HCBS Lifespan Project

A Path for Me logo showing a drawing of two mountain peaks The DHHS Office of Aging and Disability Services (OADS), the Office of Child and Family Services (OCFS), and the Office of MaineCare Services (OMS), are working together on an exciting project to develop a new Lifespan Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) option to support Maine people living with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) and/or Autism to meet their changing needs as they transition through various stages of life.

The goals of the project include assisting individuals with IDD and/or Autism and their families in ways that:

Offer more flexibility to address goals and needs that naturally change across the lifespan.
Improve transition and in-home support services to support a successful transition from childhood to adulthood.
Use new ideas that work to support access to innovative services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families.

Project Milestones

This page will be the central hub for information about the HCBS Lifespan project, including interested party engagement forums and other ways to be involved in the project’s development.

Coming Soon:

Lifespan Overview and Updates: Wednesday, January 21, 3:00-4:30 pm
- This session will provide an overview of the proposed waiver and review what has changed since the last series of presentations. Please register to attend here: https://mainestate.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_NaT4BZ_SSTeHTVay0CsB9w

The Role of the SIS-A Assessment in the Lifespan Waiver Design: Friday January 23, 11:00-12:30 pm
- This session will describe the purpose and use of the SIS-A assessment to inform levels of supports needs. Please register to attend here: https://mainestate.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Mo2bJ7LbRK2EZQYEhc8Ixw

Next Steps (dates To Be Announced):

Public comment period on the waiver
Submission and review by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)
Waiver approval by CMS

Lifespan Reimbursement Rates Public Hearing and Comment Period

A rate study that has been underway since fall 2023 was released at a public hearing on April 14, 2025. For more information on the hearing, the rate structure, a recording of that hearing, rates comments and the posting of final rates, follow these instructions:

Visit the MaineCare Rate System Reform page.
Click the dropdown for the section “CY 2024 Rate Determination – in Progress”.
Scroll to the table with the header: 18, 20, 21, 29, HCBS for Individuals with Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities or Autism & New Lifespan Waiver.
All relevant materials will be posted here when available.

A Focus on Youth in Transition, Ages 14-21

We have consistently received feedback that youth and their families need assistance navigating from high school transition services to adult services provided by OADS.

For more information, please visit the Transition Planning webpage.

A Path for ME SIS-A^™ Assessment and Person-Centered Planning

Closely linked to the Lifespan project is the implementation of a new needs assessment for Maine people living with IDD and Autism. This is expected to provide high-quality, reliable, and consistent information about the support needs of waiver members and those on the waitlist. This information will help shape how the Lifespan project is designed, along with a primary focus on identifying the strengths of individuals with IDD, their families, and their communities. This will be done through strengths-based Person-Centered Planning, which will focus on helping people with intellectual and developmental disabilities achieve the lives they want and be valued members of their communities.

You can learn more about the new needs assessment here: