Michigan Community Living Services CLS and Self-Determination

Community Living Supports is the service category that puts staff in your adult child's home and community — the people who help with daily routines, teach independent living skills, support community participation, and provide the hands-on assistance that keeps your family member out of an institution. Under the Habilitation Supports Waiver, CLS is where most of the authorized hours and budget sit. And with the 2024 settlement, how you structure that service matters more than ever.

What CLS Covers

CLS is a habilitative service, meaning it's designed to teach new skills and build independence rather than maintain or restore lost function. Examples of CLS activities may include:

• Personal care assistance (bathing, dressing, grooming, toileting)
• Meal planning and preparation training
• Community access and integration (transportation, shopping, recreation)
• Skill-building for independent living
• Medication management support
• Behavioral support implementation

The amount of CLS your adult child receives depends on what the Individual Plan of Services authorizes. The plan should specify the amount, scope, and duration of services based on documented clinical medical necessity.

The $31 Per Hour Self-Determination Rate

In late 2024, a federal class-action settlement led by Disability Rights Michigan secured over $110 million in state expenditures, establishing that self-determination CLS recipients under the HSW are entitled to a state-funded rate of $31.00 per hour. That's a 35% increase over the previous $20.50 rate.

This rate applies specifically to self-determination arrangements, where the beneficiary (or their family) manages their own budget and directs their own services. The rate increase directly addresses Michigan's direct care worker shortage — at $20.50, agencies couldn't recruit and retain staff. At $31.00, families using self-determination can offer competitive wages that attract reliable workers.

Self-Determination vs. Agency-Directed Services

Under traditional agency-directed CLS, your CMHSP contracts with provider agencies who hire, schedule, and supervise staff. You get whoever the agency assigns, on the agency's schedule.

Under self-determination, the beneficiary (or their representative) controls a defined budget and manages the service directly. You choose who to hire, set the schedule, and direct the work. A fiscal intermediary handles payroll, taxes, and insurance, but the hiring and supervision decisions are yours.

Self-determination requires:

• An individual budget calculated from the IPOS service authorizations
• Enrollment in the self-determination arrangement through your CMHSP
• A fiscal intermediary agreement (the CMHSP can connect you with approved FIs)
• The administrative capacity to manage hiring, scheduling, and oversight — or a representative to handle those tasks

The trade-off is real: self-determination gives you control and the higher rate, but it also gives you the responsibility of being an employer. When staff calls in sick, you're the one finding coverage. When there's a scheduling conflict, you're the one resolving it.

When Self-Determination Makes Sense

Self-determination tends to work best when:

• Your family has a reliable personal care worker in mind (a neighbor, a family friend, a former school aide) who wouldn't work through an agency
• Staff turnover has been a chronic problem under agency-directed services
• Your adult child's schedule or behavioral needs don't fit standard agency shifts
• The $31.00/hour rate would let you compete for workers the agency can't attract

It's less ideal when the family doesn't have capacity to manage employment logistics, or when the adult child's behavioral or medical complexity requires agency-level clinical oversight.

Getting Started

Request the self-determination option at your next IPOS meeting. Ask for the individual budget calculation and the steps for enrolling through your CMHSP so you can evaluate whether the arrangement works for your family.

The Michigan SSI at 18 & Adult Disability Benefits Guide covers self-determination enrollment alongside the broader HSW application and IPOS planning process — including the budget template and fiscal intermediary setup steps.

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