Private Care Association

Since 1977,the Private Care Association (PCA) has been the voice of private duty home care. PCA's membership is made up of home care registries that refer self-employed caregivers to provide assistance with activities of daily living such as bathing, dressing, lifting/transferring, continence care, feeding/meal preparation, companion care, homemaker services and nursing services in the client's home. The PCA has an involved government relations program that actively presents its position to public policymakers at the state and federal levels. As the national voice for home care registries, the PCA continues to expand its membership and develop a greater capability to promote the interests of the private duty home care industry, advocating the consumer-directed model of care, and consumer choice. The consumer-directed model of care is based on the idea of consumer choice in home care options and gives consumers the right to make decisions and direct the care needed. The principal advantages of consumer-directed care are that it costs less to the consumer, the caregivers typically earn more, it allows consumers to individually select caregivers, it provides greater continuity in caregiver relationships, and it supports caregiver entrepreneurship.