Kansas Community Support Waiver (CSW): 500 Slots, $20,000 Cap, and How to Qualify

Why Kansas Created the Community Support Waiver

The Kansas I/DD waiver waiting list has been one of the longest in the country for years. Over 4,700 individuals are waiting, with average wait times of 8 to 9 years and no active waiver-funded services available during that period. Families have been stuck in a system that acknowledges their need but cannot fund their care.

The Community Support Waiver is Kansas's answer. Approved by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and effective October 1, 2026, the CSW operates alongside the existing comprehensive I/DD waiver as a new 1915(c) Home and Community-Based Services waiver. It does not replace the comprehensive waiver. Instead, it creates a parallel pathway that provides immediate, targeted support to individuals who need less than 24-hour care.

Who Qualifies

To be eligible for the CSW, an individual must meet all of the following:

• Age five or older
• Program eligibility through a local CDDO: The individual must meet Kansas's statutory definition of intellectual or developmental disability (intellectual disability with onset before age 18, or developmental disability with onset before age 22 and substantial limitations in at least three of seven major life areas)
• Functional eligibility via MFEI assessment: The individual must meet the institutional level of care threshold, meaning their needs are significant enough to warrant services that would otherwise be provided in a nursing facility or ICF-IID
• Does not require 24-hour residential care: The CSW is designed for individuals who can live in the community with targeted support, not those who need continuous residential supervision

The critical prerequisite: the individual must have an active programmatic file with their local CDDO. If the CDDO intake process has not been completed, the individual cannot be considered for CSW enrollment.

What the CSW Covers

Services available under the Community Support Waiver include:

• Personal care services for daily living activities
• Respite care to provide relief for primary caregivers
• Individual employment support for competitive integrated employment
• Therapies: behavioral, physical, occupational, and speech
• Assistive technology and adaptive equipment

All services are subject to an annual cap of $20,000 per participant. That cap is firm. There is no appeals process to exceed it, and there are no exceptions for participants whose needs grow beyond what $20,000 can cover in a year.

The 500-Slot Cap

For the first waiver year (October 1, 2026, through September 30, 2027), enrollment is capped at 500 individuals statewide. Access to those slots requires an active programmatic file with a local CDDO — individuals already on the comprehensive I/DD waiver waiting list with current CDDO files are positioned to capture them.

Accepting a CSW slot does not remove the individual from the comprehensive I/DD waiver waiting list. Both can be held simultaneously, and the individual's waiting list position continues to accrue.

The $20,000 Cap Trap

The annual spending cap is the most important limitation families need to understand. At $20,000 per year, the CSW can cover a meaningful level of targeted support, but it falls far short of what the comprehensive I/DD waiver provides to individuals with complex needs.

Consider the math: $20,000 per year translates to roughly $384 per week. For a family that needs 20 hours per week of personal care at Kansas's prevailing waiver rates, the annual cap could be exhausted in less than 10 months. If needs escalate during the year, the waiver cannot authorize additional funding.

When needs outgrow the CSW, the only options are a crisis exception to the comprehensive I/DD waiver (which requires documented abuse, neglect, exploitation, or imminent risk of serious harm) or continued waiting on the comprehensive list. The CSW is a bridge, not a destination.

How the CSW Fits Into the Adult Transition

For families navigating the transition at age 18, the CSW creates a new option in the timeline. A youth who completes CDDO intake before turning 18, establishes program and functional eligibility, and gets placed on the I/DD waiting list may be eligible for a CSW slot in the October 2026 rollout even while waiting years for a comprehensive waiver slot.

But the CSW does not change the underlying dependencies. The individual still needs active KanCare Medicaid to receive waiver services, which in Kansas means either SSI approval with a separate KanCare application, or an alternate Medicaid eligibility pathway. The sequence still matters: SSI first, KanCare application second, CDDO intake as early as possible, then CSW as a bridge while waiting for comprehensive funding.

The Kansas SSI at 18 & Adult Disability Benefits Guide maps the complete sequence for families managing all of these interconnected systems.

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