companion services

Companion services are direct services provided to participants living in private homes for the limited purposes of providing supervision or assistance that is focused solely on health and safety of the participant (age 18 or older). This service may be provided in the home and community setting, including the participant’s competitive employment work place.

Service Overview

Companion services are used in lieu of In-Home and Community Support to protect the health and welfare of the participant when a habilitative outcome is not appropriate or feasible (i.e. when the professional providing the service mainly does activities for the participant or supervises the participant versus assisting the participant to learn, enhance or maintain a skill). Companions may supervise and provide assistance with daily living activities, including grooming, health care, household care, meal preparation and planning, and socialization.

This service can be used for hours when the participant is sleeping and needs supervision and/or assistance with tasks that do not require continual assistance, or non-habilitative care to protect the safety of the participant.  For example, a companion can be used during overnight hours for a participant who lives on their own but does not have the ability to safely evacuate in the event of an emergency or solely needs routine monitoring for conditions other than post-surgical care and convulsive (grand mal) epilepsy.  This service can also be used to supervise participants during socialization or non-habilitative activities when necessary to ensure the participant’s safety.