care?
- Are you comfortable recording the actual work time and reporting a mistake?
- How would you raise a concern about a task you could not perform safely?
Do not treat a confident answer as proof of competence. Before assigning a task, resolve any gap with the appropriate care team and the person responsible for training. Do not improvise a lifting, medication or equipment technique to complete an interview demonstration.
A duties and schedule planning agreement
Copy these fields onto a private page. Review it with the consumer and proposed assistant. It supplements the official care plan and PPL documents; it does not change them.
| Field | Write the agreed details |
|---|---|
| People and roles | Consumer; representative if applicable; assistant; person giving day-to-day instructions: ________________ |
| Authorized work | Plan date; duties; tasks needing clarification before assignment: ________________ |
| Schedule | Days; start and finish; method for confirming changes: ________________ |
| Home preferences | Communication; privacy; access arrangements; where instructions are kept: ________________ |
| Reporting problems | Who to call for an absence, care concern or timekeeping error: ________________ |
| Review | Date to revisit the arrangement and questions still awaiting an official answer: ________________ |
Keep administrative onboarding separate from task instruction
PPL’s New York FAQ lists an offer letter for each associated consumer, a personal assistant agreement, federal and state withholding forms, Form I-9 with supporting documentation, a payment-method form and a health assessment. Ask PPL for the current checklist and submission instructions; do not collect sensitive worker documents through an informal family message thread.
For each requirement, record “submitted,” “accepted” or “needs action.” Those are different statuses. Confirm any required training and health clearance, the consumer–assistant association, receipt of the service authorization and the start arrangements. Ask for written confirmation of the applicable wage, benefits, overtime procedures and payroll instructions. This article states no rate and does not interpret tax forms.
PPL’s FAQ includes training instructions with transition-era dates. Ask which requirements and deadlines apply to this particular new assistant. Administrative training about time entry is also different from teaching the consumer’s specific care routine; make time for both.
Build a backup plan that names an available person
Write who should be contacted first after an absence, how long to wait for a response and who contacts the plan if authorized care cannot be covered. Check whether the proposed backup is actually registered and ready for this consumer. A name on a phone list is not evidence that paid care can start immediately.
As a fictional planning exercise, imagine the primary assistant calls out before a morning shift and the usual family helper is at work. Walk through the calls and identify the unresolved gap. Do this before the first shift, while there is time to discuss options with the care manager.
Your next action is to complete the duties field and obtain PPL’s current onboarding checklist. See CDPAP resources for program context, or use Home Care & Senior Services and the CaringNYC home page to navigate related topics.