Our Mission Statement is:
"To provide and advance
community based supports to
promote self-determination for
people with disabilities and
their families."
Welcome to Consumer Directed Choices
A nonprofit organization founded and managed by people with disabilities and their families. With the expertise of the "end users" of home care, Consumer Directed Choices created the genuine Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPAP) in the greater Capital Region.
The Board of Directors and I have a clear vision – to do everything we can to make paperwork and processes as easy as possible while keeping laws, regulations and bureaucracy in mind. Stepping way back from controlling consumers’ lives – we don’t operate as traditional nurses or social workers – we leave the management up to the seniors and people with disabilities who are the experts about what is right for themselves. We also know the answer to the big secret – pay personal assistants a decent wage with excellent benefits and everyone is happier.
When I was seventeen I fell off a cliff, becoming a quadriplegic, and know exactly what it is like to need assistance. Before the Consumer Directed Program existed I was forced to take what a home care agency gave me. It has now been eleven years that I have recruited, hired, trained, supervised and terminated my own personal assistants. I also happen to be a good businesswoman. Put them together and you have the best mix you can possibly get in the person heading this organization. But this isn’t a one-woman show – CDC staff wants you to be an individual and will guide the process to keep necessary paperwork up to date so you can do what is important – choose who comes in your home, when, what and how things are done. The Board of Directors has an important role in guiding the organization and CDC has continually fostered a diverse group with appropriate expertise. They are also a group with direct experience within their own lives, have family members with disabilities or possess the tools needed to guide the company in the right direction.
Constance Laymon, Founder and CEO
Why Use Consumer Directed Choices?
- CDC is a nonprofit founded by people with disabilities.
- Constance Laymon, CEO, has a disability and used the program herself.
- CDC’s Board of Directors is a balanced group of program users, their family members and other individuals dedicated to the Consumer’s right to manage.
- CDC’s sole focus is the Consumer Directed Program.
- We are experts for you with 16 staff members who operate locally in the Greater Capital Region rather than a home office in another area of the state.
- We offer educational seminars and tools to assist you in being a successful "employer."
- Recruitment Assistance though the RAIS.
- CDC staff can accommodate your program administration needs – in your home, office or over the telephone – flexibility based on your preference.
- Home care Personal Assistant workers receive a more than competitive wage with health, dental, paid time off, holiday differentials and more!