Can a Second ADW Agency Help Without Replacing the First?

If part of an existing Traditional ADW plan is unstaffed, a member may want to keep the current agency while exploring supplemental help. Present that question to the agency and case manager as a possible coordinated arrangement, rather than assuming a second agency is a transfer or a private booking.

Describe the actual missing support

Identify the approved tasks or visit periods that are not being delivered and how the gap affects the member. Ask the assigned team about the supplemental-agency process under Chapter 501, including the operating-agency approval required for the actual arrangement. The existing personal-attendant agency must explain the need to the operating agency and obtain approval before proceeding with a second agency; a family inquiry is not that approval.

Distinguish this from ending one agency relationship and starting another. The member's preference to retain the current agency matters, but it does not establish that a second provider has been accepted, authorized or staffed.

Confirm who coordinates the combined plan

Ask the team to identify the primary agency and explain responsibility for the person-centered service plan, nursing coordination and communication between providers. Clarify which agency supplies each visit and how duplicate services or conflicting instructions will be prevented.

Keep each status separate: a second agency willing to discuss the case, the responsible approval, a coordinated plan and an actual worker assignment. A referral or signed request alone does not complete all four.

Before relying on the arrangement, have a clear contact for missed visits or changing needs. Bring unresolved gaps back to the case manager instead of expecting two workers to divide duties themselves. A proposed second agency is not a reason to wait without essential assistance: ask the responsible team about the policy's emergency-transfer and safe-informal-support conditions when the current agency cannot provide service. Do not assume a relative can safely fill the gap. The purpose is a coordinated supplement that the member understands, with real assistance confirmed for the periods that were missing.

Discuss ordinary help at home

For separately arranged nonmedical assistance, our Morgantown care team can discuss the person's requested tasks and timing. Contact the local care team to ask about the actual scope, schedule and available staffing.