Arkansas CES Waiver Waitlist: How Long, and What Services Are Available While You Wait
Families hear the number and it feels impossible: 3 to 10 years on a waitlist before your child gets a CES waiver slot. Some families hear that and stop trying. Others never apply because they think waiting means sitting idle. Both reactions cost families — the first sacrifices years of waitlist priority, and the second forfeits services that are available right now.
Current Waitlist Numbers
As of mid-2026, the Arkansas CES waiver waitlist holds approximately 2,000 to 2,268 individuals. The program is capped at 8,233 active waiver slots per year, and slots open only when current participants leave the program — through relocation, death, or a change in eligibility status.
The waitlist hasn't been short in living memory. It dropped to roughly 1,900 around 2025 after former Governor Hutchinson directed emergency funding to clear the backlog. But new applications refilled the line quickly, and federal funding reductions pushed it back above 2,000. The pattern is clear: state initiatives temporarily reduce the count, but demand consistently exceeds capacity.
Priority is determined strictly by application date. This is the most important thing to understand about the CES waiver waitlist — there is no medical or financial triage. The family who applies when their child is 14 goes ahead of the family who applies when their child is 22, regardless of severity.
How to Check Your Position
Email [email protected] with the individual's name and date of birth to request a current waitlist position update. The DDS Intake and Referral helpline is 501-683-5687.
Every year, DDS mails an annual contact verification letter to everyone on the waitlist. This is not informational — it is an active requirement. Failing to return the completed form results in administrative removal from the waitlist. Families who miss this letter and get removed must reapply and start from the back of the line, losing years of accrued priority.
What's Available While on the Waitlist
Being on the waitlist does not mean going without services. If the individual qualifies for Medicaid — through SSI, the Workers with Disabilities program, or another pathway — they can access:
Adult Developmental Day Treatment (ADDT): Licensed clinic-based programs providing occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech therapy, behavioral services, and structured educational activities for adults with developmental disabilities. These state-plan services may be available to eligible individuals while they wait for a CES slot.
Personal Care Services: Non-medical, in-home assistance with activities of daily living — bathing, dressing, grooming, meal preparation, and mobility assistance. Hours are determined by a functional needs assessment.
Durable Medical Equipment (DME): Medicaid state-plan coverage for wheelchairs, hospital beds, adaptive equipment, communication devices, and other medically necessary equipment.
Outpatient Behavioral Health: Individual and group therapy, psychiatric evaluations, and medication management through Medicaid-enrolled providers.
Early Intervention Day Treatment (EIDT): For individuals under 18 still in the pediatric system — similar to ADDT but designed for younger participants.
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What the Waitlist Does Not Provide
Until a CES waiver slot opens, the following are not available:
- Supported living services (staff support in an apartment or home)
- Specialized job coaching funded through the waiver
- Respite care through the waiver (limited respite may be available through other sources)
- Individualized residential services
- Community integration and social recreation programs funded by the waiver
These services become available only when the individual is awarded an active CES waiver slot and has a Person-Centered Service Plan developed with their PASSE care coordinator.
The PASSE Assignment
When an individual is approved for the CES waiver waitlist and assessed at Tier 2 or Tier 3 functional need through the Optum independent assessment, they are assigned to one of the active Provider-Led Arkansas Shared Savings Entity (PASSE) organizations. This assignment happens even while on the waitlist.
The PASSE care coordinator is responsible for connecting the individual to available state-plan Medicaid services while they wait. Families have 90 days from the initial assignment to switch to a different PASSE for any reason, and can also request a change during the annual open enrollment period in October.
If your PASSE coordinator is not actively connecting your child to interim services, call the PASSE Ombudsman at 1-844-843-7351 to request a coordinator change or file a complaint.
Planning Around the Wait
The waitlist is long, but the planning steps are immediate. File the DDS intake application as early as possible — ideally by age 14 or 15. Secure SSI and Medicaid independently through the age-18 redetermination. Open an ABLE account to build savings without jeopardizing the $2,000 resource limit.
The Arkansas SSI at 18 & Adult Disability Benefits Guide includes a waitlist tracking section with the DDS contact letter response checklist, interim service request templates, and a PASSE coordinator evaluation framework — so families stay active on the list and access every available service while they wait.
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