DD Waiver Information for Transition Aged Students

In this episode, Lisa will provide an explanation of the DD Waiver (Developmental Disability Waiver), talk about how to apply, discuss what services are offered and go over who qualifies.

Transcript

Connie (00:02):

Welcome to Talking Special Needs, a PTI Nebraska podcast.  Helping families of children with disabilities and healthcare needs to develop advocacy skills while learning about special education, healthcare systems and other topics that affect family lives.

Lisa (00:29):

Hello, my name is Lisa Hobza and I'm with PTI Nebraska also known as the Parent Training and Information center of Nebraska. And today I'm gonna talk to you guys a little bit about this list that we all hear about. We may hear about it from somebody at school, maybe another parent of another kiddo that you know, but this list sounds pretty important. So I'm gonna let you know the ins and outs of it. 

So this list that everybody talks about is a waiting list for the Developmental Disabilities waiver. Also known in the state of Nebraska as the DD waiver.  Today, I hope to talk to you guys a little bit about what the DD waiver is, who is eligible for it when you should apply, how you should apply, and why do I also need to apply for social security and Medicaid? 

So what exactly is this DD waiver and why does it make it - what makes it so special?

The Developmental Disabilities waiver also known as the DD waiver is a Medicaid Home and Community based service waiver that allows the state of Nebraska to use federal Medicaid funds for services in the community. 

So what does that exactly mean for me and my family? 

The services that are often provided under the DD waiver include adult daycare, assistive technology, things that your adult child will need to have community integration. It will help with consultative assessments, maybe day support in the home, maybe home modifications for a wheelchair or walker. Maybe your child wanted to move outta the and needed a supported living environment. They can provide support on independence, maybe place your adult child in a host home or a shared living environment. 

This waiver also allows funds for prevocational services, whether your child is gonna work in a small group and need vocational support. Maybe they need a follow long job coach, cuz they need a little bit more constant supervision that a community employer can allow, or maybe they just need individual employment.  Maybe they're gonna create their own business where they can sell something that they make. And maybe that’s at a craft fair boutique, maybe it's some sort of coffee cart in the community. Maybe it's some sort of online business, but this is gonna allow funds to help that individual accomplish their goals.

 The DD waiver can also provide funds for respite services, transportation, and vehicle modifications. 

So now that we've talked about a little bit about what the waiver can do for your family, we need to what a Developmental Disability is to know if it applies to me.  What is a developmental disability? A Developmental Disability is oftentimes severe and needs to be chronic and can include intellectual disabilities. Intellectual disabilities does not include mental illness. This Developmental Disability also needs to occur before the age of 22 during the developmental period and is believed to be lifelong.

This Developmental Disability needs to cause substantial mental or physical functional limitations, which we'll talk about in a few minutes.  And these limitations have to have a need for special supports. Okay? 

So let's talk about those limitation areas cause they're different for every adult.  They could be practical skills, practical skills are things such as activities of daily living or some people refer to them as ADLs (Activities of Daily Living), which is personal care. They can also be occupational skills, healthcare, mobility, and anything that really limits independent living. 

Another limitation area is conceptual. So you have difficulties with language, literacy, money, time, number concepts and self-directions are just not your thing. 

Some people also don't think that social skills are important, but social skills are a limitation area under the DD waiver. So they would have difficulties with interpersonal skills, social responsibility, (and) self-esteem.  They're oftentimes gullible, they lack awareness in social problem solving and the ability to follow laws and rules.

So if you say that, yep, my child, there's a possibility that they're gonna fit into one of those categories as an adult, then keep listening. Cuz now we're gonna talk about who's eligible.  A person is eligible for the DD waiver, if they're a citizen of the United States and a current resident of the state of Nebraska.  You also have to be eligible for Medicaid and meet the level of care to live in an intermediate care facility, which most of us commonly know as like a nursing home. 

So I think my adult child meets the eligibility requirements. So when do I apply?  Right now, this list that we need to get on has a waiting time of an average of seven years. So we recommend filling out this application at the beginning of transition, which now in the state of Nebraska is about the age of 14. We think that's crazy because these services don't begin until high school graduation and the individual has reached the age of 21.

We also need to make sure that the funds are available, and you've served your time on the wait list. Oftentimes a service coordinator will reach out 60 to 90 days before the child's 21st birthday to start planning on the services and let you know where you sit on the wait list and when they expect the funds to be available. 

So now we know when, we know at about the age of 14 that we should start preparing for DD services. Some people say, I don't know if I should apply, cuz I don't know if my child is gonna need those services in the future. I always think better safe than sorry. You can always give up your place on the wait list when they call, when the time has come, your child's 21 has graduated from high school, they call and say, yes, you still meet the criteria.  Yes. Your time up on the wait list. And yes, the funds are available.  You still have the option or the current guardian has the option of denying services, at that time.  You would just hate to look back and say, oh boy, I wish I would've listened to Lisa and filled this application out at the age of 14. 

So anyway, back to how we're gonna apply for this, there is still a paper application available at http://accessnebraska.com that you can print out, fill out with pen and paper and mail it in. Otherwise they do have an electronic application at http://accessnebraska.com as well. And I'll have all that information attached at the end of this podcast. 

So you've mailed in this application, you should receive a phone call few days after DHHS has received your application for the DD waiver, because they're gonna need to collect some documentation and talk to you a little bit about your child's need for future services.

They're gonna wanna know if you've had any assessments completed by a psychologist. They're gonna want documentation of the disability that affected the ADLs (Activities of Daily Living), before the age of 22. And they're also gonna wanna collect some school reports such as a 504 (plan) or an IEP to show the need has been identified. 

So we've sent in that application. They've called us, they've done the interview about my child's skills and abilities. I forgot to tell you that we need to be really honest when we do that skills and abilities interview and we've been taught our whole lives to be our child's biggest cheerleader and celebrate all their milestones. But this is the one time that we need to be really honest with ourselves about how our child will function as an adult if we weren't around. So when you're in answering those questions with a DD waiver specialist, think about no one else being in the room, no one else being in the house, how would your child function If they had to shop for their own food, prepare their own food, feed themselves, clean up after with no direction.  Would they take a shower? Would they know to take a shower on a regular basis? Would they know to wash all their body parts? Would they know the right soap to use on the right area? Or do you need to provide those cues and supports?  It's very important to be as honest and as open as possible. 

So some people wonder why they need to apply for social security and Medicaid because that's gonna occur before the age of 21 and high school graduation and the DD services go into effect. All these programs go hand in hand. Social security is the federally funded program that will determine if a person has a qualifying disability.  That social security approval will automatically make the adult child eligible for Medicaid.  And if you remember in the beginning that Medicaid is what is needed to fund the DD waiver. 

And then again, why do we need the DD waiver? It's needed to get the support that we need for our adult child to function in the community, to possibly live independently, to gain happiness and fulfill all their goals.  Whether that to be, to volunteer, to have a job or to live independently. 

Now that we've talked about this list that everybody needs to get on and how to get there, if you still have questions, I'm always available at PTI Nebraska. Again, my name's Lisa ho. My telephone number is (402) 346-0525, extension number seven or lhobza@pti-nebraksa.org . And my contact information will be in the notes below. 

Thanks for listening. Have a great day.

Connie (10:56):

Thank you for joining us today on Talking Special Needs, a PTI Nebraska podcast. If you would like more information on today's topic or other special needs topics, please go to www.pti-nebraska.org.  Until our next podcast internet families, remember, chaos is our normal.

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