Developmental Disability Service System

Developmental Services

Thank you for visiting the Developmental Disability Services page for individuals and families.  In this section, you will find resources about accessing services and supports for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Waiver Amendments/Regulations:

The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has approved Virginia’s waiver amendments for implementation. This affects the ID, DD, and Day Support Waivers.  Those waivers will now be called the Community Living (CL), the Family and Individual Support (FIS), and the Building Independence (BI) Waivers, respectively.  The approved implementation date is September 1, 2016. 

 Emergency Regulations regarding the above waivers have been approved and are located at:

  • Waiver Amendments Regulations

Validation of Support Needs:

The Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services has completed a validation of the support needs as determined by the Supports Intensity Scale. 

Validation Summary for Families

Validation Study Summary Full Report 

Waiver Redesign:

Responses to Public Comments

The Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS) has completed its review of comments submitted in response to the proposed provider rates for services provided through the Intellectual Disabilities (ID), Individual and Family Developmental Disabilities Support (DD), and Day Support waiver programs.

  • DBHDS’ response to each submitted comment as well as the changes made in response to comments are included in a document here.
  • The final rate models, can be found on the My Life My Community Page.
  • The estimated fiscal impact of implementing the final rate models can be viewed here.

DBHDS appreciates everyone who took time to provide feedback on the proposed rate models and looks forward to stakeholders’ continued involvement to incorporate the new fee schedule into the waivers and to work through the budget process to secure the funding necessary to begin implementing these rates in 2016.

Initial Waiver Redesign Documents: 

As many of you are aware, My Life, My Community is a DBHDS to improve services for people with intellectual and other developmental disabilities (I/DD). As part of this initiative, DBHDS is reviewing various aspects of the programs serving individuals with I/DD.

This review includes the rates paid to providers of waiver services. With the assistance of a national consultant – Burns & Associates, Inc. (B&A) – DBHDS has developed proposed rate models. The following materials have been prepared and are available online.

Overview of Proposed Waiver Rates 

Information Brief on the Supports Intensity Scale (SIS)

Estimated Fiscal Impact of Proposed Rate Models

Proposed Waiver Rate Models

Provider Survey Analysis