HJAR May/Jun 2022

44 MAY / JUN 2022 I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF ARKANSAS MEDICAID COLUMN MEDICAID activities, preparing and eating meals, etc. Wendie worked as hard as she could to care for Regan, but she knew that Regan needed more help than she could provide. And fill- ing this caretaker role for Regan meant that Wendie could not work full time, depriving her of her livelihood and purpose as a teach- er. Stress levels for the family were high, and no one was able to live the kind of life they wanted or deserved. Since getting waiver services, the Reaves’ lives look much different. Because Regan could receive support and services from her waiver staff, Wendie was able to return to the workforce full time. This had significant benefits for them both. “We sat down, and we came up with goals. And so, her waiver person works very dili- gently with her to meet those goals. Regan is becoming more independent every day,” Wendie said. “It’s been healthy for me to be able to take a step back for myself and then it’s also been good for Regan because I’m not there doing for her. So, she’s having to learn how to do on her own and that is great for all of us. It’s a win-win.” Both Wendie and Regan are thriving be- cause of waiver services. “Regan would rather be with her waiver worker than us because she has so much fun with her,”Wendie noted. “They’re like the odd couple when you get THE Division of Developmental Disabilities Services (DDS) within the Department of Human Services (DHS) provides a variety of community-based and residential services to eligible individuals who have developmental disabilities and delays. A large program administered by DDS is the Community and Employment Supports (CES) Waiver, which provides home and community- based services for over 5,000 children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The CES Waiver uses Medicaid providers to support clients with intellectual or devel- opmental disabilities (IDD) with all major life activities, such as living independently and working at a job with help from an employ- ment coach. The programpromotes inclusion for clients through community experiences and skill development services. The goal of the waiver is simple: it helps clients with IDD remain in the community rather than an in- stitutional setting such as an intermediate care facility. DDS promotes client choice, and having the waiver allows clients the choice on where to live. For years, there has been a significant wait- list for services through the waiver. Governor Asa Hutchinson has long been a consistent advocate for reducing the size of the wait- list, and he has taken steps to address the waitlist since taking office in 2015. Over the last seven years, the Governor has worked with DHS and the state Legislature to add funding to serve hundreds more Arkansans waiting to be approved for the state’s CES Waiver. In fact, Governor Hutchinson has more than doubled the number of individu- als who can now be supported through this waiver program. In December 2021, Hutchinson announced that his administration intended to eliminate that waitlist as it stood on Dec. 1, 2021, with 3,200 individuals on the list. During the most recent legislative fiscal session, the Arkansas Legislature approved the Governor’s proposal to set aside $37.6 million to fund these newwaiver slots in the future, and the funds are now earmarked for the waiver. The pieces are in place for the reduction of the waiver waitlist—an ac- complishment that will make a huge im- pact on the lives of thousands of vulnerable Arkansans. What will that impact look like? Regan Reaves is a 23-year-old who began receiv- ing waiver services roughly five years ago when the Governor allocated tobacco set- tlement funds that allowed 500 additional waiver slots. Before the waiver, Regan’s moth- er, Wendie, had to help Regan with most of her day-to-day needs, like basic self-care Community and Employment Supports WAIVER WAITLIST Keith Metz Medicaid Communications Manager Office of Communications & Community Engagement