Vermont Agency of Human Services Programs

Adult Family Care is a 24-hour care and support option in Choices for Care in which participants live-in and receive services from an Adult Family Care (AFC) Home. As part of this option, AFC Home Providers are authorized a respite budget to manage to provide planned breaks or respond to unplanned situations.

In 1991, the Department of Aging and Disabilities and the Department of Social Welfare began the operation of a three-year pilot project offering community-based rehabilitative services. The goal of this program was to divert people from facility placement and/or return Vermonters with a moderate to severe traumatic brain injury from out-of-state facilities. Prior to the development of this service, people were placed in expensive out of state facilities, often there for years, with little hope of returning to their home communities. The project demonstrated that individuals with a moderate to severe traumatic brain injury participating in the pilot were able to be served appropriately in community-based settings.

Sometimes children under the age of 21 need extra help with their daily self-care routine. Children’s Personal Care Services may be able to help families and caregivers to pay for one-on-one assistance for a child needing assistance with dressing, bathing, grooming, toileting, eating and/or mobility.

Choices for Care (High/Highest) provides a package of long-term services and supports to Vermonters who are age 18 years and over and need nursing home level of care. People who need nursing home level of care typically require extensive or total assistance on a daily basis with personal care. Eligible people choose where to receive their services: in their home, in their family’s home, an Adult Family Care home, Enhanced Residential Care or nursing facility. People must meet a clinical and financial eligibility for long-term care Medicaid in Vermont.

The primary funding source for adults with developmental disabilities is home and community-based services (HCBS) funded under the Global Commitment to Health Medicaid Waiver. HCBS services are tailored to the individual’s specific needs and based on an individualized budget and person-centered plan. Children and transition age youth with developmental disabilities and the most intensive needs may also be eligible for HCBS.  Supports for children and their families may include: Service Coordination, Community Supports, Employment Services, Respite and Supervised Living (also known as In-Home Family Supports). Other services may be available as well.

Family Managed Respite (FMR) provides family caregivers a break in ongoing care for children and young adults, under age 21, who have an identified mental health condition or developmental disability. Respite can be used as needed, either planned or in response to a crisis. It can also be used to create a break for the normal routine for the child with a disability.

The Attendant Services Program (ASP) supports personal care services for adults with a “severe and permanent disability” who need physical assistance with activities of daily living (such as bathing, getting dressed and eating) to remain in their homes. Applicants must be able to direct their own attendant care services.

Coverage for Attendant Services is through Vermont Medicaid. People who are not eligible for Medicaid may be eligible for General Funds coverage, if funds are available.