Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Department of Human Services Secretary Janet Mann announced a framework to expand supportive living services to eligible Arkansans on the Community and Employment Support Waiver waitlist.
The proposal would help individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities receive paid in-home care while waiting for enrollment in the CES Waiver program.
According to the announcement, 2,464 people are on the waitlist. The program currently has a maximum enrollment of 8,233.
Providing supportive living services to those on the waitlist would cost an estimated $17 million. Sanders and her administration plan to discuss short-term and long-term funding options with lawmakers.
“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,” Sanders said.
Families on the waitlist currently can access 25 of the 29 services available to CES Waiver participants, including various therapies, services and medical supplies. Supportive living is the most frequently requested of the 4 services unavailable to those waiting.
The service helps individuals with disabilities live at home by paying for in-home care.
People on the CES waitlist are automatically enrolled in the Provider-Led Arkansas Shared Savings Entity program, known as PASSE, according to the announcement. DHS will work toward making supportive living services available through PASSEs, with availability estimated to begin by January 2027 at the latest.
The announcement describes a planned expansion; it does not indicate that the new services are available immediately.
“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,” Mann said.
Arkansas also plans to incorporate the change into its CES Waiver resubmission in February, seeking to offer the service long-term when the renewed waiver takes effect in August.
DHS will also bring together stakeholders and policymakers to consider additional long-term solutions for families.
The CES Waiver serves Arkansans of all ages with intellectual or developmental disabilities. It supports independent living, employment assistance, community participation and care coordination.
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