Services

The majority of the persons served by The Arc Tampa Bay are dually served by the Agency for Persons with Disabilities’ Home and Community Based Medicaid Waiver program. Individuals who are funded through this program are case managed by a Waiver Support Coordinator who is usually the first link in arranging day program, residential, employment and other services for your family member. Waiver support coordinators are charged with developing each individual’s cost plan in order to procure funding for the services the individual is requesting along with input from their circle of support. The Arc Tampa Bay works closely with local waiver support coordinators regarding individuals who are referred to us to ensure proper information is communicated about our current programs and our intake process. We encourage individuals, families and care givers to work with their waiver support coordinator first prior to contacting us as the funding system may seem difficult to navigate.

For more information about the Agency for Persons with Disabilities, visit their website at:(http://apd.myflorida.com/).

To apply for services from the Agency for Persons with Disabilities (APD), submit an application to one of the local APD offices either by mail or in person. The locations of the local APD offices can be found at the link here: (http://www.apd.myflorida.com/region/suncoast/).

The local APD office can assist individuals with the application process. The application can be found online at (http://www.apd.myflorida.com/customers/application/).

In order to be eligible for services, an individual must have a developmental disability which occurs prior to age 18. Disabilities served include Intellectual Disability, Autism, Spina Bifida, Cerebral Palsy, Prader-Willi syndrome, Down syndrome, or individuals between the ages of 3-5 at high risk for a developmental disability. As part of the application process, APD will request proof of a developmental disability diagnosis. If you have the proof of eligibility that you can provide with your application, it will streamline the eligibility review process. Otherwise, APD will assist you in obtaining the information. Documentation of a developmental disability may include, but is not limited to school records, testing, or medical records.

After applying, and if you have been found eligible to receive services, you will be placed on a waiting list based on the date you were determined eligible as well as prioritized by category. The Waiting List Prioritization Tool is the mechanism by which the agency will determine who will receive offers for waiver enrollment when the agency has funding for enrolling individuals on the waiting list to the waiver. Please note that the Agency for Persons with Disabilities has over 18,000 individuals on a list waiting to receive waiver services, many who have been waiting several years. To learn more about the Waiting List Priority Categorization, go to this link to APD’s website:

(http://apdcares.org/customers/waitlist/).

Waiver applicants who are in a crisis situation (homeless, danger to self or others, or caregiver unable to give care) should contact the Agency for Persons with Disabilities regional office serving their county. The local regional office may be able to provide short term services and will review the situation and determine if a crisis application should be completed.   For information regarding crisis criteria, please visit the Florida Administrative Code & Florida Administrative Register website at: https://www.flrules.org/gateway/ChapterHome.asp?Chapter=65G-1

The Arc Tampa Bay will work with families who wish to privately pay for services. Typically, those services tend to be participating in our Adult Day Program or Employment Services. The majority of our Residential Services are in Group Home Settings, which are cost prohibitive for most families to privately pay. For those individuals who are interested in residential supports and are fairly independent in their skills of daily living, we do offer the Waterfall Apartment Program. If there is a vacancy, the Waterfall Apartment Program does not have a waiting list and the costs for participation are minimal.

If you are out of school and looking for supports to assist you in securing employment, you may be able to more quickly access services from Vocational Rehabilitation, (VR). The link here (http://www.rehabworks.org/) will take you to the VR website which will give you the number to call to apply for services.

If you live elsewhere and are receiving Medicaid Waiver services in another state, your waiver services will not transfer to Florida. You will still be eligible for Medicaid State Plan services after establishing residency in Florida, but waiver services do not transfer from state to state.

Once you move to Florida, you can apply for services through one of the APD regional offices. Contact information for each office can be found by going to the Agency for Persons with Disabilities website at: (http://www.apd.myflorida.com/region/).

After applying, and if you have been found eligible to receive services, you will be placed on a waiting list based on the date you were determined eligible. The Agency for Persons with Disabilities suggests that you and your family may want to consider the services that are being received now, and determine if you would be able to go without those services for an extended period of time after relocating to Florida. There are currently over 18,000 individuals who are waiting to receive waiver services from the Agency for Persons with Disabilities.

At a minimum, it will most likely be years before services would begin, unless crisis criteria are met. Waiver applicants who are in a crisis situation (homeless, danger to self or others, or caregiver unable to give care) should contact the Agency for Persons with Disabilities regional office serving their county. The local regional office may be able to provide short term services and will review the situation and determine if a crisis application should be completed. For information regarding crisis criteria, please visit the Florida Administrative Code & Florida Administrative Register website at: https://www.flrules.org/gateway/ChapterHome.asp?Chapter=65G-1

Please feel free to contact us about any of our services or how to navigate the application process for Agency for Persons with Disabilities or other state agencies.

You can call our main number at 727-799-3330 and the operator will refer you to someone to answer your questions. You can also complete the contact form: (https://thearctb.org/contact/)