Our Services
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OPWDD supports individuals to live as independently in the community as possible by helping with housing costs. This help comes in the form of a housing subsidy. If you ask for a housing subsidy, the amount of your housing subsidy will be decided using a formula that takes into account the county you live in, the number of people who will be living in your home, and the number of bedrooms in your home. You are expected to contribute a percentage of your income towards your housing costs.
If you live by yourself in an apartment or home, you can receive supports and services to help you manage your home and daily activities. You can participate in paid work, day programs, community habilitation or volunteer and learn how to manage alone in the community.
You can also live with an unrelated person of your choosing called a live-in caregiver who can help you in your daily life and make sure you are safe and well while receiving room and board.
A "paid neighbor" can help you when you need assistance with a particular task. They are "on-call" to help you once in a while because of a problem or task you can't manage on your own.
If your home is not set up to meet your needs, you can receive supports for environmental modifications or e-mods. These can be physical changes made to your home that can help you live safely in your home and get out into the community, such as a wheelchair ramp.
Types of Housing
OPWDD provides supports for you to live at home or in a home in your community so you can be as independent as possible.
Depending upon your needs, you could:
• Live with your family in your family home with the right supports, such as respite and community habilitation.
• Live independently with assistance, in your own apartment or house. You can also have a live-in caregiver. Housing subsidies are available to help you manage the costs of your home or apartment.
• Paid Neighbor provides help to you when you need it, for certain tasks or dealing with problems. They are "on-call" to help you.
• Family Care is living with another family, participating in all the things that families do.
• In some circumstances, depending upon your level of need, you may need to live in a group home with other people with developmental disabilities.
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Waiver services are a flexible array of services and supports that are funded through Medicaid. Your Service Provider can assist you in making choices appropriate for you and your family member.
Services Available through HCBS Waiver Program:
In addition to services available through Medicaid, individuals determined eligible for the Waiver Program may also develop a Life Plan including any of the services listed below.
Community Habilitation Services are supports and services provided to clients who reside in private homes, alone or with their family, in the community.
Service received is based on the persons’ ‘Life Plan’ and is provided in the individuals’ homes.
The option is available for the individual or family to self direct their services
A trained habilitation specialist works directly with the client at their residence and/or in collaboration with parent(s), legal guardian(s), or other family member(s).
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Other family support services are directed at parents, siblings, and other relatives to assist in enhancing a family’s capacity to continue caring for a family member with a developmental disability living at home.
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These programs are offered to individuals regardless of where they live. They take place outside your home, usually at a certified site in the community or even in the community, called Day Hab Without Walls.
Day Habilitation services can assist people to acquire, retain or improve their self-help, socialization and adaptive skills, including communication, travel and other areas in adult education. Activities and environments are designed to foster the development of skills and appropriate behavior, greater independence, community inclusion, relationship building, self-advocacy and informed choice. Additionally, people accessing day habilitation often contribute to their communities through volunteer work.
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Community Habilitation is a Medicaid-funded program operated under OPWDD to provide one-to-one training to people with intellectual/developmental disabilities to develop or enhance the skills needed to live more independently in their homes or in the community.
Community Habilitation supports the person's Life Plan and contains activities that are developed to help the person achieve his/her goals. It is then implemented through home visits and community activities as set by a schedule between the person with intellectual/developmental disabilities and the Community Habilitation Provider. A person can be authorized for the service regardless of where he/she lives. Services are typically provided in the person's home or non-certified community locations. Community Habilitation services may be delivered in a certified residential setting when:
• the person is unable to participate in another HCBS habilitation service outside the residence due to his/her age, health, or behavioral health status
• the person chooses this mode of service delivery
• the person has regular opportunities for community integration activities; and
• the provision of this service does not tend to isolate the person
Community Habilitation supports can include:
• adaptive skill development
• community inclusion and relationship building
• development of social skills
• travel training
• money management
• leisure skills
• appropriate behavior development to help the individual access their community
Community Habilitation may include supports like personal care, supervision, and protective oversight, but these components do not constitute the entirety of the service. Additional guidance is available in the Administrative Memoranda referenced below.
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Caring for others, while rewarding, can also be exhausting. Family members who care for a loved one with a developmental disability can sometimes need a break. Respite services provide temporary relief from the demands of care giving, which can help reduce overall family stress. This enables families to better meet the needs of their loved one with a developmental disability. Respite can be provided in the home or out of the home, during the day, evenings or overnight.
Respite is an “indirect” service that provides relief to people who are responsible for the primary care and support of a person with a developmental disability. When a family member, Family Care provider or live-in/house-parent staff person has to deal with family illness, emergency, or caregiver or staff vacation, respite services can ensure that their loved one’s needs are met.
Talk to your care manager to learn more about respite services.
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