VIDES Assessment Virginia

What the VIDES Assessment Is

The Virginia Individual Developmental Disabilities Eligibility Survey is the functional assessment that determines whether someone qualifies for Virginia's DD waiver services. It is administered in person by a Support Coordinator at the local Community Services Board and evaluates whether the individual meets the Intermediate Care Facility for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities (ICF/IID) level of care.

For adults aged 18 and older, the VIDES Adult version is used. Children have a separate version with different scoring thresholds. The result of this assessment determines two things: whether the individual is functionally eligible for any of the three DD waivers (CL, FIS, or BI), and the baseline documentation that feeds into the priority classification for the statewide waitlist.

The Eight Functional Categories

The VIDES evaluates functional capacity across eight major life activity areas. For adult applicants, the individual must demonstrate substantial limitations in at least three of these eight categories:

1. Self-Care — ability to handle personal hygiene, dressing, eating, toileting without assistance
2. Receptive and Expressive Language — ability to understand and communicate effectively
3. Learning — capacity to acquire new skills and apply them functionally
4. Mobility — ability to move around independently, use transportation, navigate the community
5. Self-Direction — ability to make decisions, manage time, plan and carry out activities
6. Capacity for Independent Living — ability to manage a household, prepare meals, handle money
7. Economic Self-Sufficiency — ability to work and earn income at a level supporting basic needs
8. Ability to Function Safely Without Supports — whether the individual's health and safety are at risk without intervention

Each category is evaluated based on the individual's functional performance, not their diagnosis. Two people with the same diagnosis can score differently if their functional limitations differ.

The Most Common Mistake Families Make

Parents who have spent years compensating for their child's limitations often describe function in terms of what the person can do with help. During the VIDES, this is exactly the wrong frame.

The assessment asks what the individual can do independently — without the informal supports that family provides. If a parent prepares every meal, manages all medications, handles all finances, and provides transportation everywhere, the VIDES should capture what would happen if those supports were removed. Not what the person does with help, but what they cannot do without it.

This is not exaggerating or misrepresenting. It is accurately documenting the level of support the individual requires. The VIDES is designed to measure the gap between what the person can do independently and what they need help with. Downplaying that gap results in a lower functional score, which can mean the difference between qualifying for waiver services and being found ineligible.

How to Prepare

Preparation makes a measurable difference in the accuracy and completeness of the VIDES assessment:

Gather documentation beforehand. Bring comprehensive psychological evaluations, adaptive behavior assessments (Vineland, ABAS), recent IEP records, and clinical treatment notes. These provide objective evidence to support the functional limitations discussed during the interview.

Write down specific examples. For each of the eight categories, prepare concrete examples of what the individual cannot do independently. Instead of "he needs help with money," describe: "He cannot calculate change, does not understand that a $20 bill is different from a $5 bill, and has given away his entire SSI payment to a stranger who asked for money."

Think about worst days, not best days. The VIDES should capture the full range of functioning, not just the person's capabilities on a good day. If behavior is variable — some days manageable, other days requiring emergency intervention — the assessment needs to reflect the variability.

Include overnight and weekend needs. If the individual requires supervision during sleeping hours (wandering, seizures, nighttime behavioral episodes), or needs more support on unstructured weekend days than during structured weekday programming, document these separately.

What Happens After the VIDES

Once the CSB Support Coordinator completes the VIDES and confirms functional eligibility, the next step is the Priority Needs Checklist. This determines the individual's priority category on the statewide DD waiver waiting list:

• Priority 1: Needs waiver services within one year. Includes immediate safety jeopardy due to caregiver health, or transitioning young adults aged 21-27 seeking independent living.
• Priority 2: Will need services within one to five years, or the primary caregiver is over 55.
• Priority 3: Will need services in five or more years; current situation is stable.

Only Priority 1 individuals are eligible for active slot consideration by the Waiver Slot Allocation Committee. For Priority 1, the Support Coordinator also completes the Critical Needs Summary, which generates a quantifiable score used by the WSAC to rank cases when a waiver slot becomes available.

The Annual Update Matters

The initial VIDES is not the end of the process. The CSB should conduct annual VIDES updates for every individual on the waitlist. These updates are the mechanism for changing priority classification when circumstances change.

If the primary caregiver develops a serious health condition, if the individual's behavioral needs escalate, or if the family situation becomes unstable, the annual update can trigger a reclassification from Priority 2 or 3 to Priority 1. Families should approach each annual review with the same level of preparation as the initial assessment — updated documentation, current examples, and an honest account of the support needs that have changed.

The Virginia SSI at 18 & Adult Disability Benefits Guide includes a VIDES preparation module covering all eight functional categories, documentation strategies, and the priority classification process.

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