Idaho Self-Directed Waiver: How My Voice My Choice Works for DD Services

What Self-Directed Services Mean in Idaho

Idaho's Developmental Disabilities Waiver offers two service delivery models. The traditional model assigns an agency to deliver care under an Individual Support Plan. The self-directed model — branded "My Voice, My Choice" — puts the individual or their representative in charge of hiring, scheduling, and supervising their own support workers.

The budget is the same under both models. What changes is who controls how it's spent. In self-direction, a Support Broker replaces the Plan Developer, and the family writes a Support and Spending Plan (SSP) instead of the agency-managed Individual Support Plan (ISP).

For families in Idaho's rural areas where agency providers have no staff available, self-direction is often the only way to actually receive the services they've been approved for.

How the Self-Directed Model Works

Support Broker. You select a Support Broker — a professional who helps write and manage your spending plan, ensures compliance with waiver rules, and assists with hiring and managing workers. The Support Broker is compensated from the waiver budget, just like any other service.

Fiscal Employer Agent (FEA). The FEA handles payroll, tax withholding, worker's compensation insurance, and employment paperwork for everyone you hire. You tell the FEA who you hired, how many hours they worked, and at what rate. The FEA cuts the checks and files the tax documents. You don't need to learn payroll processing.

Support and Spending Plan (SSP). This document allocates your approved annual budget across service categories — community support, residential habilitation, respite, personal care, and others. The SSP must be approved by your BDDS Care Manager before services can begin. It can be modified during the plan year if needs change.

Who You Can Hire

The self-directed model opens your hiring pool well beyond traditional agency employees. You can hire:

• Community members, neighbors, or friends
• College students studying special education, nursing, or social work
• Church members or other community connections
• In certain configurations, family members

The rules around hiring family members depend on the specific relationship and living arrangement. Spouses and legal guardians generally cannot be hired as paid caregivers under the waiver. Other family members — siblings, adult children of the individual, aunts, uncles, and parents in some circumstances — may be eligible, but the arrangement must be documented in the spending plan and approved by the Care Manager.

Workers generally need a background check through the Idaho DHW Criminal History Unit before providing services. The FEA coordinates this process and can explain whether an approved waiver is available. A worker cannot begin billing against your budget until the required clearance is complete.

Setting Worker Pay Rates

You set the hourly rate for each worker, within the limits of your approved budget. The budget is a fixed annual amount — paying higher rates means fewer total hours of service. Paying lower rates may make it harder to recruit and retain workers.

The typical DSP wage range in Idaho is $12–$18/hour depending on the region and the complexity of care. Self-directed employers in rural areas sometimes offer $14–$16/hour to attract workers who wouldn't otherwise be available through agency channels.

There are no state-mandated minimum wage requirements beyond Idaho's standard minimum wage ($7.25, though most actual pay is well above this). The FEA ensures that all federal and state employment taxes are properly calculated and withheld.

Transitioning from Traditional to Self-Directed

If your child is currently on the traditional waiver and you want to switch:

1. Contact your Plan Developer or regional BDDS office and state your intent to transition to self-direction
2. Select a Support Broker — the BDDS office can provide a list of available brokers in your region
3. Work with the Support Broker to draft a Support and Spending Plan that allocates your existing budget to the workers you plan to hire
4. Submit the SSP to your BDDS Care Manager for approval
5. Once approved, the FEA onboards your workers and services begin

The transition does not change your budget or your Liberty Healthcare assessment score. Your functional eligibility carries over from the traditional model.

The process typically takes 4–6 weeks from the initial request to the first service delivery, though this varies by region and how quickly you can recruit workers.

The Idaho SSI at 18 & Adult Disability Benefits Guide covers the full self-directed enrollment process, a hiring checklist for community support workers, and a budget allocation worksheet for building your spending plan.

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