Ohio currently has five home and community based 1915(c) waivers that serve children. Four serve both children and adults, and the new OhioRISE waiver is only for children. Three waive parent income for eligibility, but the parental deeming is unknown for the other programs. See Ohio’s HCBS Waivers page for more information. Ohio also has additional information on waivers for people with developmental disabilities, including this page comparing programs.

Advocacy Organizations in Ohio:

Last updated 10/16/23

Programs in Ohio

  • Target Population: Children and adults with physical or other health disabilities.
  • Ages: 0-59
  • Levels of Care: Nursing Facility; Hospital
  • Income Waiver: Yes, the waiver is only based on the child’s income. Parent income is not counted.
  • Waiver Type: 1915(c)
  • Spots: 13,236
  • Expiration Date: 6/30/2026
  • Description from medicaid.gov: Provides adult day health center services, personal care aide services, community integration, community transition, home care attendant, home delivered meal, home maintenance and chore, home modification, out-of-home respite, personal emergency response systems, supplemental adaptive and assistive device, supplemental transportation services, and waiver nursing services for individuals with physical disabilities, ages 0-59.
  • Online State Information: Home Care Waiver
  • Official Federal Information
  • How to Apply: Contact your County Office.
  • Waiting List: Ohio has 1633 people with developmental disabilities on waiting lists.
  • Target Population: Children and adults with developmental or intellectual disabilities.
  • Ages: all ages
  • Levels of Care: Intermediate Care Facility
  • Income Waiver: Yes, the waiver is only based on the child’s income. Parent income is not counted.
  • Waiver Type: 1915(c)
  • Spots: 30,500
  • Expiration Date: 6/30/2024
  • Description from medicaid.gov: Provides community respite, habilitation – adult day support, homemaker/personal care, specialized medical equipment and supplies, assistive technology, career planning, community transition service, environmental accessibility adaptations, group employment support, habilitation – vocational habilitation, home delivered meals, homemaker/personal care – daily billing unit, individual employment support, interpreter, money management, non-medical transportation, nutrition, participant-directed homemaker/personal care, remote supports, residential respite, shared living, social work, transportation, waiver nursing delegation, waiver nursing for individuals with ID/DD, ages 0 – no max age.
  • Online State Information: Individual Options from the Department of Developmental Disabilities
  • Official Federal Information
  • How to Apply: Contact your County Board for Developmental Disabilities.
  • Waiting List: Ohio has 1633 people with developmental disabilities on waiting lists.
  • Target Population: Children and adults with developmental or intellectual disabilities.
  • Ages: all ages
  • Levels of Care: Intermediate Care Facility
  • Income Waiver: unknown
  • Waiver Type: 1915(c)
  • Spots: 3400
  • Expiration Date: 6/30/2025
  • Description from medicaid.gov: Provides participant-directed homemaker/personal care, residential respite, participant-directed goods and services, participant/family stability assistance, support brokerage, assistive technology, career planning, clinical/therapeutic intervention, community respite, functional behavioral assessment, group employment support, habilitation – adult day support, habilitation – vocational habilitation, individual employment support, non-medical transportation, remote supports, transportation, waiver nursing delegation for individuals with IID/DD, ages 0 – no max age.
  • Online State Information: SELF Waiver
  • Official Federal Information
  • How to Apply: Contact your County Board for Developmental Disabilities.
  • Waiting List: Ohio has 1633 people with developmental disabilities on waiting lists.
  • Target Population: Children and adults with developmental or intellectual disabilities.
  • Ages: all ages
  • Levels of Care: Intermediate Care Facility
  • Income Waiver: Yes, the waiver is only based on the child’s income. Parent income is not counted.
  • Waiver Type: 1915(c)
  • Spots: 22,257
  • Expiration Date: 6/30/2026
  • Description from medicaid.gov: Provides community respite, habilitation- adult day support, habilitation- vocational habilitation, homemaker/personal care, specialized medical equipment and supplies, assistive technology, career planning, environmental accessibility adaptations, group employment support, home delivered meals, individual employment support, informal respite, money management, non-medical transportation, participant-directed homemaker/personal care, remote supports, residential respite, transportation, waiver nursing delegation for individuals with intellectual disabilities and developmental disabilities, ages 0 – no max age.
  • Online State Information: Level One from DODD
  • Official Federal Information
  • How to Apply: Contact your County Board for Developmental Disabilities.
  • Waiting List: Ohio has 1633 people with developmental disabilities on waiting lists.
  • Target Population: Children with serious emotional disturbances.
  • Ages: 0-20
  • Levels of Care: Hospital (Psychiatric)
  • Income Waiver: No?
  • Waiver Type: 1915(c) with 1915(b) managed care component
  • Spots: 1844
  • Expiration Date: 6/30/2027
  • Description from medicaid.gov: Provides out-of-home respite, transitional services and supports, and secondary flex fund services for individuals with serious emotional disturbance ages 0 through 20 years.
  • Online State Information: OhioRISE
  • Official Federal Information
  • How to Apply: Contact your managed care entity or call 833-711-0773. See this page for more information.
  • Waiting List: Ohio has 1633 people with developmental disabilities on waiting lists.

Additional Information

  • Parents who are RNs or LPNs can be paid to provide home nursing care for their own children in Ohio.
  • The three developmental disability waivers (Individual options, Level One, and SELF) all have pending amendments (as of 10/2023) that would allow parents/guardians of minors to be paid to provide personal care services. During the pandemic, this included medication administration and some skilled tasks for those providing personal care through a waiver. However, those who receive nursing through the state plan are ineligible. These amendments can be found here.
  • View the administrative rules governing paid parent caregiving in Ohio. Note that these rules currently require parents/guardians to work for an agency, be the provider of last resort, ban parents from caring for anyone else (such as siblings) while being paid, ban foster parents from being paid for care, and state that any parent can be denied without appeal rights.