How do I apply for a Medicaid Waiver?
Connect with your local Virginia Community Service Board to be assigned a support coordinator. Advocate for your loved one by providing regular updates about their medical needs and living conditions. A Community Living Waiver is what is needed to be admitted into a CRi Waiver Home.

I have a Medicaid (Community Living CL) Waiver. What do I do now?
Only the Community Service Board in Virginia can give you a status about where you are on the Medicaid waiver waitlist. As support needs become more complex or your ability to support your loved one deteriorates, you will advance on wait list. It is vital you are keeping your support coordinator updated regularly.

I’ve been placed in the Medicaid Waiver waitlist. Is there anything I can do to reduce the wait period? Where your loved one is on the Medicaid Waiver waitlist is a combination of two factors: 1) how mild to severe the level of need is and 2) and risk to the individual if not admitted. Advocate for your loved one if there is a high hospitalization risk without constant, direct support professional care, or if your family and friends network lacks the ability to provide care or the financial resources to do so.

I would like to admit my loved one to an Intermediate Care Facility (ICF) but would prefer to keep my Medicaid Waiver. What should I do?
Unfortunately, that’s not possible in Virginia. Please visit the DBHDS website for details.

How do I tell if an ICF or a Waiver is a better fit for my loved one?
If your loved one has complex medical needs, and/or is aging in place, an ICF may be a more appropriate setting because it offers total care. In an ICF environment, CRi is responsible for all of the support needs of residents, which may include: nursing and behavioral support needs. There are no limits to the support immediately available without further paperwork.

In a Waiver Home, you will have to request additional behavior support needs and then wait for the request to be approved before Medicaid will pay. If you need nursing support, you request approval for skilled nursing from Medicaid’s assessment. Based on Medicaid’s assessment, you are authorized for services through their robust V.I.D.E.S assessment process. The V.I.D.E.S determines what tier of care you are authorized to receive.

What is the Virginia Individual Developmental Disabilities Eligibly Survey (V.I.D.E.S.)?
The state of Virginia requires that every applicant for an Intermediate Care Facility (ICF)—CRi’s community home for those needing the most intensive care—receive an assessment to determine needs pertaining to Health Status, Communication, Task Learning, Personal Care, Behavior, Mobility, Community Living Skills and Self Direction.

A member of the CRi admissions team will complete the V.I.D.E.S. application for the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS). Once the V.I.D.E.S. is submitted, DBHDS staff will conduct a screening, connecting the guardian to the appropriate Community Service Board, if needed. If the application is accepted, individuals must trade in their Medicaid Community Living Waiver to be admitted to an ICF.

How do we find a provider?
CRi has all four of the provider designation badges to provide services to people with disabilities and mental health diagnoses. Visit www.mylifemycommunityvirginia.org for more information.

Is there a waiver I can use for CRi’s Mental Health Services?
Although Virginia does not have a mental health waiver, it does cover a variety of mental health services.

Connect with the Community Service Board (CSB) in Arlington or Loudoun County to be assigned a case manager. Your case manager will discuss service options and add your loved one to the wait list. The Virginia Association of Community Services Boards also has a directory of all other CSBs in Virginia.