For FY 2021, the General Assembly approved funding for 810 new Developmental Disabilities (DD) waivers slots in the Community Living (CL) waiver and the Family and Individual Supports (FIS) waiver. This report provides an overview of the number of those slots that have been assigned to date (786) and the expenditures in SFY 21 for those slots per service. It also specifies the number of individuals living in each of six types of living situations as captured in the Waiver Management System (WaMS). Finally, it details the number of individuals occupying FY 21 slots authorized for each of the waiver services.

For this reporting period, data supporting the assignment of 786 FY 2021 slots has been reported. The 760 “no restriction" slots were allocated to the Community Services Boards (CSBs) in August of 2020. Following CSB distribution, the local Waiver Slot Assignment Committee in conjunction with Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS) staff assigns the slots to individuals.

Two other types of DD waiver slots are reflected in the chart above: “Reserve" slots and “Facility" slots. Reserve slots are assigned by DBHDS to individuals who must move from one DD waiver to another in order to receive a service available in the waiver to which they move. Facility slots are for the use of individuals seeking to exit an Intermediate Care Facility for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities (either a state Training Center or privately operated “ICF-IID"), a nursing facility, or a state mental hospital. All of the 25 reserve slots were assigned; however, not all of the FY 2021 facility slots were assigned. These are held for assignment to individuals seeking to exit designated facilities in the upcoming year. Due to having unassigned facility slots at this time, no additional funding for facility slots will be requested of the General Assembly for FY 2023.

Once a slot is assigned, time is necessary for case managers to help connect the individual with services and even more time is necessary for the chosen provider to begin billing for services. In order to account for the timing of the operational process, it was determined by both agencies (the Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS) and DBHDS) that reporting statistics for the year post-assignment provides the most accurate information.

For the 786 FY 2021 slots that were assigned, this report itemizes costs, reported living situation, and authorized services. As the details of this report are reviewed, it is important to remember that this is only a cohort of the larger population of active DD waivers.