Connecticut DDS Waivers: IFS, Comprehensive, and EDS Explained

Three Waivers, Three Purposes

Connecticut's Department of Developmental Services (DDS) administers three Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) waivers under federal Medicaid authority. Each waiver funds a different tier of support, and understanding which one fits your young adult's situation determines the application strategy.

All three waivers share two prerequisites: the individual must be found DDS-eligible (Full-Scale IQ of 69 or below with adaptive functioning limitations, or a Prader-Willi Syndrome diagnosis), and they must have active HUSKY C Medicaid enrollment.

Individual and Family Supports (IFS) Waiver

Who it's for: Individuals living in their own home or with family who need supplemental supports rather than 24-hour care.

Annual funding cap: Approximately $59,000, with the actual allocation tied directly to the individual's Level of Need (LON) score. A person with a LON score of 2 will receive a substantially smaller budget than someone with a score of 6.

What it covers:

• In-home personal care assistance
• Respite care (giving family caregivers scheduled breaks)
• Community companion services
• Individualized day supports
• Assistive technology and adaptive equipment
• Environmental modifications to the home
• Vehicle modifications for accessibility
• Behavioral support consultation

The self-direction option: IFS is the waiver that permits self-directed care. Instead of receiving services from a DDS-contracted agency, the individual (or their representative) can hire, train, and manage their own support staff. This includes the ability to compensate family caregivers — a significant advantage for families where a parent provides direct care but needs financial support to continue doing so.

Wait times: Generally shorter than the Comprehensive waiver because IFS serves individuals who already have a stable living situation. The state has more budget flexibility to fund in-home supports than to create new residential placements.

Comprehensive Supports Waiver

Who it's for: Individuals with significant physical, medical, or behavioral needs who require continuous 24-hour support in a supervised residential setting.

Funding: Unlike the IFS waiver's approximately $59,000 annual cap, Comprehensive Supports is built around the cost of the licensed residential placement or intensive support arrangement. Budget allocation is determined by the individual's assessed needs and the provider's rate structure.

What it covers:

• Licensed group home residential placement
• Intensive individualized home supports (24-hour staffing in a person's own home)
• Continuous nursing services
• Behavioral programming and crisis intervention
• Day and employment supports (when packaged with residential)
• Specialized medical and psychiatric services

The reality check: This waiver has the longest waiting list in Connecticut's DDS system. Residential slots are finite — each one requires a physical placement, staffing, and ongoing state funding. Emergency and Urgent priority cases fill available slots first, and the Planning List for Comprehensive Supports can stretch for years.

If your young adult needs Comprehensive Supports but won't receive a slot immediately, ask your DDS case manager about IFS as a bridge. Many families use IFS-funded in-home supports to maintain stability while waiting for a Comprehensive placement.

Employment and Day Supports (EDS) Waiver

Who it's for: Young adults transitioning from school to the workforce or structured day programming, with a focus on career development and community integration.

What it covers:

• Supported employment (job coaching, workplace accommodations coordination)
• Individualized day supports (community-based activities, skill development)
• Pre-vocational training
• Group day programs
• Transportation to and from employment or day program sites

The transition pipeline: EDS has a natural feeder system — school-based transition programs. When a student's IEP includes transition goals focused on employment and adult day programming, DDS case managers coordinate with the school district to align an EDS waiver slot with the student's graduation or exit date. This doesn't eliminate waiting entirely, but it creates a smoother path than applying cold after leaving school.

The key coordination point: make sure your young adult's PPT (Planning and Placement Team) meetings include a DDS representative starting at age 16. This gives DDS years of advance notice to plan for the waiver allocation.

How the Waivers Interact

An individual doesn't have to choose only one waiver permanently. Needs change, and DDS can transition someone between waivers:

• A young adult might start on EDS for supported employment after high school graduation, then move to IFS when they need in-home supports while continuing to work.
• If a medical or behavioral crisis develops, the case manager can pursue reclassification from the IFS Planning List to the Comprehensive Waiting List with Emergency or Urgent priority.
• Someone on the Comprehensive waiver who achieves greater independence might eventually step down to IFS with self-directed supports.

These transitions require a new LON assessment and case manager coordination, but they're built into the system's design. The waivers aren't permanent buckets — they're responsive to where the individual is in their life.

Applying for a Waiver Slot

You don't apply for waivers directly. The process goes through your DDS case manager:

1. Establish DDS eligibility — submit the eligibility application packet to the Statewide Eligibility Unit
2. Get assigned a case manager — once found eligible, your regional DDS office assigns a resource coordinator
3. Complete a Level of Need (LON) assessment — this determines your young adult's support needs across medical, behavioral, psychiatric, safety, and personal care domains
4. Discuss waiver options with your case manager — based on the LON score and your young adult's situation, the case manager recommends which waiver to pursue
5. Get placed on the appropriate list — the case manager submits the waiver application internally, and your young adult is placed on the Planning List or, if circumstances warrant, the Waiting List

While waiting for a funded slot, ask about IFS Grants — these non-waiver funds can cover respite, assistive technology, and other disability-related expenses without requiring a waiver allocation.

The Funding Reality

All three waivers are appropriations-based — the state legislature decides how much money to allocate each year. Unlike special education under IDEA, no one is entitled to waiver services simply because they meet the criteria. This means wait times fluctuate with budget cycles, and advocacy at the legislative level matters.

Family advocacy organizations like the Connecticut Parent Advocacy Center (CPAC) and The Arc Connecticut regularly organize testimony during budget hearings. Participating in these efforts, even by submitting written testimony about your family's experience, contributes to the political pressure that increases waiver funding.

The Connecticut SSI at 18 & Adult Disability Benefits Guide includes waiver comparison tables, LON preparation worksheets, and a documentation tracker designed to build the strongest possible case when your waiver slot opens.

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