DAIL Services After High School in Vermont: Adult Developmental Services Guide

The Shift From School to DAIL

While your student is in school, the district is legally obligated to provide services. After school exit, that obligation disappears. Adult services require separate eligibility determinations and run through a completely different system.

The Department of Disabilities, Aging and Independent Living (DAIL), through its Developmental Disabilities Services Division (DDSD), administers Vermont's adult developmental services. These services are funded through the Global Commitment to Health 1115 Medicaid Waiver, and the critical fact for Vermont families is this: Vermont operates its developmental services under an entitlement model with no traditional waitlist for eligible individuals.

That does not mean services are automatic. Clinical eligibility does not automatically guarantee funding; current funding priorities affect the urgency and scope of an eligible person's initial service allocation.

How to Apply: The PCG Intake Process

Starting August 11, 2025, Vermont centralized its developmental services intake through the Public Consulting Group (PCG). Families no longer apply through their local Designated Agency.

The intake pipeline works as follows:

1. Contact PCG through the DDSD application portal to initiate the process
2. Virtual intake meeting — PCG's intake team answers program questions and walks the family through documentation requirements
3. Documentation submission — PCG gathers clinical, financial, and residency documentation
4. Eligibility recommendation — PCG reviews the application and submits an eligibility recommendation to DAIL/DDSD
5. DAIL review — PCG's eligibility recommendation goes to DAIL/DDSD for determination

The recommended timeline: start the PCG intake process 12 to 18 months before the student's expected school exit. The process takes time, and any gap between school exit and adult service activation leaves the student without funded supports.

Eligibility Requirements

To qualify for adult developmental services through DDSD, the applicant must meet three criteria:

Residency: Must be a physical resident of Vermont.

Financial: Must be eligible for and enrolled in Vermont Medicaid. For students exiting school, this typically means applying for adult Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) at age 18.

Clinical: Must have a qualifying developmental disability — such as an intellectual disability or Autism Spectrum Disorder — that manifested before age 18 and results in significant deficits in adaptive behavior across multiple life domains.

The clinical eligibility standard requires documentation. Families should gather psychoeducational evaluations, IEP records documenting adaptive behavior assessments, and any clinical diagnoses well before the intake process begins.

What Happens After Eligibility

Once DDSD confirms eligibility, the process continues through Vermont's Conflict-Free Case Management system:

1. Choose a Case Management Organization (CMO) — either Benchmark Human Services or The Columbus Organization. These independent CMOs conduct the needs assessment and manage the service plan.
2. Needs assessment — The CMO administers the Supports Intensity Scale-Adult (SIS-A) to determine the level of support the student requires.
3. Individualized Service Agreement (ISA) — The CMO develops the ISA, which defines the specific services, the service budget, and the direct service providers.
4. Select a direct service provider — The family chooses a Designated Agency (DA) or Specialized Service Agency (SSA) to deliver the actual services.

Available Services

Adult developmental services through DAIL include:

• Community supports — individualized day programs, community integration activities, social skills development
• Supported employment — job coaching, placement, and employment maintenance (often coordinated with HireAbility Vermont)
• Shared living — matching the individual with a paid home provider for residential support
• Group homes — staffed residential settings with 24-hour support
• Supervised independent living — apartment-based living with scheduled support staff
• Respite care — temporary relief for family caregivers

The specific mix of services is determined by the ISA, not by a one-size-fits-all program. Services should be tailored to the individual's assessed needs and postsecondary goals.

Funding Priorities and What They Mean

Clinical eligibility does not automatically guarantee that all requested services will be funded. Under the Vermont State System of Care Plan, waiver funds are prioritized for individuals who meet specific criteria, such as:

• Health and safety crises
• Homelessness or housing instability
• Need for support to maintain paid employment
• Loss of a current caregiver

This priority system determines the urgency and scope of the initial service allocation. It does not mean eligible individuals are denied services entirely — but it does mean the initial service package may be more limited for individuals who don't meet a priority category.

Starting Early

The adult services system is complex and slow-moving. Families who start the intake process in the student's final year of school risk a gap in services at exit. Families who start 12 to 18 months before exit — while the student is still receiving school-funded transition programming — improve the chances that the ISA is finalized and a service provider is selected before the last day of school.

The Vermont IEP Transition to Adulthood Guide includes a DAIL intake timeline, a clinical eligibility documentation checklist, and a Designated Agency directory to help families manage this process alongside the IEP transition plan.

See more Vermont guides →