Personal Supports is hands-on help and training with daily living — eating, bathing, dressing, hygiene, meals — plus non-medical care, supervision, and access to the community, for adults living in their own or family home. It's billed by the quarter hour or, above 8 hours a day, at the day rate; in the person's home it runs through EVV; and every billed date needs a service log that shows real, person-centered work toward the support plan.
At a glance
- Who can receive it
- Adults 21+ in the family home; 18+ in their own home or supported living
- Where
- The person's own home, the family home, the community, or their job site
- Never
- In your home, your relative's or friend's home, a hospital, or an institution
- Ratio
- 1:1 in the family home; up to 1:3 for community activities
- Units
- Quarter hours (up to 96/day) or the day rate when more than 8 hours are needed
- EVV
- Required in the person's home (live-in caregivers can be exempt)
- Who can provide
- Solo or agency providers, home health or hospice agencies, licensed residential facilities
The rules that trip providers up
- Group homes and foster homes: residents can't get Personal Supports except during an overnight visit away, a time-limited recovery from surgery or illness (requested by the WSC, approved by the APD region, approval kept in your file), or support at their job.
- Not during adult day training, and only one service at a time unless APD authorizes it — Personal Supports and supported employment are the allowed exception.
- Housing: if the person rents, their (or their guardian's) name is on the lease, and neither you nor your family can be the landlord or own the property.
- Supported living coach: if the person has one, you coordinate with them and follow their plans — and reviewers look for proof of that coordination.
- Transportation is included in the rate.
Who can deliver it
Staff need to be 18 or older with a high school diploma or GED and one year of verifiable experience in a medical, psychiatric, nursing or child-care setting or with people with developmental disabilities — or, instead of the experience, 30 semester hours, 45 quarter hours, or 720 classroom hours of college or vocational school. On top of the core training set, Personal Supports adds EVV training for everyone, iConnect training for owners and solo providers, medication administration or behavioral emergency procedures when the person needs them, and 4 hours of annual in-service tied to a current person's needs.
Documentation and EVV
A service log for every date — worker, person, service, date, time in and out, a summary of what was done, and any health or safety follow-up. Days start at midnight, so an overnight shift needs two logs; several shifts on one day go on that day's log; each person in a group ratio gets their own. There's no monthly summary for Personal Supports.
In the person's home, the worker clocks in and out on the iConnect EVV mobile site, and that visit is the service log — don't duplicate it elsewhere. Clock-in has a 500-foot tolerance and should start at the person's (or guardian's) home; managers can correct times but keep the backup. Live-in caregivers can be exempt, but still document in iConnect. More in APD EVV requirements. For a day rate, also keep schedules and payroll showing who worked and how long.
Billing and rates
Bill the most cost-effective option: quarter hours (up to 96 a day) or the day rate when more than 8 hours are needed. A day rate billed on 32 or fewer documented quarter hours is a discrepancy. Up to 24 extra quarter hours on top of the day rate need approval for one of three reasons: intense behavior (a behavior plan you implement, visual supervision while awake, local review committee review), time-limited medical recovery (physician documentation), or total physical assistance in three or more personal-care areas plus help during sleep hours. The agency rate requires two or more W-2 employees — subcontractors don't count.
| Ratio | Palm Beach, Broward, Dade solo / agency | All other counties solo / agency | Monroe solo / agency |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1:1 | $5.75 / $6.13 | $5.75 / $6.13 | $5.75 / $6.85 |
| 1:2 | $4.00 / $4.98 | $3.96 / $4.83 | $4.36 / $5.37 |
| 1:3 | $3.45 / $4.29 | $3.42 / $4.19 | $3.79 / $4.68 |
| Ratio | Palm Beach, Broward, Dade solo / agency | All other counties solo / agency | Monroe solo / agency |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1:1 | $187.08 / $199.34 | $187.08 / $199.34 | $196.11 / $225.55 |
| 1:2 | $126.87 / $157.69 | $125.23 / $153.08 | $144.21 / $173.16 |
| 1:3 | $109.31 / $136.08 | $107.93 / $132.11 | $124.32 / $149.44 |
APD iBudget rates effective July 1, 2026. Every service and region is in the searchable rate table.
The 17 standards Qlarant scores
Qlarant's Personal Supports record review tool (version 5, July 2026) checks each sampled person's records against these standards. For the review, its September 2026 checklist asks for the service logs, current and prior support plans, six months of payroll if you bill the agency rate, supported living coach coordination (emails, texts, notes), and approval for any billing above the day rate.
- A complete service log for every billed date — person, worker, service, date, time in and out, and a summary — with billed units matching documented units
- Approved authorizations covering the whole period, at the right rate: solo vs. agency, region, ratio, quarter hour vs. day
- Any quarter hours billed on top of a day rate are approved and justified (24 at most)
- The agency rate is backed by payroll showing two or more W-2 employees; the group size doesn't exceed the authorization or three; no Personal Supports during adult day training; 1:1 in the family home; no landlord or ownership interest
- Services were billed only after they were delivered
- The person lives in their own or family home (or one of the three licensed-setting exceptions applies)
- The person's age fits: 21+, or 18–20 in their own home
- The service happened in an allowed place
- Documented coordination with the supported living coach, when there is one
- The provider has the support plan (or documented efforts to get it) and works on its goals and needs
- Progress — or decline — toward those goals is documented
- The person's choices and preferences show in the documentation
- Community participation, when it's a goal
- Rights education
- Physical health
- Behavioral and emotional health, when there are concerns
- Logs are varied and person-centered — copy-paste logs fail where progress is expected (they're acceptable for routine daily-living care or supervision)
Keeping it review-ready
Read the standards again and they reduce to three habits: logs that match billing, logs that read like the person's actual day, and paperwork that backs up the rate you bill. Waiversoft's caregiver portal has staff clock in and out of each shift and write the visit note at the visit, tracks every authorization's units, and keeps the staff files that prove qualifications and training — so the record is built as the work happens, not reconstructed before a review.
Frequently asked questions
What is Personal Supports in the APD iBudget waiver?
Help and training with daily living — eating, bathing, dressing, hygiene, meal preparation — plus non-medical care, supervision, access to community activities, and heavy chores when the support plan calls for them. For adults 21 and older in the family home it also covers respite. It must serve a support-plan goal or a health and safety need, never pure diversion.
When does the Personal Supports day rate apply?
When the person needs more than 8 hours of Personal Supports in a day, the day rate is the cost-effective option. Qlarant flags a day rate billed on 32 or fewer documented quarter hours as a billing discrepancy. Up to 24 quarter hours can be added on top of a day rate only with approval, for intense behavior needs, time-limited medical recovery, or total physical assistance.
Can Personal Supports be provided in my home?
No. The iBudget Handbook bars Personal Supports in the provider's home and in the home of the provider's relative or friend, as well as hospitals and institutions. It's delivered in the person's own home, the family home, the community, or their job site.
Does Personal Supports need a monthly summary?
No. APD's iConnect FAQ confirms Personal Supports needs no monthly summary. What it needs is a service log for every date of service (an overnight shift crossing midnight needs two) and, in the person's home, EVV — the EVV visit on the iConnect mobile site creates the service log.
Can a relative be paid to provide Personal Supports?
Parents of minors, spouses, guardians and legal representatives can't be paid unless the person is in CDC+. Other relatives can be paid for Personal Supports if they meet the same qualifications as any provider and the file documents why — no other provider available or scheduling needs, not convenience.