Any individual who believes he or she has a developmental disability, or is the family member or guardian of such a person, may apply for developmental disabilities (DD) services.
The individual must apply for Medicaid, if they are not already a Medicaid recipient, as he or she needs to be approved for Medicaid prior to receiving any DD services.
The individual applies for DD services through the Intake Coordinator at the Designated Agency (DA) in the area where the individual lives. Once an application is made, it is the role of the DA to determine whether the individual meets the first three eligibility criteria: residency, financial and clinical. The DA can also help the person apply for Medicaid.
Once the individual is found eligible, the DA conducts a Needs Assessment to determine the areas in which there are unmet needs for the individual. Based on the assessment, the DA will determine if these identified needs can be addressed by DD services. If the assessment indicates the individual's needs may be met by home and community-based services, the DA will write a funding proposal to request funding to meet those needs. The funding request is based on the individual's needs and on the rates established by each agency.