Waiver Services

The Department of Health and Hospitals' Office for Citizens with Developmental Disabilities (OCDD) is charged  with coordinating statewide services in a manner that is accessible to Louisiana individuals and families who require specialized supports and services. The OCDD is entrusted with the task of determining eligibility and assuring that these individuals can safely be served in the community

OCDD  is also entrusted in assuring that individuals are afforded the opportunity to live in a safe environment while directing their lives based on their desired personal outcomes. Supports and services are provided as a supplement to natural supports while supporting dignity, quality of life, and security in the everyday lives of people.

OCDD offers community-based services and supports for people who are disabled through the Medicaid Home and Community-based Waiver programs. These waiver programs allow Louisiana citizens to have greater flexibility to choose where they want to live, and the waiver services and supports that best suit their needs, while still receiving Medicaid State Plan benefits.

The home and community-based waivers currently available are listed below. Each waiver has specific service packages and eligibility requirements. Waiver opportunities are dependent upon funding, and are offered on a first-come, first-served basis through the Request for Services Registry.

Tiered Waiver

Through an innovative approach to providing services to people with developmental disabilities, the Louisiana Department of Health is effectively ending the 25-year-old waiting list for specialized home and community-based services. This new plan prioritizes the needs of people instead of the date they applied for services.

The new plan, or Tiered Waiver, means that individuals with a greater urgency of need will now be prioritized for receiving the most appropriate home and community-based services. Over two years ago, LDH’s Office for Citizens with Developmental Disabilities began a screening process to evaluate the needs of the more than 10,000 individuals who were on a waiting list for services. As of today, all of the people on this waiting list who have an urgent or emergent need for waiver services have received a waiver opportunity.

To learn more about tiered waiver please click here.

Click here for FAQs. 

OCDD offers the following waiver services:

  • Children's Choice Waiver offers supplemental support to children through age 20 who currently live at home with their families or with a foster family. Learn more.
  • New Opportunities Waiver offers people age 3 and older who otherwise would require the level of care of an Intermediate Care Facility for the Developmentally Disabled (ICFs/DD) services that allow them to remain in their communities. Services are based on the need of the recipient and are developed using a person-centered process to formulate an individualized plan. Learn more.
  • Residential Options Waiver offers people of all ages services designed to support them to move from ICFs/DD and nursing facilities to community-based settings, and to serve as an alternative to institutionalization. Learn more.
  • Supports Waiver offers focused, individualized vocational services to people age 18 and older who otherwise would require the level of care of an Intermediate Care Facility for the Developmentally Disabled (ICFs/DD). Learn more.

Self Direction: For more info please click here.

To apply for services, contact your Human Services District/Authority.

As partners in our communities, OCDD provides leadership in the development of community-based programs that enhance inclusion, independence, dignity, choice, and individual well-being through person-centered approaches and personal outcomes.

In a world of rapidly changing health care delivery and financing systems, it is our continuing goal to develop a system that meets individuals' needs, and ensures quality and value for Louisiana citizens who choose to receive services in their community.

OCDD will focus on achieving these goals by listening; supporting quality, person-centered services; promoting accountability and cost-effective resources that effectively contribute to addressing the personal needs and dreams of people with disabilities; and partnering with self-advocates, families, service providers, and others.

These goals are ambitious and cannot be achieved overnight, but we are committed to developing a system where customers are satisfied, services are accountable, and which meets the expectations of the customers within the confines of state and federal requirements.

If you are unable to locate services that you need, please call the OCDD Central Office at 225-342-0095 or email us at ocddinfo@la.gov.

Waiver Services Questions

Common Questions about Companion Care and Monitored in Home Care Giving

Comparison Chart- Between Companion Care and Monitored in Home CareGiving (MIHC) for the ROW and NOW

Frequently asked Questions and Answers for Monitored In-Home CareGiving (MIHC)