Waivers
What are Indiana's HCBS waivers?
- Family Supports Waiver (FSW)
- Indiana's non-residential IDD waiver: limited supports for children and adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities living with family or informal supports — day habilitation, respite, behavioral support, therapies, participant assistance, transportation. Current version effective December 31, 2025.
- Community Integration and Habilitation Waiver (CIH)
- The residential-level IDD waiver: everything FSW covers plus Residential Habilitation and Support (supported-living services). Entry is needs-based — applicants must meet a priority criterion such as caregiver death or incapacity, aging out of state care, or an approved extraordinary health-and-safety risk, and a funded slot must be available.
- Health and Wellness Waiver
- Created July 1, 2024 when Indiana split the former Aged and Disabled Waiver into Health and Wellness (ages 59 and younger, nursing-facility level of care) and PathWays for Aging (60 and older, managed care). Helps people remain in their own homes or leave nursing facilities.
- The Family Supports Waiver uses a single statewide waiting list worked in application-date order, with priority carve-outs (for example, dependents of active-duty military and veterans, and students leaving school settings). Indiana does not publish a current FSW headcount on a primary source.
- As of July 2026, the state's own waitlist page reports the Health and Wellness Waiver at 16,127 allocated slots with 7,002 people waiting (700 invitations sent that month), and PathWays for Aging at 38,842 slots with 11,277 waiting.
- A 'Waiver Reset' is underway: FSSA plans to replace the four current BDS waivers with a Youth Waiver (targeted July 2027) and new adult waivers (targeted 2028); current recipients will not need to reapply. A contracted case-management-organization model takes effect August 1, 2026.
Agencies
Who runs services in Indiana?
- FSSA — Division of Disability, Aging and Rehabilitative Services (Bureau of Disabilities Services)
- Administers the FSW, CIH, Health & Wellness, and TBI waivers through eight district offices — families apply for IDD waivers at their local BDS district office.
- Indiana Medicaid
- Medicaid eligibility itself — a separate application from the waiver — plus direct operation of the PathWays for Aging managed-care program.
- First Steps (Bureau of Child Development Services)
- Indiana's early-intervention program for children from birth to age three with developmental delays or disabilities.
- Indiana Department of Education — Office of Special Education
- The state education agency for special education and Indiana's Article 7 rules.
Aging parents
Caring for an aging parent in Indiana
- PathWays for Aging
- Indiana's Medicaid managed long-term-care program for Hoosiers 60 and over. It launched July 1, 2024 for more than 123,000 eligible Hoosiers, and the PathWays HCBS Waiver replaced the Aged and Disabled Waiver for that age group. Members contact one care coordinator who helps them reach services or find other resources. FSSA — launch of Indiana PathWays for Aging (July 1, 2024) (as of 2026-09)
- Health and Wellness Waiver (59 and under)
- The companion waiver created in the same July 2024 split, for people 59 and younger who need a nursing-facility level of care. Both waivers have a fixed number of federally approved slots, and a slot can only be used by one person during the waiver year — it is not re-used if a member leaves. FSSA — launch of Indiana PathWays for Aging (July 1, 2024) (as of 2026-09)
- Paying a family caregiver
- Since July 1, 2024, legally responsible individuals may no longer be paid to provide Attendant Care. FSSA offered affected members two routes: Structured Family Caregiving, or Attendant Care from a caregiver who is not a legally responsible individual. More than 1,700 members had a new approved service plan in place on the day the change took effect. FSSA — launch of Indiana PathWays for Aging (July 1, 2024) (as of 2026-09)
- Area Agencies on Aging (INconnect Alliance)
- The front door for older adults and their caregivers. FSSA's Bureau of Better Aging serves the state “in part through the INconnect Alliance's 15 Area Agencies on Aging/Aging and Disability Resource Centers”, which also handle Adult Protective Services referrals and Older Americans Act programs. FSSA Division of Aging (Bureau of Better Aging) (as of 2026-09)
School
What's specific about IEPs in Indiana?
- Indiana's special-education rules are 'Article 7' (511 IAC 7-32 through 7-50), and Indiana calls the IEP team the case conference committee (CCC).
- After written parental consent, the initial educational evaluation must be conducted and the CCC convened within 50 instructional days (511 IAC 7-40-5(d)).
- IN*SOURCE is Indiana's federally designated parent training and information center for families navigating special education.
Common questions
Common questions about care in Indiana
- How does the Family Supports Waiver waitlist work in Indiana?
- It is a single statewide list worked in application-date order, with priority carve-outs such as dependents of active-duty military and veterans and students leaving school settings. Indiana does not publish a current FSW headcount on a primary source.
- What changed for older Hoosiers in July 2024?
- The Aged and Disabled Waiver was split in two: PathWays for Aging, a managed-care program for people 60 and over, and the Health and Wellness Waiver for people 59 and younger. As of July 2026 the state reported 11,277 people waiting for PathWays and 7,002 for Health and Wellness.
- Can I be paid to care for my parent in Indiana?
- Not as an Attendant Care provider if you are a legally responsible individual — that ended July 1, 2024. FSSA named two routes instead: Structured Family Caregiving, or Attendant Care provided by someone who is not a legally responsible individual.
- Who is on an IEP team in Indiana, and how fast must the school act?
- Indiana calls the team the case conference committee. After written parental consent, the initial educational evaluation must be conducted and the committee convened within 50 instructional days (511 IAC 7-40-5(d)).
Sources: FSSA BDS Medicaid HCBS waivers (as of 2026-07) · FSSA HCBS waiver waiting-list information (as of 2026-07) · FSSA BDS Waiver Reset (as of 2026-07) · IDOE special-education laws (Article 7) (as of 2026-07) · 511 IAC 7-40-5 (evaluation timeline) (as of 2026-07). General information, not legal or benefits advice.