• What is a spend down? Why would I have one?


• Why choose Consumer Directed Community Support (CDCS) Services?


• I don't understand my spending summary. What should I do?


• How do I change an employee's wage?


• How do I view my online spending summary?


• Why is my paycheck less than what I submitted in my expense report?


• Do you take taxes out of mileage?


• Do I have to pay OT on respite?


• Respite isn't paid hourly, so why does overtime apply?


• What is Personal Supports?


• What is a "traditional service"?


• Why does PICS do employee background checks?


• There is an error on my spending summary. What should I do?


• What should I do if there is a change in my personal information?


• Where can I find copies of the employee training manuals?


• How To Read Spending Summaries?

What is a spend down? Why would I have one?

A spenddown is like an insurance deductible. If your income is more than the allowed income limit, you may still qualify for medical assistance by meeting a spenddown. A spenddown is the amount you must pay towards medical bills before the state will start to pay.

A spenddown can be costly, and interrupt your services. Please remember – should you receive services, and then those go unpaid, PICS is obligated to consider it an unpaid debt. PICS is not required to continue to serve recipients with outstanding debt.

Click here for more information on spenddowns, including other frequently asked questions.

Why choose Consumer Directed Community Support (CDCS) Services?
CDCS is an unlicensed service option for people who receive home and community-based services. CDCS provides a person with support, care, and assistance that prevents institutionalization and allows a more inclusive community life.
CDCS can create more individualized and effective support services by giving the person and his or her support team both more flexibility and more responsibility for planning and managing the supports that will best meet their needs. People who use CDCS must hire an FSE to help coordinate the many financial processing and billing tasks involved. Click here to learn how PICS makes CDCS a reality for consumers.

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I don't understand my spending summary. What should I do?
If your spending summary has you stumped, the best thing to do is contact us. We'll look at your spending summary together and make sure everything is understood, on your end as well as ours.

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How do I change an employee's wage?
To change an employee's wage, you must complete a PICS Status Change Form and submit it to PICS. Any employee's wage cannot be changed without the PICS Status Change Form completed and signed by both the Managing Party and the employee. If requested, verification that the request has been completed will be given in the form chosen by the Managing Party (i.e. e-mail, mail, fax, phone).

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How do I view my online spending summary?
Go to the "Resources" tab and click "View Spending Summary". Under the title "New User Registration" you will enter your name and e-mail address and select "Create Account." Complete all required fields. To request access to a client's spending summary, complete the "Request Access to Spending Summaries" section and click "add client" to request access and add as many clients as necessary. Click "Submit Access Request" when it is complete. The request will then be sent to us to grant access. This may take up to 2 days. After access has been granted return to the log in screen and enter your username and password. Select the client that you would like to view and the service agreement. You may select date ranges and the format you would like to view it in. Select "View Spending Summary" and you will be directed to the spending summary. If you forget your username and password please complete the field on the log in screen and your information will be emailed directly to you. For any other questions related to viewing spending summaries contact us.

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There is an error on my spending summary. What should I do?
Contact us and we will work with you to find the problem.

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Why is my paycheck less than what I submitted in my expense report?
If this happens, it is most likely because some of your expenses were not submitted in time to be included in that paycheck. Be sure to check the payroll schedule, which tells you deadlines throughout the year for submitting expenses. When expenses are submitted late, they carry over to your next paycheck. The payroll schedule can be found on the Commonly Used Forms section of this web site. Contact us if you have additional questions.

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Do you take taxes out of mileage?
Mileage is not taxed. Contact us if you have additional questions about mileage.

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Do I have to pay OT on respite?
Yes. The 24-hour rate, also known as the respite rate, counts towards the 40 hours a person can work before going into overtime. A 24-hour or respite rate is defined as 16 hours of work time and 8 hours of sleep time for wage and hour purposes. If a staff person works respite days and regular hours during the week, they are likely to go over 40 working hours and into overtime. Overtime is calculated when an employee works beyond 40 hours a week. If an employee works for more than one family, their hours are a cumulative total and overtime will be calculated after a total of 40 hours are worked. Overtime is charged to whichever family the employee is working for at the time 40 hours is exceeded.

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Respite isn't paid hourly, so why does overtime apply?
Overtime applies because of Wage & Hour laws. In order to be in compliance with those laws, the daily rate must be based on the hourly rate. If you have further questions, please contact PICS.

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What is Personal Supports?
Personal Supports is a traditional "waivered service" that provides unlicensed staffing support. Personal Supports is available to people who receive MR/RC Waiver funding. While Personal Supports is a staffing-only service, the county case manager may also build mileage and other items into the customer's traditional support plan, depending the person's needs. If a person is using Personal Support for their staffing, they must also have at least one paid or unpaid habilitative component built into the service plan. Click here to learn more about the Personal Supports program at PICS.

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What is a traditional service?
A traditional service is any service that is not classified under Consumer Directed Community Support services. For more information about these categories, go here.

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Why does PICS do employee background checks?
The Minnesota Department of Human Services requires background checks for all employees who could be working with vulnerable adults and minors. A disqualifying offense is defined by DHS here. The Managing Party is only notified if there is a disqualifying offense, in which case a letter along with an employee exit packet will be sent. The employee must stop working once the Managing Party is made aware of the disqualification. Should the employee wish to contest the results, they may complete a new background study with fingerprints by contacting the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. PICS will not pay for this. Any questions contact the HR department.

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What should I do if there is a change in my personal information?
If you have a change in personal information (i.e. address or phone number), please notify us via postal mail, e-mail, fax, or the website. You can download our Status Change Form in the Commonly Used Forms section as well as by completing the online form by clicking on "Employee Tools" tab and "Change Your Address."

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Where can I find copies of the employee training manuals?
Employee training manuals are located in the Managing Party binder you received when starting services with PICS. You can also download them from the Commonly Used Forms section of this web site. If you would like a copy of the training manuals mailed to you, contact your PICS Program Manager.

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