VERMONT
—We haven't graded Vermont yet. Grading a state means sourcing its wait times, its funding, and what it actually approves — and publishing a guess would be worse than publishing nothing, because families make real decisions on these pages. What we can tell you today: what things are called here and who to contact first. That's all below.
Do this first
Contact the statewide DDS Intake and Eligibility Team, run for DAIL by Public Consulting Group. Since 11 August 2025 that is the front door for DDS waiver programmes — not your local Designated Agency, which is where applications went before that date, and which is still what older guidance will tell you. Apply for Medicaid in the same week if the person does not already have it: Vermont requires the person to be a Vermont resident AND A CURRENT MEDICAID RECIPIENT to be found eligible, so it is a prerequisite here rather than a parallel errand. Then ask two separate questions, because Vermont separates them. First, is the person clinically eligible under Part 2 of the Regulations Implementing the Developmental Disabilities Services Act of 1996. Second, do they meet a funding priority in the Vermont State System of Care Plan — because DDSD requires that second finding before home and community-based services are actually provided, and Vermont describes those priorities as a system of triage rather than a queue. Ask which priority applies and what would need to be different. Ask about Flexible Family Funding as well, since it runs on a sliding income scale instead of a funding priority. And know the decision path: a Local Funding Committee, then a State committee, then the DDSD Director, after which you must be notified of the decision and your appeal rights. Your regional Designated or Specialized Service Agency is who delivers and coordinates services once you are through — and who to ask about Flexible Family Funding, respite, and help applying for Medicaid.
Last verified 2026-07-03
HOW WE GRADE VERMONT
We are not publishing a grade for Vermont. We could only measure 35% of what the model needs, which is below the half we require. A letter built on that little would look more solid than it is.
This is usually not a sign that a state is doing badly. It most often means the state delivers services through a Medicaid entitlement rather than the waiver programs our factors are built around — which is frequently better for families, but is not something our current measures can score.
- Not scored: Vermont has no statewide waitlist number because it screens applicants against funding priorities at each Designated Agency. The state's own policy says that if someone does not meet a funding priority, the agency puts them on a waiting list.
- Only 3 of 6 self-direction sub-dimensions could be sourced; the factor is not scored.
- Delivers HCBS through an 1115 demonstration or managed LTSS entitlement rather than 1915(c) waivers. The waiver-inventory factor does not describe this state and is left unscored rather than scored misleadingly low.
- Only 35% of the model's weight could be sourced for this state — below the 50% minimum, so no grade is published.
What we could measure
HCBS Spending Per Capita
25% of grade93/100$644 spent per resident
$200 per resident scores 0. $675 scores 100.
Source:CMS / Mathematica — Medicaid LTSS Annual Expenditures and … (CY2023)
WHAT THINGS ARE CALLED IN VERMONT
Use these exact words when you search, call, or fill out forms — they're what Vermont's own offices use.
- Medicaid here is
- Green Mountain Care (Dr. Dynasaur for children)
- The DD agency is
- Developmental Disabilities Services Division (DAIL)
- You contact
- statewide DDS Intake and Eligibility Team
- The plan is
- Individual Support Agreement (ISA)
- Self-direction is
- Self/Family-Managed Servicescontrolling your own budget and hiring your own people
- A denial arrives as a
- Notice of Decisionthe 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 Vermont, you contact statewide DDS Intake and Eligibility Team.
- 2
Health coverage — Green Mountain Care (Dr. Dynasaur for children)
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 Self/Family-Managed Services. 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 Disability Rights Vermont.
Disability Rights Vermont · 1-800-834-7890
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 Vermont; 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 — one flexible authorized funding limit rather than separately approved services
Can a family member be paid to provide care?
Not verified yet — ask, don't assume the answer is no.
Who is legally the employer of the people you hire?
Not verified yet — ask, don't assume the answer is no.
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?
Not verified yet — ask, don't assume the answer is no.
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 VERMONT
- Receive notice of decision
- DD services: internal MCE appeal within 90 days first
- Request fair hearing before the Human Services Board within 90 days
- Hearing before the Human Services Board
KEY AGENCIES & RESOURCES
NOTABLE WAIVERS
Global Commitment to Health (DS Home and Community-Based Services)
SourceVermonters with developmental disabilities meeting System of Care priorities.
Waitlist: Funding priorities set annually in the System of Care Plan.
Children's Personal Care Services
SourceChildren with disabilities needing hands-on personal care at home.
Waitlist: Apply through Green Mountain Care.
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