Frequently Asked Questions

Those seeking services for a person with intellectual disabilities through the Alabama Department of Mental Health Division of Developmental Disabilities should: 

1. Contact the Division of Developmental Disabilities Call Center at 1-800-361-4491. 

2. The Call Center staff will complete the initial contact application on referrals for individual’s three (3) years of age and up and will request the Intellectual Quotient (IQ) (69 and below) of the person in need of services, in addition to other pertinent information. 

3. CC staff will accept calls from the individual requesting services, the legal guardian, the primary caregiver, or other interested parties who have consent to relay information and who will be responsible to assist with the referral process.

What happens next? 

4. Within two business days, an initial contact form will be sent to the local designated support coordination agency or other designated point of entry. 

5. CC staff will make referrals to the SCA based solely on verbal report of the caller. CC staff will not deny application for waiting list to any caller.  

6. The CC staff will process applications for all requests for services regardless of whether they meet criteria for wait list eligibility, send the application to the appropriate SCA intake person and also refer the applicant or their representative to other applicable state or community services. 

7. When there is more than one support coordination provider in the county, the individual will have choice of provider. 

8. Please note only CWP Waiver services are available in the following 11 counties: Madison, Morgan, Limestone, Tuscaloosa, Jefferson, Elmore, Montgomery, Baldwin, Mobile, Houston, Walker. ID and LAH waiver participants in those counties will continue to receive services as usual through those waivers. 

9. The designated support coordination agency for each county/area serves as the point of entry for waiver applications. The designated support coordination agency collects necessary documentation and files the application with the Regional Community Services offices. 

10. The Regional Community Services offices process all complete Waiting List applications to determine eligibility and placement on the waiting list. Once determined eligible for the waiting list, subsequent enrollment in one of the waivers depends on criticality of need, availability of resources, and space within the waiver caps on the number who can be served. 11. The Initial Contact Information Form will be sent to the SCA via the DDD IMS application. This form will have the type of referral checked in the box at the top. There are three options; the first is the Initial Application Referral which reflects a first-time applicant requesting services. The second is Referral for Update which means there has been a call received from/for someone who already has been referred to the SCA but a Notice of Incomplete Application was sent to the requester. Third is the Info/Referral only which is used for individuals looking for services outside of ADMH-DD. The same information sent to SCA is sent to the ADMH-DD Regional office Waiting List Coordinator. The eligibility determination process continues to be the prerequisite for all categories. 

12. CC staff will send a letter to the person calling, verifying the date of call and that their requests have been forwarded to the designated SCA in their area to continue the application process. 

13. CC staff will open a DDD IMS enrollment for the person in need of service. It is the responsibility of the SCA to make a change in DDD IMS reflective of the assigned support coordinator from the CC. 

14. CC staff will send the application for services on referrals made by Department of Human Resources (DHR) on children or adults in their custody to the DHR, ADMH-DD contact, to the support coordination agency, to the Regional Community Services Director and the Community Services Waiting List Coordinator. 

15. Once the application is received by the SCA from the ADMH-DD CC, the intake person should contact the individual or their representative immediately; but no later than 5 business days. What happens if I do not receive any communication back after my application has been submitted? 

16. If by 30 days after the referral has been received from the Call Center and the SCA has not contacted the person or the documents have not been provided by the caller and/or sent to the regional office, then the CC will contact the SCA. This ensures the SCA has made attempts to contact the person requesting services. The SCA must document their efforts to contact the person or their family in DDD IMS notes. Reasonable efforts to contact the person or family member would be two documented phone calls and a letter. 

17. If by 60 days after the referral has been received from the CC and contact has not been made or documents have not been gathered, then an email will be sent by the call center coordinator to the SCA Executive Director, the intake person, Regional Office Director and the waiting list coordinator requesting a follow-up. 

18. The SCA must document their efforts to contact the person or their family in the DDD IMS notes. Reasonable efforts to contact the person or family member would be two documented phone calls and a letter. 

19. Once contact with the individual seeking services has been established, the SCA will submit the completed information packet for review to the Regional Community Services office that serves the applicant’s county and, if approved, the applicant’s name will be placed on the waiting list. ADMH will make a decision of eligibility within 30 days of the receipt of the completed application.

Those seeking services for a person with mental illness through the Alabama Department of Mental Health Division of Mental Health should:  

1. Contact CED Mental Health Center at 256-492-7800.

Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) are Medicaid services for people with disabilities to help them live in their own homes and communities. The HCBS Settings Rule further ensures federal dollars for HCBS are used to support people to experience life in the community. The HCBS Settings Rule ensures settings and services do not isolate people from their broader community. For these reasons, the settings rule changes the way Day and Residential Habilitation services are offered. There is a new focus on services that keep families together. This means more individualized, person-centered services.  When will the new rule happen? The State of Alabama is working with service providers, the Alabama Medicaid Agency and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service (CMS) to prepare for the new rule. The deadline for community providers to be in full compliance with the HCBS Settings Rule is March 2023. This date allows for a transition period for people to choose other providers, in the event a provider is not deemed compliant. This transition also allows time to review services and explore the possibility of more appropriate services. 

Why is the Rule Important? CHOICE, RIGHTS, OPPORTUNITIES  

It will: 

• Ensure that individuals are empowered to experience and be actively engaged in their communities at the level they desire – employment, recreation, home with family and friends, home of their own, etc. 

• Ensure individuals have the same access to the community as individuals who do not have disabilities. 

• Protect individuals’ rights. 

• Give individuals the opportunity to define their life, choose the supports and services needed to experience their life, and have those supports and services provided in the setting of their choice. 

The rule sets forth the expectation that all people receiving services obtain conflict-free Support Coordination and Person-Centered Planning. The plan includes the person’s vision for their preferred Good Life, in the settings the person chooses, and it must include those options available to people without disabilities – home with families, in their own home or apartment, where they work, etc. 

Once a setting is chosen, the provider offering supports must respect the person’s choice about where, when and how they spend their day and who they spend their day with, to the greatest degree possible. Any exceptions must be assessed to show why opportunities for independence are restricted and opportunities to remove the restriction must be well documented and included in the Person-Centered Plan. 

Operators of HCBS settings must allow individual residents to have: 

• Physical accessibility 

• A lease/similar agreement that is legally enforceable 

• Privacy with lockable doors, roommates of their choosing and freedom to furnish or decorate as they see fit 

• Reception of visitors at any time 

• Control of their own schedule with 24/7 food access I provide services to regional center consumers.