I/DD Waivers in Arkansas

All states: Medicaid disability services map

Arkansas I/DD services at a glance

Last verified against state sources: 2026-10-23.

Who runs I/DD services in Arkansas?

The Arkansas Department of Human Services (DHS) runs I/DD services through two of its divisions. The Division of Developmental Disabilities Services (DDS) operates the I/DD waivers, decides who is eligible and keeps the waiting list. The Division of Medical Services (DMS), the state Medicaid agency, has administrative authority over the waivers. Day-to-day services for CES Waiver members are arranged by four managed care plans called PASSEs.

• Division of Developmental Disabilities Services (DDS): operates the Community and Employment Support (CES) Waiver and the Autism Waiver, reviews applications, keeps the CES waitlist and certifies CES provider agencies.
• Division of Medical Services (DMS): the Medicaid agency that oversees both waivers and the PASSE managed care program.
• PASSEs: a Provider-Led Arkansas Shared Savings Entity (PASSE) is a full-risk managed care plan. The four PASSEs are Arkansas Total Care, CareSource, Empower and Summit. They credential providers, set provider rates, pay claims and coordinate care for CES members.
• Front door: the DDS Intake and Referral unit, by phone at 501-683-5687 or through an online request for services.
• Case management: each PASSE assigns a care coordinator, who contacts the member within 15 days of being assigned to the plan and writes the person-centered service plan (PCSP).

What Medicaid waivers and programs serve people with I/DD in Arkansas?

Arkansas has two 1915(c) waivers for people with developmental disabilities: the Community and Employment Support (CES) Waiver, which is the main I/DD waiver, and the Autism Waiver for young children. A 1915(c) waiver is a federal Medicaid option that lets a state pay for home and community services instead of institutional care. CES services are delivered through the PASSE managed care program, which runs under a separate 1915(b) waiver.

• Community and Employment Support (CES) Waiver (1915(c), control number AR.0188): serves people of all ages with a developmental disability that began before age 22 and causes substantial limits in at least 3 of 6 major life areas, and who meet the level of care for an intermediate care facility. Capacity is 8,233 people at any one time, with 500 slots reserved for children in the custody of the Division of Children and Family Services (DCFS). Services include supportive living, supported employment, respite, consultation (clinical and therapeutic help, including behavior plans), adaptive equipment, environmental modifications, specialized medical supplies, community transition services and supplemental support. The waiver document DHS posts is amendment R06.01, approved effective August 1, 2022. That amendment moved crisis intervention out of the waiver (the PASSEs cover it for all members) and let group homes grow from 4 to 8 beds.
• Autism Waiver (1915(c), control number AR.0936): serves children with an autism spectrum disorder diagnosis who enroll between 18 months and their 5th birthday. Services last up to 3 years and end the day before the child turns 8. It covers intensive one-on-one early intervention at home and in the community, assessment and treatment planning, consultative clinical services, therapeutic aides and behavioral reinforcers. A 2025 DDS presentation lists 180 slots. The current renewal took effect July 1, 2024.
• PASSE program (1915(b) waiver, AR.0007): not a service program of its own, but the managed care system that delivers CES services. It covers CES members, Medicaid-eligible people on the CES waitlist, residents of private intermediate care facilities and people with behavioral health needs, if they score Tier 2 or Tier 3 on the state's assessment. The DDS legislative presentation counted 46,781 PASSE members of all kinds as of August 18, 2025.

State plan Medicaid also pays for Adult Developmental Day Treatment (described below) and personal care. Arkansas also has Intermediate Care Facilities for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities (ICF/IID), including five state-run Human Development Centers and private facilities, as the institutional option the waivers are an alternative to.

Does Arkansas pay for I/DD services through managed care?

Yes, for the CES Waiver. Every CES member is assigned to one of four PASSE plans, and the state pays each plan a set monthly amount per member that is tied to the member's assessed tier. The PASSE credentials providers, sets its own provider rates, pays claims and provides care coordination. The Autism Waiver is the exception: its providers are paid fee-for-service through the state's Medicaid Management Information System (MMIS).

• The four PASSEs: Arkansas Total Care, CareSource, Empower and Summit, listed on the DHS PASSE page.
• Who pays claims: CES providers bill the member's PASSE directly. Because each plan sets its own rates and billing rules, an agency serving members in more than one PASSE works with each plan separately.
• What DDS still does: DDS decides eligibility, keeps the waitlist and certifies providers. The PASSE care coordinator plans and coordinates services.
• What the PASSEs cover: physical health, behavioral health and home and community services for members, with some carve-outs such as non-emergency transportation, nursing facility care, assisted living and Human Development Center services.
• Changing plans: members can change PASSE in the first 90 days and during open enrollment. DHS lists the enrollment line as 1-833-402-0672.

Is there a waiting list for I/DD services in Arkansas?

Yes. The Governor's office reported 2,464 people on the CES Waiver waitlist on September 15, 2026, against a maximum enrollment of 8,233. DDS fills open slots mainly in the order people were found eligible, with priority for people leaving institutions, emergencies and children in DHS custody.

• Latest count: 2,464 waiting as of September 15, 2026, from the Governor's announcement. An earlier DDS presentation to the legislature, dated October 8, 2025, said about 1,900.
• Reserved slots: 500 CES slots are reserved for children in DCFS custody.
• Keeping a place on the list: DDS sends a yearly letter to people on the waitlist to update their contact information.
• Autism Waiver: we did not find a current published count of children waiting. Ask DDS.

For a person's place on the list, families can call DDS Intake and Referral at 501-683-5687.

How do people apply for I/DD services in Arkansas, and how are budgets set?

People apply through the DDS Intake and Referral unit, by phone at 501-683-5687 or with an online request for services. The DDS Psychology Team reviews the records to decide whether the person has a qualifying developmental disability. Approved applicants then get the Arkansas Independent Assessment from the state's vendor, Optum, which sets a support tier and decides PASSE assignment. We did not find a published individual budget method; the tier sets the plan's payment, and the PASSE sets services in the person-centered service plan.

• Application packet: the DHS 703 form, an Areas of Need form, a personal history and psychological evaluations.
• Eligibility: a qualifying developmental disability that began before age 22, is expected to last indefinitely and causes substantial limits in at least 3 of 6 major life areas, plus intermediate care facility level of care. Medicaid financial eligibility goes through Access Arkansas or Supplemental Security Income (SSI).
• Assessment: the Arkansas Independent Assessment (ARIA) is built on the MnCHOICES tool and customized by DHS. For people with I/DD it sets the tier only: Tier 2 for paid supports and Tier 3 for up to 24-hour supports. The tier drives PASSE assignment and the monthly payment to the plan, and informs the service plan. It is repeated at least every three years or when the person's situation changes.
• Service plan: the PASSE care coordinator reaches out within 15 days of assignment and develops the person-centered service plan.

What day and residential services can I/DD providers offer in Arkansas?

The CES Waiver has no separate day habilitation or prevocational service. Instead, supportive living includes day habilitation, prevocational activities and community integration, and supported employment is its own service. Adults can also attend Adult Developmental Day Treatment, a licensed clinic-based day program paid under the Medicaid state plan. CES providers need DDS certification, not a facility license, plus credentialing by each PASSE they bill.

Day and employment services

• Adult Developmental Day Treatment (ADDT, Medicaid state plan): clinic-based day habilitation for adults with a qualifying intellectual or developmental disability (age 21 or older, or 18 to 21 with a diploma or certificate) who have a physician's prescription. Core services are assessment and treatment planning, adult day habilitation and a noon meal; therapies and nursing are optional. Each site needs an ADDT license from the DHS Division of Provider Services and Quality Assurance (DPSQA) and Medicaid enrollment. The ADDT rule requires at least 1 staff member for every 10 people at all times. Day habilitation is billed in 1-hour units, up to 5 a day without an extension of benefits. People on the CES waitlist can use ADDT.
• Supported employment (CES Waiver): help to get and keep a competitive, integrated job. Billed in 15-minute units according to the waiver's cost estimates. Providers need DDS CES Waiver certification or DHS Community Support System Provider (CSSP) certification, plus PASSE credentialing. The research did not find a published ratio.
• Day habilitation and community integration within supportive living (CES Waiver): covered as part of supportive living rather than as a separate service. Empower's 2026 CES Waiver handbook bills CES services in 15-minute units from January 1, 2026, up to 96 a day. We did not confirm the billing unit used by the other three PASSEs. The research did not find a published ratio.

Residential services

• Supportive living (CES Waiver): individually tailored habilitation so a person can live in their own home, with family, or in an apartment or provider-owned group home in the community. Room and board are not covered. Group homes may serve up to 8 unrelated people. Providers need DDS CES Waiver or CSSP certification and PASSE credentialing. Staff need a diploma or GED, I/DD or behavioral health experience or set training, CPR and first aid, a drug screen and criminal and maltreatment registry checks.
• Human Development Centers (state ICF/IID): DDS runs five Human Development Centers in Arkadelphia, Booneville, Conway, Jonesboro and Warren (Southeast Arkansas). Conway is licensed by the Office of Long Term Care as an ICF/IID. Private ICFs also operate, and their residents are PASSE members.

How are I/DD provider rates set and how do agencies enroll in Arkansas?

For the CES Waiver, each PASSE sets or negotiates its own rates with providers, funded by the monthly payment the state makes to the plan for each member. Autism Waiver rates are set by DDS with DMS approval and paid fee-for-service. Agencies become CES providers by getting DDS certification for each service, enrolling in Medicaid and being credentialed by each PASSE they will bill.

• Statewide rate review: under Act 1023 of 2025, DHS produced an HCBS rate report dated October 1, 2025, covering supportive living, respite, supported employment, consultation and behavioral health services in the PASSE program. DHS has told providers that updated rates take effect January 1, 2027. We did not find the new rate amounts in a readable state source.
• Autism Waiver rates: rebased with an independent actuary in summer 2023, the first change since the waiver began, and reviewed at least every five years.
• Becoming a CES provider: agencies apply to DDS for a separate certification for each CES service they will offer, and DDS review can take up to 90 days. Instructions are on the DHS become a CES Waiver provider page. Certification questions go to 870-261-6668. The PASSE verifies staff qualifications each year.
• EVV: the state's EVV rule, revised effective September 1, 2026, covers in-home personal care, attendant care, respite and home health, and exempts 24-hour residential and other group settings. PASSE members' visits go through the plan's vendor: HHAeXchange for Arkansas Total Care and Empower, and CareBridge for CareSource and Summit. Supportive living is not named in the rule, and we did not confirm whether the rule reaches CES Waiver respite. Ask the PASSE or DHS.

What is changing next for I/DD services in Arkansas?

Updated payment rates for I/DD home and community services in the PASSE health plans take effect January 1, 2027, according to DHS. The new rates follow the October 2025 HCBS rate report and also cover behavioral health home and community services. The state has also announced plans to open supportive living to people on the CES waitlist, but that change is not final.

• New HCBS rates (January 1, 2027): DHS told providers in its HCBS provider meeting notice that updated rates for I/DD and behavioral health services under the 1915(c) and 1915(i) programs in the PASSE system take effect on that date. We did not find whether the new rates will be minimums the PASSEs must pay.
• Supportive living for people on the waitlist (announced, not final): on September 15, 2026 the Governor's office said PASSEs will begin offering supportive living to eligible people on the CES waitlist, with a target of January 2027 at the latest, at an estimated cost of $17 million. Funding still has to be worked out with the legislature, so the start date could change.
• CES Waiver renewal (announced, not final): the state plans to resubmit the CES Waiver with the waitlist change in February, to take effect in August if approved. The announcement did not give a year. Check with DDS for the timeline.

Arkansas I/DD sources

• Arkansas DHS: CES Waiver (Division of Developmental Disabilities Services)
• CES Waiver application AR.0188 (amendment R06.01, effective August 1, 2022)
• Autism Waiver renewal AR.0936.R02.00 (effective July 1, 2024)
• Arkansas DHS: PASSE program
• Office of the Governor: Framework to assist families on the CES waitlist (September 15, 2026)
• DDS presentation on developmental disability services to the Arkansas Legislature (October 8, 2025)
• Arkansas DHS: HCBS rate report
• Arkansas DHS: HCBS provider meeting invitation (January 1, 2027 rates)
• Arkansas DHS: Become a CES Waiver service provider
• Arkansas DHS: EVV rule for in-home personal care, attendant care, respite and home health

Related reading

• Disability Services and Independent Living Guide
• Essential Acronyms in Disability Services: A Quick Reference Guide
• Developmental Disabilities vs. Mental Health: Key Differences
• Disability Services DayHab has a dilemma - how to solve it
• I/DD services in every state (map)
• Arkansas EVV requirements

Other states that use managed care for I/DD services

Arizona, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, North Carolina, Tennessee. See every state on the I/DD services map.

Page history

• October 23, 2026: Page rewritten and checked against state sources.

This page is a reference, not legal advice. State rules change, so confirm details with the state before you act on them.

Ankota provides software for I/DD provider agencies, including EVV, service documentation, goal tracking and billing. If you would like to talk through your program, contact Ankota or read more about Ankota's I/DD software.