GEORGIA
DGeorgia's system, honestly. A letter grade is a summary, not a verdict on your family — a low grade doesn't mean nothing is available, it means the path is narrower. What's behind it is below.
Do this first
Call DBHDD Intake and Evaluation at 1-800-715-4225 and ask to start an I/DD application, or submit it through the DBHDD online portal to your regional field office. Once the application is complete a screening is scheduled within 14 business days. Then tell your Planning List Navigator, in detail and in writing, what support is not there — Georgia allocates by most-in-need, not by application date, and the assessment is updated at least annually.
Last verified 2026-07-03
HOW WE GRADE GEORGIA
Full methodology (v2.1) →Georgia's strongest area is self-direction index; what pulls the grade down most is hcbs spending per capita.
Waitlist Burden
30% of grade71/10065 people waiting per 100,000 residents
Nobody waiting scores 100. 225 per 100,000 scores 0.
Source:KFF State Health Facts, People Waiting for HCBS by Target … (FY2025 (KFF Medicaid HCBS Waiver Program Survey, FY 2025))US Census Bureau Vintage 2025 state population estimates (2025-07)
HCBS Spending Per Capita
25% of grade3/100$213 spent per resident
$200 per resident scores 0. $675 scores 100.
Source:CMS / Mathematica — Medicaid LTSS Annual Expenditures and … (CY2023)
Self-Direction Index
20% of grade78/10078 out of 100 on the self-direction index
Scored directly on its own 0–100 scale.
Source:CMS approved 1915(c) waiver application (2026-08-05)CMS approved 1915(c) waiver application (2026-08-05)
Waiver Program Count & Breadth
15% of grade35/10035 out of 100 on program breadth
Scored directly on its own 0–100 scale.
- No authoritative national roster of 1915(i) adopters exists; scored as absent where unconfirmed.
Source:Medicaid.gov State Waivers List, Authority=1915(c), Status… (Section 1915(c) counts: Medicaid.gov State Waivers List retrieved 2026-08-05. Target populations & 1915(k): KFF Medicaid HCBS Survey 2025 (FY2025). 1915(i): CMS SPA database retrieved 2026-08-05.)KFF Medicaid Home Care (HCBS) in 2025, Appendix Table 2 (Section 1915(c) counts: Medicaid.gov State Waivers List retrieved 2026-08-05. Target populations & 1915(k): KFF Medicaid HCBS Survey 2025 (FY2025). 1915(i): CMS SPA database retrieved 2026-08-05.)KFF Medicaid Home Care (HCBS) in 2025, Appendix Table 1 (Section 1915(c) counts: Medicaid.gov State Waivers List retrieved 2026-08-05. Target populations & 1915(k): KFF Medicaid HCBS Survey 2025 (FY2025). 1915(i): CMS SPA database retrieved 2026-08-05.)
Each factor is scored against a fixed bar, not against the other states, so Georgia's grade moves when Georgia moves. Think we have it wrong? Every number above links to its source — email hello@spectrumpathways.ai and we will correct it in public.
WHAT THINGS ARE CALLED IN GEORGIA
Use these exact words when you search, call, or fill out forms — they're what Georgia's own offices use.
- Medicaid here is
- Georgia Medicaid
- The DD agency is
- Division of Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD)
- You contact
- DBHDD regional field office
- The plan is
- Individual Service Plan (ISP)
- Self-direction is
- Participant Directioncontrolling your own budget and hiring your own people
- A denial arrives as a
- written notice of denialthe letter that gives you the right to appeal
WHO TO CONTACT, IN ORDER
Five different offices, and they don't talk to each other. Disability services, health coverage, and income each run through a separate agency — applying to one does not start the others. Ask each office for the name of the person you spoke to and write down the date; if something is later denied, that record is what an appeal is built on.
- 1
Developmental disability services
This is the office that decides whether your child is eligible for disability services. Ask for "intake" or "eligibility determination" by name. In Georgia, you contact DBHDD regional field office.
- 2
Health coverage — Georgia Medicaid
Almost every waiver and personal-care route requires this first, and it is decided by a different office from the one above. Apply in parallel rather than waiting.
- 3
Help at home, and who can be paid for it
Unless you say otherwise, services come the traditional way: the agency picks and pays the providers. Self-direction — where you get a budget and hire your own people — is opt-in almost everywhere and is not offered automatically. Here it is called Participant Direction. Ask for it by that name.
- 4
Income — SSI
Federal, so it's the same everywhere: 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778). There is no minimum age — you can apply for a newborn. Until 18, the parents' income is deemed to the child, so an early denial is usually about that rather than the child's disability. In many states an SSI award also opens Medicaid automatically — ask when you call.
- 5
If you get told no
Every state has a Protection & Advocacy agency by federal law — free legal help on disability services and appeals. Most families never hear of it, and it is the number to have before a deadline, not after. Yours is Georgia Advocacy Office.
Georgia Advocacy Office · 1-800-537-2329
RUNNING IT YOURSELF
In many states you can control the budget and hire your own people — including, sometimes, family. Most families are never told this is an option. Here's what we've verified for Georgia; where we haven't verified an answer we say so — it does not mean the answer is no, and it is worth asking.
Can you control the budget?
Yes — you manage an Individual Budget and set what you pay for services and which vendors you use
Can a family member be paid to provide care?
Only by exception — there is a family hire exception, granted on a very limited case-by-case basis, and payment must be approved BEFORE the care is given
Who is legally the employer of the people you hire?
You are, under Participant-Direction — or a co-employer with a provider agency you choose, under the COMP waiver's Co-Employer Model
How freely can money move between services?
Not verified yet — ask, don't assume the answer is no.
Can the budget buy things, not just staff time?
Yes — Individual Directed Goods and Services is a named service on both the NOW and COMP waivers, and under participant direction you choose the vendors and set what you pay them. The service list this is drawn from is a Department of Community Health overview, so confirm the current definition and any dollar cap with your Support Coordinator before you buy.
Is your case manager independent of your providers?
Not verified yet — ask, don't assume the answer is no.
Deadlines reflect this state’s rules as researched; they can change — always confirm the current deadline with your state agency or Protection & Advocacy office before relying on it.
HOW TO GET SERVICES & APPEAL IN GEORGIA
- For CMO (managed care) service actions: file CMO internal appeal within 60 days of the notice of adverse benefit determination
- For fee-for-service/eligibility or after CMO resolution: request a fair hearing within 30 days of the notice (oral requests must be followed by a written request within 15 days); after CMO resolution, request State Fair Hearing within 120 days
- Fair hearing before an OSAH Administrative Law Judge
KEY AGENCIES & RESOURCES
NOTABLE WAIVERS
New Options Waiver (NOW)
SourcePeople with IDD living with family or independently; capped budget.
Waitlist: Long planning list; short-term entry often starts with crisis documentation.
Comprehensive Supports Waiver (COMP)
SourcePeople with IDD needing residential or intensive supports.
Waitlist: Planning list managed by DBHDD field offices.
Katie Beckett Deeming Waiver (TEFRA)
SourceChildren under 18 with significant disabilities; parent income not counted.
Waitlist: No waitlist — eligibility is medical, processed by DCH.
CCSP / SOURCE (Elderly & Disabled)
SourceSeniors and adults with physical disabilities.
Waitlist: Apply through Area Agencies on Aging.
Independent Care Waiver Program (ICWP)
SourceAdults with severe physical disabilities or traumatic brain injury.
Waitlist: Verify capacity with DCH.
Full milestone guide
View the Georgia Roadmap →
Six age-based stages — state-correct programs, benefits, and milestones from birth through adulthood.
