Aging in Place: A Complete Guide to Chore Services in North Dakota
Discover how North Dakota's Chore Services help individuals maintain their independence by tackling heavy housework, seasonal yard care, and essential safety maintenance. Learn who qualifies, what tasks are covered, and how ND Home Health can help.
For many North Dakotans, there is truly no place like home. Whether you are aging in place or navigating a disability, staying in the comfort and familiarity of your own house is often a top priority. However, as times change, some of the heavier, seasonal, or intermittent tasks required to keep a home safe and accessible can become overwhelming.
That is exactly where Chore Services come in.
At ND Home Health, we want to help you understand the resources available to keep you living safely and independently. Here is everything you need to know about Chore Services, what they cover, and how they help North Dakotans maintain their homes.
What Are Chore Services?
According to the North Dakota policy manual, Chore Services are intermittent, occasional, or one-time tasks that an individual is no longer able to complete on their own.
Unlike standard homemaker services that might focus on daily light housekeeping, Chore Services are designed specifically to tackle the infrequent or heavy-duty tasks necessary to maintain your home, lawn, or walkway. The primary goal is simple: to protect your health and safety and ensure you have safe, barrier-free access to your housing.
What Tasks Are Covered?
Chore Services cover a surprisingly wide range of tasks designed to alleviate the burden of heavy home maintenance. These tasks generally fall into a few key categories:
Seasonal and Outdoor Maintenance Living in North Dakota means dealing with extreme weather. Chore services can help ensure you aren’t trapped in your home or facing city fines.
- Snow and Ice Removal: Essential clearing of measurable snow or drifts that present a safety hazard.
- Lawn Mowing: Seasonal cutting, trimming, bagging, and dumping. (Note: This is strictly to maintain safe access and comply with city ordinances, not for cosmetic landscaping, fertilizing, or weed control. It is limited to once a week).
- Window Cleaning: This includes the seasonal removal and installation of screens or storm windows.
Heavy Housework and Deep Cleaning When standard cleaning isn’t enough, Chore Services step in to handle the heavy lifting.
- Moving Furniture: Shifting heavy furniture to allow for seasonal, safety-focused cleaning.
- Appliance Cleaning: Deep cleaning appliances, which may include moving them to clean the floors and walls behind them.
- Unusual Floor Care: Tackling cleaning of an unusual nature or tacking down loose rugs and tiles that pose a tripping hazard.
- Extreme Cleaning/Garbage Removal: Tackling unusual sanitation needs (requires prior approval).
Health, Safety, and Emergency Response
- Emergency Response Systems (ERS): Chore services cover the professional installation and monthly rental fees of ERS units. To qualify, individuals must live alone (with rare exceptions) and be physically and cognitively capable of activating the call button.
- Professional Extermination: Pest and sanitation control to keep your home safe and habitable (requires prior approval and is authorized per job).
Who is Eligible for Chore Services?
To receive Chore Services, individuals must meet a few specific criteria set by the state:
- Program Eligibility: You must be eligible for the Medicaid Waiver for Home and Community Based Services, SPED, or ExSPED programs.
- Physical Need: You must be genuinely unable to complete these maintenance tasks yourself.
- Renter vs. Landlord Responsibilities: If you rent your home or apartment, Chore Services cannot be used to do work that is legally the landlord’s responsibility (like general property maintenance).
Let ND Home Health Guide You
You shouldn’t have to choose between your safety and staying in the home you love. Chore Services are a vital safety net designed to manage the heavy lifting so you can focus on enjoying your independence.
If you or a loved one are struggling to keep up with seasonal chores, heavy housework, or safety maintenance, we are here to help. Contact ND Home Health today to learn more about navigating eligibility and keeping your home safe all year round.