Dardanelle, Arkansas – Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Department of Human Services Secretary Janet Mann have announced a new framework aimed at helping families who are waiting for services through the state’s Community and Employment Support Waiver.
The plan focuses on supportive living services, a type of assistance that can help people with disabilities remain in their homes while receiving needed care. DHS will begin working on a way to make those services available to families currently on the CES Waiver waitlist. Those families are already automatically enrolled in a Provider-Led Arkansas Shared Savings Entity, known as PASSE.
The announcement addresses one of the most frequently requested forms of help from families who are waiting for full access to the CES Waiver. While people on the waitlist can already receive many of the services offered through the program, supportive living is among the services they currently cannot access.
“In my conversations with families enrolled in the CES waiver or on the CES waitlist, one request came up again and again: supportive living services for their loved ones. Today, we’re announcing a plan to provide those services to every eligible Arkansan, whether they’re enrolled in the CES waiver or not,” said Governor Sanders. “This will go a long way toward addressing the number one concern we hear from families about the CES waitlist. As we work to get this change in place, DHS is also convening relevant stakeholders and policymakers to create additional long-term solutions for these families.”
The CES Waiver provides assistance to Arkansans with intellectual or developmental disabilities, supporting them with major parts of everyday life. Depending on their needs, participants can receive help with living independently, employment and other activities that encourage greater participation in their communities.
The program also provides care coordination, helping individuals and families connect with services. Employment assistance can include the support of an employment coach for people working toward or maintaining a job.
At present, the CES Waiver has a maximum enrollment of 8,233 people. Another 2,464 individuals are on the waitlist.
People waiting for services are not completely without assistance. According to DHS, families on the waitlist can access 25 of the 29 services available to people enrolled in the CES Waiver. Those services include different types of therapies, medical supplies and other forms of support.
The four services not currently available to people on the waitlist include supportive living, which families have identified as the most commonly requested of those unavailable services.
Supportive living services are intended to help people with disabilities remain at home by providing funding for in-home care. For families managing the daily needs of a loved one with an intellectual or developmental disability, that assistance can be an important part of maintaining care in a familiar setting.
“We recognize the powerful impact that waiver services like supportive living have on families, and we are excited to develop a way to increase the availability of this critical support,” said Secretary of the Department of Human Services Janet Mann. “It’s always our goal to connect eligible families to services that will benefit them. We’ve been moved by the stories we’ve heard from families on the waitlist, and we look forward to making this change as expeditiously as possible.”
The state estimates that extending supportive living services to people on the waitlist would cost approximately $17 million. Sanders and her administration are expected to begin discussions with the Arkansas Legislature about how the state could pay for the services, both initially and over the longer term.
The administration also has a target for when families could begin receiving the additional support. PASSEs are expected to start making supportive living services available to eligible families on the waitlist by January 2027 at the latest.
The state is also planning to include the change in its next CES Waiver resubmission, which is scheduled for February. That step is intended to establish the service as a longer-term option for eligible families on the waitlist once the renewed waiver takes effect in August.
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The CES Waiver is available to Arkansans of all ages who have intellectual or developmental disabilities. Its broader purpose is to help people receive support while taking part in everyday community life, whether that means living at home, working, accessing health-related services or participating in community activities.
The newly announced framework does not immediately provide the additional services. Instead, it begins a process involving DHS, PASSEs, lawmakers and other stakeholders to determine how supportive living services can be expanded to eligible people waiting for CES Waiver enrollment.
For families who have spent time on the waitlist, the proposed change could address a specific gap in the services currently available to them while Arkansas works on broader solutions for the CES program.
