Innovations Waiver Services

NC Innovations is a Medicaid community care funding source for persons with Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities.  The program offers specific services in the community for individuals of all ages that require ICF-MR level of care and met additional eligibility criteria for this waiver.  It is designed to provide an array of community-based services and supports to promote choice, control, and community membership.  These services provide an alternative to institutional care.

Goals of the NC Innovations Waiver Services:

• To value and support waiver participants to be fully functioning members of their community and to promote Promising Practices that result in real life outcomes for participants;

• To offer service options that will facilitate each participant's ability to live in homes of their choice, have employment or engage in a purposeful day of their choice and achieve their life goals;

• To provide the opportunity for all participants to direct their services to the extent that they choose;

• To provide educational opportunities and support to foster the development of stronger natural support networks and enable participants to be less reliant on formal support systems.

ComServ, Inc. provides the following NC Innovations Waiver Services:

Day Supports

Day Supports is primarily a group service that provides assistance to the participant with acquisition, retention, or improvement in self-help, socialization and adaptive skills. Day Supports are furnished in a non-residential setting, separate from the home or facility where the participant resides.

In-Home Skill Building

In-Home Skill Building provides habilitation and skill building to enable the participant to acquire and maintain skills, which support more independence. In-Home Skill Building augments the family and natural supports of the participant and consists of an array of services that are required to maintain and assist the participant to live in the community settings.

In-Home Skill Building consists of:

• Training in interpersonal skills and development and maintenance of personal relationships.

• Skill building to support the participant in increasing community living skills, such as shopping, recreation, personal banking, grocery shopping and other community activities.

• Training with therapeutic exercises, supervision of self-administration of medication and other services essential to healthcare at home, including transferring, ambulation and use of special mobility devices.

• Transportation to support implementation of in-home skill building.

Personal Care Services

Personal Care Services under the waiver include support, supervision and engaging participation with eating, bathing, dressing, personal hygiene and other activities of daily living. Support and engaging the participant describes the flexibility of activities that may encourage the participant to maintain skills gained during habilitation while also providing supervision for independent activities. When specified in the Individual Support Plan (ISP), this service may also include meal preparation, housekeeping chores such as bed making, dusting and vacuuming, which are incidental to the care furnished or which are essential the health and welfare of the participant, rather than the participant’s family. Personal care also includes assistance with monitoring health status and physical condition, assistance with transferring, ambulation, and use of special mobility devices.

Personal Care Services may be provided outside of the private home as long as the outcomes are consistent with the support described in the ISP. Services may be allowed in the private home of the provider, staff or Employer of Record, or staff of an Agency With Choice if there is documentation in the ISP that the participant’s needs cannot be met in the participant’s private home or another community location

Residential Supports

Residential Supports include:

• Habilitation Services aimed at assisting the participant to acquire, improve, and retain skills in self-help, general household management and meal preparation, personal finance management, socialization and other adaptive areas. Training outcomes focus on allowing the participant to improve his/her ability to reside as independently as possible in the community.

• Assistance in activities of daily living when the participant is dependent on others to ensure health and safety.

• Habilitation services that allow the participant to participate in home life or community activities.

• Transportation to and from the residence and points of travel in the community is included to the degree that they are not reimbursed by another funding source.

Respite Services

Respite Services provide periodic support and relief to the primary caregiver(s) from the responsibility and stress of caring for the participant. This service enables the primary caregiver to participate in planned or emergency events. Other goals of Respite Care include scheduled time for the caregiver themselves and/or other family members and loved ones. Respite services may include in and out-of-home services, overnight, weekend care, emergency care (family emergency based, not to include out of home crisis) or continuous care up to ten consecutive (10) days. By definition, the primary caregiver is the person principally responsible for the care and supervision of the participant and must maintain his/her primary residence at the same address as the participant.

Supported Employment Services

Supported Employment Services provide assistance with choosing, acquiring, and maintaining a job for participants ages 16 and older for whom competitive employment has not been achieved; or it has been interrupted, or intermittent in nature.

Initial Supported Employment services include:

• Pre-job training/education and development activities to prepare a person to engage in meaningful work-related activities. Examples of activities may include career/educational counseling, job shadowing, assistance in the use of educational resources, training in resume preparation, job interview skills, study skills, and assistance in learning skills.

• Helping a participant to develop and operate a micro-enterprise. This assistance consists of: Aiding the participant to identify potential business opportunities; Assistance in the development of a business plan, including potential sources of business financing and other assistance; Identification of the necessary supports in order for the participant to operate the business.

• Coaching and employment support activities that enable a participant to complete initial job training; or maintain employment such as monitoring, supervision, assistance in job task(s), work adjustment trainin,g and counseling.

Long term follow-up supports include:

• Assisting the participant to maintain employment through activities such as monitoring, supervision, assistance in job tasks, work adjustment training, and counseling.

• Employer consultation with the objective of identifying work related needs of the participant and proactively engaging in supportive activities to address the problem or need.

Crisis Services

Crisis Services is a tiered approach to support waiver participants when crisis situations occur that present a threat to the participant's health and safety or the health and safety of others.  These behaviors may result in the participant losing his or her home, job, or access to activities and community involvement.  Crisis Services is an immediate intervention available 24 hours a day, 7 days per week to support the person who is primarily responsible for the care of the participant.  Crisis Services is provided as an alternative to institutional placement or psychiatric hospitalization.  Service authorization can be accessed by telephone or planned through the Individual Support Plan (ISP) to meet the needs of the participant.

Community Networking Services

Community Networking Services provide individualized day activities in an integrated community setting, with persons who are not disabled.  This service is provided separate and apart form the participant's private residence, other residential living arrangement, and/or the home of a service provider.  These services do not take place in licensed facilities and are intended to offer the participant the opportunity to develop meaningful community relationships with non-disabled individuals. Services are designed to promote maximum participation in community life while developing natural supports within integrated settings. Community Networking services enable the participant to increase or maintain their capacity for independence and develop social roles valued by non-disabled members of the community.  As participants gain skills and increase community connections, service hours should fade; however, a formal fading plan is not required.

For additional information on Innovation Waiver Services contact:

Intake and Admissions:
828-438-6026
TTY - 823-430-7194