Connecticut Medicaid Waiver Guide

Connecticut's services for people with intellectual disabilities run through the Department of Developmental Services (DDS), with the Department of Social Services (DSS) acting as the state Medicaid agency behind the waivers. DDS operates three home and community-based waivers: Comprehensive Supports, Individual and Family Support (IFS), and Employment and Day Supports (EDS). The thing that surprises most families is Connecticut's IQ line. DDS eligibility requires a Full Scale IQ of 69 or lower, while people with an autism spectrum diagnosis and an IQ of 70 or higher are served by a separate Autism Spectrum Disorder program. Which side of that line you fall on determines which door you knock on.

To be eligible for DDS supports, a person must have an intellectual disability as defined in Connecticut General Statutes § 1-1g, or a medical diagnosis of Prader-Willi Syndrome. For intellectual disability, that means a Full Scale IQ of 69 or lower together with significant limitations in adaptive skills, both present at the same time and both documented as existing before age 18. You can apply at any age — an adult can apply decades later — as long as you have testing from before 18 that documents it. People with autism spectrum disorder and an IQ of 70 or higher are served instead through the Autism Spectrum Disorder program.

Connecticut sorts people by how soon they need support rather than purely by date. After an assessment of urgency, you are placed on either the Waiting List — for people in an emergency situation or needing residential support within one year — or the Planning List, for people who will need services in two or more years. Planning List members are assigned Priority 2 or 3, meaning their need is not considered urgent, critical, or immediate.

Type

Two lists — Waiting List and Planning List, sorted by urgency

Typical timeline

Because placement depends on assessed urgency rather than time served, the practical lever is keeping your assessment current. If circumstances change — a caregiver's health declines, a living situation becomes unstable — ask for a reassessment rather than waiting quietly.

How to check status

Contact your DDS regional office or the DDS main line at 860-418-6000 (toll-free 866-737-0330) to confirm which list you are on and what priority you have been assigned.

1. Gather testing from before age 18

   Collect every intelligence/cognitive test and adaptive functioning assessment completed before the person turned 18. This is the core of the application and the piece adults applying later find hardest to reconstruct — school records are often the best source.

2. Submit the DDS eligibility application

   Send the application to the DDS Eligibility Unit at 460 Capitol Ave., Hartford, CT 06106, by fax at (860) 622-2797, or by email to DDS.Eligibility@ct.gov.

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3. Check whether the Autism program fits instead

   If the person has an autism spectrum diagnosis and a Full Scale IQ of 70 or higher, DDS's intellectual disability route will not apply. The Autism Spectrum Disorder program is the correct path — ask about it directly rather than simply being denied.

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4. Complete the Support Survey and Residential Request Assessment

   These two forms drive the individual planning process. The Residential Request Assessment is what categorizes unmet residential need as emergency, urgent, or future — it determines which list you land on.

5. Work with your regional office on a plan

   DDS operates through regional offices. Once eligible, your case manager helps identify which of the three waivers fits and builds your individual plan.

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• The person's age, diagnosis, and county of residence.
• Medicaid status or whether you still need to apply.
• Current supports, urgent needs, and living situation.
• School, medical, evaluation, or eligibility documents.
• Questions about waitlists, timelines, and next steps.

Exact covered services depend on the waiver, assessed need, Medicaid rules, funding, and state program requirements. Confirm services, availability, and payment acceptance with the state, support coordinator, and provider.

Connecticut DDS supports self-direction, letting participants and families take budget and employer authority over their own services rather than using only agency providers. Ask your case manager which self-direction model applies to the waiver you enroll in — the three waivers differ in what they allow.

1. Birth to 3 — Birth to Three

   Connecticut's Birth to Three System serves infants and toddlers with delays. It is separate from DDS waiver services.

2. School age — protect the testing

   School districts provide special education under an IEP. Because DDS eligibility requires testing completed before age 18, keep copies of every evaluation the school does. Families who discard them face a much harder application later.

3. Before age 18

   Make sure cognitive and adaptive testing documenting the disability is completed and in hand before the 18th birthday. Applying is possible at any age afterward, but only if that documentation exists.

4. Adulthood

   Adult services run through the three DDS waivers. Start the Residential Request Assessment conversation early if residential support will eventually be needed — the Planning List exists precisely for needs that are two or more years out.

If DDS eligibility or a Medicaid waiver service is denied, reduced, or ended, you have the right to appeal and to request a fair hearing within the deadline printed on your notice. Disability Rights Connecticut is the state's federally mandated protection and advocacy agency and runs a free, confidential intake line.

DDS

Connecticut Department of Developmental Services — determines eligibility and operates the three HCBS waivers.

DSS

Department of Social Services — Connecticut's Medicaid agency, which holds the waivers that DDS operates day to day.

HUSKY

The name of Connecticut's Medicaid program.

Comprehensive Supports Waiver

The waiver covering the most extensive needs, including residential supports.

IFS Waiver

Individual and Family Support Waiver — in-home, day, vocational, and family supports for people living in their own or family home.

EDS Waiver

Employment and Day Supports Waiver — a narrower package for people with strong natural supports who mainly need employment or day services.

Planning List

The list for people who will need services in two or more years, assigned Priority 2 or 3. Distinct from the Waiting List.

Residential Request Assessment

The DDS form that categorizes unmet residential need as emergency, urgent, or future need — it determines which list you are placed on.