Consumer directed community supports

Consumer directed community supports (CDCS) is a service option that allows people eligible for a waiver or the Alternative Care (AC) program to self-direct their care. It gives people more choice, flexibility and responsibility for their services and supports.

Using CDCS people may:

Choose or design the services and supports that fit their assessed needs.
Decide when to receive services and supports.
Hire the people they want (including parents and spouses) to deliver those services and supports.

CDCS also allows people to buy:

Non-traditional supports
Special therapies
Assistive technology
Supplies
Home/vehicle modifications.

Consumer Directed Community Supports

Eligibility

To select CDCS, an assessment must determine a person is eligible for one of the following:

Choice and responsibilities

The flexibility built into CDCS allows people to tailor services and supports to their unique needs. People who select CDCS may:

Decide how to spend their budget based on their assessed needs.
Hire people they know, such as family, friends and neighbors.

A person who selects CDCS is agreeing to take on additional responsibilities, such as:

Developing their CDCS community support plan.
Serving as the employer of their workers, with support from a financial management services (FMS) provider.
Hiring, training and supervising their workers.
Monitoring their spending and the outcomes of their plan.

People can use the DHS-created training CDCS – Is it right for you? to learn more about CDCS and how to decide if it is a good option for them.

Planning

People use person-centered planning processes to develop their CDCS community support plan. People can get help to write their plan from family members and friends. People may also choose to hire a CDCS support planner, using part of their budget.

Format

DHS created CDCS Community Support Plan, DHS-5788A (PDF) for people to write their plan. This template includes all the required components to help the person with calculations. People may also choose to use an alternative format, but it must contain all the elements in the template.

Training

People can use CDCS service categories (for people using CDCS) to develop their plan.

Financial management service providers

A financial management service provider helps people with their employer-related responsibilities and financial tasks.

Visit the Financial management service provider information webpage for a list of agencies DHS has approved. Links on the page will take you to detailed information about each agency’s rates. Lead agencies must work with these enrolled providers to assure access to consumer-directed services for people.

Your budget

People who choose CDCS develop a community support plan within the assessed budget that meets their waiver service needs more flexibly. This may include:

Hiring workers.
Purchasing goods and services.
Traditional waiver services.

How is my CDCS budget determined?

A person’s CDCS budget is based on their assessment results using criteria developed by the state. The person’s lead agency (county, tribal nation or managed care organization) provides more details along with their assessment results.

How do I use my CDCS budget?

A person decides how to use the funds in their CDCS budget to best meet their service and supports needs and preferences. They make these choices within the guidelines of the CDCS and their waiver or AC program. The budget amount provided to a person is the maximum amount of funds available to use for their services and supports for one full service span. For more information, refer to CDCS: Is it right for you?

FMS providers