Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability
Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability

APD Should Take Steps to Ensure New Needs Assessment and Individual Budget Process Is Timely and Effective

Report 08-15, March 2008




Report Summary

  • The Agency for Persons with Disabilities (APD) administers the Developmental Disabilities Home and Community-Based Services Medicaid waiver to serve persons with developmental disabilities in community settings. Nineteen of the 26 states that we contacted place their waiver programs in a large, multi-program health or human services agency. Four states use the same model as Florida to administer their waiver programs in a stand-alone agency that serves persons with developmental disabilities, while three place the program in an agency that also administers mental health and substance abuse programs.
  • While all of the states we contacted conduct individual assessments to determine what waiver services clients need, 10 states establish spending limits for identified client needs. These states do this in one of three ways: assigning clients to levels of care that correspond to funding amounts, assigning clients to waivers that cap expenditures, or establishing individual client budgets.
  • APD is currently implementing a new client needs assessment process for developing client service plans. APD plans to assess all clients by July 2009 and subsequently develop individual client budgets. To effectively implement this system, APD needs to develop a plan that outlines major activities, milestones, and needed resources and establish an anticipated target date for completion within six months after it has finished assessing all clients using the new needs assessment process. This will also require the agency to ensure that its new needs assessment tool is valid and reliable.


Related Reports
  1. iBudget Implementation Continues as the Agency for Persons with Disabilities Responds to Legal Challenges
    Report 14-09 March 2014
  2. APD Waiting List Process Now More Useful for Planning and Budgeting; Multi-year Plan Still Needed
    Report 10-45 June 2010
  3. Agency for Persons with Disabilities Has Made Several Changes to the Prior Service Authorization Process
    Report 08-49 August 2008
  4. APD Waiting List Should Be Improved for Agency's Planning and Budgeting Purposes
    Report 06-54 July 2006
Copies of this report in print or alternate accessible format may be obtained by email OPPAGA@oppaga.fl.gov, telephone (850) 488-0021, or mail 111 W. Madison St., Room 312 Tallahassee, FL 32399-1475.
Copies of this report in print or alternate accessible format may be obtained by email OPPAGA@oppaga.fl.gov, telephone (850) 488-0021, or mail 111 W. Madison St., Room 312 Tallahassee, FL 32399-1475.
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