How long does it take to become a Waiver Support Coordinator

There are some things to know about becoming a Waiver Support Coordinator. Most important of all is that it is not an easy or fast things. The amount of paperwork required is very large and there are many steps that are out of your control when filling out and submitting the paperwork.

First you have to submit a Letter of Intent, to indicate that you would like to become a Support Coordinator. This is the very first thing that needs to be done and when it is submitted. once you have submitted this letter you will be allowed to sign into the Clearinghouse to submit your background investigation. Typically you submit the letter of Intent and it takes 3-5 business days to get an answer back and another 3-5 days to be entered into the clearinghouse. You will need to watch your e-mail closely to make sure you follow-up when you can or you will add additional days to your application process. Once you have your information entered you will then need to go get fingerprints to be able to submit for your background check which will take a day. You then need to submit for the background investigation and wait for it to return which could take 7-10 business days.

Once you have completed the background check the other items like getting insurance can take 1-2 Business Days to get the policy then add APD as a Certificate Holder.

If you want to get yourself registered as a Business or File an LLC you will need to write up all the documentation required to submit to the state and once submitted can take as much as 2-3 weeks to process and get your Articles of incorporation.

You also need to write up your Policy and Procedures document which can take a long time and can be done while you are waiting on all the other items to be returned for you to submit them.

Once you have gathered all the required items you also may need to get all the initial training required and you may need to schedule it with APD and could take another 1-2 weeks to get the 24 hours of in-service training.

Already you are at about 47 days.

Once you have all of this information together you then have to submit it to your Regional APD office. They will review all of the documentation and then notify you that your enrollment is complete.

Our personal Experience is currently showing that this process is a waiting game and it personally took over 15 days to even hear anything back about the enrollment.

So from initiation to approval is about 65-80 days which is almost 3 months.

Be prepared to work towards getting everything together and then waiting.

What to do first to become a Waiver Support Coordinator

First things first, Review the enrollment process which is provided at the APD Website.
As indicated on the website as of March 2019 these items are the qualifications that need to be met.

• Must be certified and enrolled as a Medicaid Waiver provider of Support Coordinator.
• May be either single (solo) providers or agency providers.
• If employed by an agency, must have a bachelor's degree and two years professional experience in developmental disabilities, special education, mental health, counseling, guidance, social work or health and rehabilitative services.
• If a solo provider, must have a bachelor's degree and three years experience in developmental disabilities, special education, mental health, counseling, guidance, social work or health and rehabilitative services.
• A minimum of 60 hours of pre-service training is required consisting of 34 hours of statewide pre-service training and 26 hours of district specific training which includes orientation to the district, local resources and local operational procedures.

As of 2019 the following Document is used as the Waiver Support Coordinator Enrollment form 

Note there are a Lot of things on this form and it will potentially take you as long as a Month to get all of them ready. 

One for the first things you can do is submit to this site to get your Background Screening. 

Agency for Healthcare Administration (AHCA) Care Provider Background Screening Clearinghouse Website is Here  

Many of the other items are relatively simple, provided you have access to the information if not you may need to reach out to others to get the information. 

Here are the items that are of potential difficulty. 

• Writing your "Policies & Procedures" - While this is an exercise in writing, it also demonstrates that you understand your responsibilities and you have taken the time to write down how you intend to function as a WSC in accordance with the iBudget and APD guidance provided. 
• Florida Business Registration and Articles of Incorporation. This takes time because you should incorporate to allow for legal protection as well as identifying you as a formal business and organization. Also depending on how you organize it may have large tax implications and may be required to get your Liability Insurance. 
•  Copy of Declaration Pages of General or Professional Liability business Insurance This says General Liability However, you should consider Professional Liability otherwise known as "Errors & Ommissions" Insurance. There are very few of the BIG insurance companies that will insure you. The primary reason is they have NO IDEA what you do and they are typically stuck with only insuring the types of businesses that fit into their "drop down" on the forms they use to provide quotes. Very important to make sure they do not classify you as something you are not. We found our quote at CPHINS.com 
•  Pre-service training and other requirements: If you need training you can work through your APD representative or enrollment specialist and schedule Pre-service Training. 

These are the primary items. to be concerned about. Of Course until you submit the application and then you have another waiting game. Waiting on APD to process the enrollment. That is another story completely. 

Become a Waiver Support Coordinator

One of the many things that people ask me is, "What is a Waiver Support Coordinator"? This is a very good question because it is a real job and a very rewarding job and the easiest way I can explain it is by defining some of the terms and then giving a basic overview of what my job responsibilities are.

Under Medicaid there are a few different waivers and the one I specifically deal with is the Home and Community Based Settings Waiver. This is a Waiver that provides assistance to individuals with developmental disabilities. The work I do falls under the Agency for Persons with Disabilities (APD), which became an agency separate from the Department of Children and Families in 2004, specifically tasked with serving the needs of Floridians with developmental disabilities. APD Website

My purpose is to assist individuals on the waiver to find services and assist them in acquiring the support they need.  Another good resource that helps to define the responsibilities of a Waiver Support Coordinator is located here Support Coordination FAQ

If you are here then you perhaps are wanting to know how to become a Waiver Support Coordinator. If that is the case I will document the steps I have had to take and the challenges I have ran into as I started and became a Waiver Support Coordinator.

The main thing to know is that every aspect of becoming a Wavier Support Coordinator is covered in detail on the APD Website, which includes the details of what you need to submit as a SOLO or AGENCY WSC. However you will also need business senses and and understanding of the things that go into running a business in general.