DC is in the process of rolling out an exciting new way to offer services and supports to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Traditionally, these services and supports were provided by agencies. People didn’t necessarily have a choice in terms of who came to their home to help them, and people didn’t have direct control over how their support budget was spent.

This is changing with the My Life, My Way program. This is a participant-directed services program that gives people more control over their supports. People who choose this program can:

· Manage their own services and supports budget,

· Hire and train their own supporters, and

· Pay for other things that improve their health and quality of life, such as a gym membership, fees and tickets to activities in the community, or a cleaning service.

This is an exciting program for eligible people who want more flexibility and control over their services budget. While it’s not yet available to everyone who gets DDS services, we hope that it will soon be expanded.

Who can join the program

Right now, people can join My Life, My Way if they are on the Individual and Family Supports waiver. This waiver is only available to people who live in a natural home (not housing funded by DDS) and whose services cost less than $75,000 per year. This means people need to have a low or moderate level of support need.

Anyone in the My Life, My Way program also needs to be able to take a leading role in managing their budget and hiring and firing staff, either by themselves or with support. This can include people who get support through a supported decision-making agreement, power of attorney, or guardian.

How It Works

People in the My Life, My Way program are connected to someone called a support broker. The support broker meets with you to develop a budget that is based on your support needs and the things that matter most to you.

Making a budget

The budget will be based on what you need. For example, if you need a lot of help with day-to-day activities, your budget will be higher than if you only need a little help. All of your home- and community-based services you get through DDS will have to come out of that budget.

The budget can pay for a lot of different things. It can be used to pay for any of the supports that you already get through the waiver – except for room and board. But it also can be used to pay for a new set of things, called Individual-Directed Goods and Services. These are things that would help you live in the community, that you can’t otherwise afford and aren’t already paid for by some other program. That can include:

· A gym membership

· A cleaning or laundry service

· Electric toothbrushes

· Fees for clubs and activities in the community – like membership in a soccer club, or tuition for art classes

· A security deposit for an apartment

· Adaptive equipment that is not already covered by some other program

· Kitchen tools that help you prepare meals safely

· Therapeutic activities, like swimming or horseback riding.

Managing your budget

Once you know how much you have to spend, you can work with the support broker to figure out how to spend it. You get to decide based on what’s most important to you.

For example, suppose you need help with an exercise routine to keep you healthy. Traditionally, people would get this help through Wellness Services: someone can meet with you once a week and help you learn good exercise habits. With My Life, My Way, you can say that you’d rather join a gym. Because joining a gym is cheaper, you can use the money you save on some other cost that the waiver covers – like transportation.

The support broker will also help you understand how to hire and manage your own staff. Suppose you use in-home supports to help you. Right now, you may get those supports from an agency. You may feel that you’d be happier if you could hire and train your own supporters. This could help you develop a longer-term support relationship with someone you really trust and get along with. You could even hire and pay someone you already know, like a sibling or a friend who you know would do a good job, but who couldn’t otherwise afford to miss out on other paid work.

Hiring your own staff comes with a lot of responsibility. You need to look at your budget to see how many hours you can afford and how much you can afford to pay people. You need to train your staff. You also need to follow DC laws for how to treat employees, and pay taxes as a DC employer. Support brokers can help you understand how to do this.

Managing Staff

Hiring your own staff means that you’re an employer. This comes with a lot of responsibilities. You will have to follow DC laws on how to treat employees and make sure special taxes get paid. The support broker can help you do this.

If you decide that you don’t like having to manage everything, you can have a personal representative do it. That should be someone you trust, like a friend or family member, who is willing to manage your services. You can also decide at any time to go back to traditional waiver services.

When Will This Be Available for People in the IDD Waiver?

Right now, DDS has only introduced this option for the IFS waiver. It’s possible that they will expand the program in coming years. If you are in the IDD waiver and think that this program would help you, please share your story with us. These stories can be helpful for advocacy.

Learn More

To learn more about My Life, My Way, you can talk to your case manager or reach out to Quality Trust’s team of navigators. Quality Trust is also here to help you if you have concerns about your experience with the program.