Alternatives to Waiting on the DBHDD Planning List for Georgia Disability Services

If your adult child is on the DBHDD planning list for the NOW or COMP waiver in Georgia, you're likely looking at years — not months — before services start. As of late 2025, approximately 7,900 individuals were on the combined planning list, and 43% of adults on the list had been waiting six years or more. Governor Kemp's FY 2027 budget disregards cut the General Assembly's approved waiver expansion from 500 new slots to just 100, further slowing the rate at which the list moves. The planning list prioritizes by unmet need rather than time waiting, which means a stable family situation — the very thing keeping your child safe — is the thing keeping you in the long-term priority category.

None of that changes by waiting. Here are the alternatives that Georgia families use to build supports while the planning list inches forward.

What the Planning List Actually Controls

First, it helps to understand what NOW and COMP waiver services provide that other programs don't — so you can identify which needs can be met elsewhere.

The NOW waiver funds: personal support services, community access, respite care, supported employment, specialized medical supplies, environmental modifications, vehicle modifications, and natural supports training. The COMP waiver covers all of that plus 24-hour residential care in a community living arrangement.

The critical distinction is that waiver services are funded, ongoing, and individualized. A waiver slot means a budget allocation from DBHDD that pays providers to deliver specific services documented in a Person-Centered Plan. Without a waiver slot, those same services exist — but you either pay out of pocket, find them through other programs, or go without.

The Alternatives (And What Each Actually Provides)

GVRA Employment Services

The Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency provides Pre-Employment Transition Services (Pre-ETS) for students aged 14–22 and full vocational rehabilitation services for adults with disabilities. These services are free, funded by federal and state dollars independent of the waiver system, and available without a waiver slot.

What GVRA offers: job exploration counseling, work-based learning experiences, workplace readiness training, self-advocacy instruction, supported employment (a job coach who works alongside your child at the job site), and Individual Plan for Employment (IPE) development.

What GVRA doesn't replace: GVRA focuses on employment outcomes. It doesn't provide personal support services for daily living, respite care for caregivers, community access that isn't employment-related, or residential support. If your child's primary need is employment and career development, GVRA may be sufficient without a waiver.

How to access: Submit a referral at referral.gvs.ga.gov. No SSI, Medicaid, or waiver eligibility required.

Georgia STABLE Account + SSI Work Incentives

While the planning list manages service access, the financial tools available through SSI and the Georgia STABLE program manage earnings and savings. These operate independently of DBHDD.

A Georgia STABLE account allows your child to save up to $100,000 without losing SSI eligibility (the account balance is exempt from the $2,000 resource limit). Annual contributions are capped at $20,000, with an additional ABLE-to-Work contribution for employed account holders. Funds can be spent on qualified disability expenses including housing, transportation, education, employment support, and health care.

SSI work incentives — the Student Earned Income Exclusion, the general earned income exclusion, the 50% reduction formula, PASS (Plan for Achieving Self-Support), and Section 1619(b) Medicaid protection — allow your child to work and earn income while maintaining benefits. These incentives exist at the federal level and apply in Georgia regardless of waiver status.

Together, STABLE and work incentives give families a way to build financial stability and employment experience while waiting for waiver services. This combination is particularly important because DBHDD's planning list priority assessment considers the individual's current support situation — demonstrating increasing unmet need (such as aging caregivers or increasing support requirements) can change your priority category.

Self-Directed Service Model

If your family has a waiver slot and the resources to hire support staff directly, Georgia allows some Medicaid-funded services to be delivered through a self-directed model, depending on the specific waiver and service type.

Under self-direction, the family (or the young adult) serves as the employer of record for support staff. You recruit, hire, train, schedule, and manage caregivers directly, rather than going through a provider agency. With a waiver slot, an FMS provider handles payroll and tax compliance.

This model is most common in rural Georgia where provider agencies are scarce — even families with waiver slots often use self-direction because there simply aren't enough agencies in their area to deliver the authorized services. The FMS arrangement depends on the applicable waiver and authorized service; it is not a substitute for obtaining a waiver slot.

Changing Your Planning List Priority

The planning list uses three priority categories:

• Short-term priority: Need services within 90 days due to immediate crisis (loss of primary caregiver, risk of homelessness, safety emergency)
• Medium-term priority: Need services within six months, significant functional needs, currently stable
• Long-term priority: Stable family supports, expect to need services as caregivers age

You can request a priority reassessment by submitting updated documentation to your DBHDD Regional Field Office. The documentation that moves cases from long-term to short-term priority typically involves demonstrating a concrete change in circumstances: a caregiver's health decline, the young adult's increasing behavioral support needs, or a housing instability that didn't exist when the original assessment was done.

This isn't gaming the system — it's accurately reflecting your current situation. Many families were assessed years ago when their child was younger and their own health was better. If circumstances have genuinely changed, the priority assessment should reflect that.

Community and Peer Support Networks

Parent to Parent of Georgia (P2PGA) connects families with trained parent mentors who have personal experience navigating the disability system. This peer support is free and available statewide. While P2PGA doesn't provide direct services like a waiver would, their mentors help families identify resources they didn't know existed, prepare documentation for priority reassessments, and problem-solve specific situations.

Georgia's Inclusive Post-Secondary Education (IPSE) programs — offered at several state universities — provide structured educational and social experiences for young adults with intellectual disabilities. These programs are separate from the waiver system and can serve as a meaningful bridge between high school and adult services, providing structured daily activities, social connections, and in some cases supported employment opportunities.

The Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities (GCDD) funds community projects and provides training on self-advocacy and systems navigation. Their resources are free and focus on helping families understand their rights and options within the existing system.

What to Do Right Now While You Wait

The planning list wait is real and unlikely to shorten in the near term given the current budget trajectory. The practical approach is to build as much of the support structure as you can through non-waiver channels while maintaining your planning list registration and keeping your priority documentation current.

The Georgia SSI at 18 & Adult Disability Benefits Guide maps the full landscape of available supports — waiver and non-waiver — into a single timeline. It covers the GVRA referral process, STABLE account setup, SSI work incentives, room-and-board agreements, Medicaid protection filings, and the DBHDD application itself, including how to document changes in priority status.

The guide doesn't make the planning list move faster. What it does is ensure you're accessing everything available while you wait, and that you're positioned to accept a waiver slot quickly when one opens — with Medicaid already in place, documentation already current, and an Individual Support Plan ready to implement.

Who This Is For

• Georgia families whose child is on the DBHDD NOW or COMP waiver planning list with no clear timeline for a slot
• Parents looking for supports they can access now, without waiting for waiver authorization
• Families in rural Georgia where provider agencies are scarce even for families who have waiver slots
• Parents whose own health is declining and who need to build a support structure before they can no longer serve as primary caregiver

Who This Is NOT For

• Families in an immediate crisis who need emergency waiver services — contact your DBHDD Regional Field Office directly to request a short-term priority reassessment
• Families who already have a waiver slot and need help selecting a provider agency — your DBHDD support coordinator handles this
• Parents seeking residential placement for a child with intensive behavioral needs — this may require a different pathway through DBHDD's crisis system

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I be on the DBHDD planning list and receive GVRA services at the same time?

Yes. GVRA services are completely independent of the DBHDD waiver system. You can receive Pre-ETS or full VR services while registered on the planning list. It does not replace waiver services, but it can help support employment goals while you wait.

Does working hurt my child's position on the planning list?

No. DBHDD's priority assessment is based on unmet support needs, not employment status. A young adult who works and earns income can still be on the planning list. Employment actually demonstrates the kind of community integration that both the NOW and COMP waivers are designed to support. Work earnings deposited into a STABLE account don't affect SSI resource limits.

How do I request a priority reassessment?

Contact your DBHDD Regional Field Office with updated documentation of your current circumstances. Specifically, you want to document any changes since your last assessment: caregiver health changes, increased support needs, housing instability, or safety concerns. The Regional Field Office conducts the reassessment — there's no form to fill out, but written documentation of the changed circumstances is essential.

What if my child needs services immediately and the planning list is too slow?

If there's an immediate crisis — loss of primary caregiver, risk of homelessness, safety emergency — contact your DBHDD Regional Field Office to request reclassification to short-term priority (services needed within 90 days). Document the crisis thoroughly. A caregiver crisis, medical emergency, or safety risk can support a priority re-evaluation.

Is there a way to pay for waiver-like services out of pocket while waiting?

Yes, but the cost is significant. Personal support services through a provider agency typically cost $15–$30/hour depending on the region and level of support. The self-directed model can reduce costs (you hire staff directly rather than through an agency), but you take on the employer responsibilities. Some families use a combination of out-of-pocket spending for essential hours and informal supports from family and community for the remainder.

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