3608 SE Powell Blvd
Portland, OR 97202
(503) 232-2289

A Personal Agent, or PA, is the main contact for customers at the Brokerage.  Their job is to work with individuals to identify what supports they need and will assist in finding a way to meet these needs.  The customers decide the best way to spend their money and who will be supporting them to reach these goals.  The customer, their support circle (family, friends, etc.), and the PA will work together to create a plan to meet their needs. 

The PA will help their customers find providers and agencies to interview, get community resources, give advice about effective ways to spend plan dollars, and make sure that they are happy with the people they hire, and any other supports they purchase. 

4 KEY ROLES:

1. Planning
• Meeting and getting to know an individual
• Develop a relationship
• Help figure out what life the person chooses
• Figure out what and how is needed to make that happen
• Figure out the most important things to start working on now
• Develop a plan
• Check in often to see how the plan is working – if the person is getting what they want and need
2. Individual Budget
• Check to see who else can pay for things and if any deals can be made
• Work out the cost of supports
• Assist customer with monitoring budget through the plan year and support them to make changes as necessary
3. Link with Support
• Help make an existing resource work for someone (could be setting up communication system or behavior support plan or just a specific detailed plan to help someone use a resource)
• Develop new resources (recruit new providers, work with existing agencies to offer new things, support networks, etc.)
• Do paperwork and take care of financial stuff (payroll, vendor checks, and contracts)
• Teach/train/help people (how to do their own job descriptions or how to get a job or how to advocate better)
4. Make sure we got it right
• Relationship is important – person needs to be able to trust the PA (Personal Agent) to tell them if they got what they wanted and how they wanted it
• PA checks in over time and changes plan as needed.
• Customer surveys