Main fundraiser photo

Building a brighter future for our loved ones

Donation protected
My name is Joe and I have spent around 18 years dedicated to helping others in need.  I started down this road in my early 20's by working with persons who had severe traumatic brain injuries. I later transitioned to working with people who have mental and physical disabilities.  And finally more recently I have taken on the role of managing Erie and Crawford county for an agency that helps aging adults and persons with disabilities maintain their independence. I have been fortunate to be part of a great many amazing stories and lives. 

So what is Client Care Plus? Well it's another agency dedicated to helping others maintain their independence and help to keep them from needing to be in a nursing home or other form of assisted living.  Aren't there a ton of those? Sure are, but here is the thing. Right now there are hundreds of case workers across our state with files on their desk of people who need help that they can't find any for. Why? Because direct care workers are often underpaid and can not afford to pursue a career in helping others. This has lead to a landslide of cases where people need help but there simply isn't enough help to be found.

What if we could do better? Shouldn't a business designed and founded on helping people really be about people? What if a business focused on making paychecks not profit?  Couldn't we make a better formula and teach people how to care by first caring about them? Shouldn't people who dedicate their lives to making a difference in others be able to survive off of what they earn?

I think so. I spent many days working to bring in a paycheck and my nights writing the policies and procedures, filling out applications for licensing and making sure the business met the requirements of state and federal rules and regulations. Which if I am being honest was the same thing I was doing at my day job but for a company who would not, like most, pay their employees enough to pay the bills.

Client Care Plus makes paychecks not profit!

Client Care Plus is designed to change this! How? Through lowering administrative costs through the use of new software. Why is this important? By reducing non billable hours we can redirect more pay to our direct care workers. In addition to paying above the regional average hourly rate, every direct care employee can begin earning quarterly bonuses from day one! Client Care Plus is committed to making direct care a career. 

$2.00 for every billable hour is funneled into employee pay incentive programs. to stimulate direct care employees paychecks. How can we do this and how do employees get this money? Put simply the money is allocated to be 100% paid to employees who are providing direct care through pay bonus programs.  We are able to do this by reducing the companies net profit and maintaining a lower overhead operational cost. We really do make paychecks not profit!

What about the clients? I like to say the aides are our heart but the clients are our soul. They are after all why we are here. Everyone deserves to be treated with respect and dignity. I believe every agency out there shares this goal. At the days end it is the direct care worker who is the service provider. To ensure our clients get the quality of care they deserve we train our aides with nearly 500% more training than is required by regulations. Our training dwarves all known competitors training programs. At Client Care Plus we recognize the importance of education and the role it plays in the relationship between clients and their aides. 

Why do I need help at all and where does the business stand now? #SmallBusinessRelief

Well life is tricky sometimes I guess and being employed for non profits and at lower paying careers in the human services field has not left me with much capital. Client Care Plus has been licensed and is nearly ready for operation. If the goal was to service only those who can afford to pay out of pocket we could open the doors right now. The reality though is all those people who need help and are not getting it, can't afford help out of pocket. 

Enter Medicaid! between 98 and 99% of those in need are unable to afford paying others for the help and rely on services funded by medicaid.  For a company to bill medicaid they must complete a registration as a provider. This entails having open door operations and a $500 application fee. What do I mean by open door? Well before a company like this can accept clients it's required that certain types of insurances are in place. This includes during the application process. These insurances cost in approximation of $150 a month and must be active during the reported 3-6 month application period.

It's been a long difficult road, especially with covid making wait times for licensing months longer then the original 3-6 month wait. I like those I employed, struggled daily to afford basic needs but even still I managed to funnel enough away to continue the progress of forming Client Care Plus.

What will be done with any excess funds raised by this campaign? The purpose of this campaign was to help keep the ball rolling not pad my wallet.  Any funds raised that are not used for the listed expenses will be placed into an account designed to provide charity services to persons in need.  What does this mean? Client Care Plus provides charity services to persons in need who are unable to pay as possible.  Client Care Plus will use the funds in this account to pay our aides to help those in need.

I hope to make the world better then I found it and I can not do this alone. I have fallen short and really need some help. If your looking for a way to help others maybe you can help me in my efforts to provide a better level of training and support for those in our community. It's maybe not world changing work but if you look close a single smile from someone who's day you helped improve will prove that you can make a difference in the lives of others.

Thank you for reading and have a great day!

Organizer

Joe Cornelius
Organizer
Girard, PA

Your easy, powerful, and trusted home for help

  • Easy

    Donate quickly and easily

  • Powerful

    Send help right to the people and causes you care about

  • Trusted

    Your donation is protected by the GoFundMe Giving Guarantee