An Examination of Issues Related to How HCBS Programs Operate Within Fixed Budgets and to the Administrative Linkages Between Eligibility Determination, Needs Assessment and Care Planning Functions

This paper reports the findings of an exploratory study to document and analyze selected best practices related to state-administered home and community-based services (HCBS) programs. What the programs look like and how they work provided the context for examining two interrelated areas of policy interest: (1) how states organize and deliver a range of HCBS within fixed budgets, what mechanisms they use to manage program resources, and how they deal with actual or projected budget shortfalls in relation to demand for service; and (2) how eligibility determination, needs assessment, care planning and service authorization functions are structured and linked to one another administratively. [74 PDF pages]