On Call/Emergency Line 1-855-344-5993
Member Services
3 easy steps to getting started!
Individuals with developmental disabilities who are already members of the Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD) and covered by Arizona Long Term Care Services ALTCS) can utilize our agency for their authorized home and community-based services.
There’s 3 easy steps to getting started!
Once these three steps are completed, your Area Manager can help you get started with a provider.
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Check out our 3 easy steps for getting started below.
3 easy steps to getting started!
Once these three steps are completed, your Area Manager can help you get started with a provider.
Reach Out To YourArea Manager
Reach Out To Your DDD Support Coordinator
Complete The New Member Intake Form
Step 1
Reach Out to Your
Area Manager
Step 1
If you would like to receive your habilitation, respite or attendant care services at Absolute HCBS, start by reaching out to an Area Manager in your area. If you do not see your area listed, please reach out directly to our Director of Area Management.
There are three ways to get connected to a provider.
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Your Area Manager can facilitate a match between your member and an existing Absolute provider; based on your member’s preferences and service plan.
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You can “bring your own provider” to the agency. If you already work with a provider, we are happy to offer them competitive employment. Our providers can be hired specifically for certain members – many families have a friend, adult family member, teacher, aide, neighbor etc. who is already supporting the member. We can hire eligible referrals to fulfill the member’s services.
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Per DDD/AHCCCS guidelines and programs, we can hire parent providers to fulfill their children’s habilitation and attendant care services. Parent providers may be subject to guidelines and restrictions.
Step 2
Reach Out to Your
DDD Support Coordinator
Step 2
Your DDD support coordinator needs to send your member’s authorizations (auths) to Absolute HCBS in order for us begin and continue services.
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If you do not have an agency, you can tell your support coordinator that you would like to fulfill your respite, habilitation and attendant care services (if applicable) at Absolute HCBS. Please allow 1-5 business days for the support coordinator to process the request, send the auths, and for Absolute to accept the auths.
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If you are already with an HCBS agency and would like to have your services also fulfilled by Absolute HCBS; request the number and type of hours you would like your support coordinator to authorize. Please allow 1-5 business days for the support coordinator to process the request, send the auths, and for Absolute to accept the auths.
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Members have the option of having their services fulfilled by multiple agencies, in entirety or split. Just be explicit when making your request to your support coordinator; ex. “I would like X number of HAH hours at agency 1 and X number of HAH hours at agency 2” or “I would like HAH hours at agency 1 and RSP hours at agency 2.”
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If you would like to switch HCBS agencies from an existing agency over to Absolute HCBS, please tell your support coordinator to move the existing auths over to Absolute HCBS. You may also want to notify your current agency that you would like to terminate your services, and request for them to release the auths back to your support coordinator. Please allow 1-5 business days for the agency to release the auths, the support coordinator to process the request, send the auths, and for Absolute to accept the auths.
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Our Area Managers are happy to assist you with requesting your service auths.
Step 3
Complete The New
Member Intake Form
Step 3
Once Absolute HCBS has received and accepted your member’s auths; you will be prompted to complete in-take paperwork. This includes but is not limited to:
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Review of the Person-Centered Service Plan (PCSP)
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Completion of the Pre-service Provider Orientation (PSPO)
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Review of behavior plan (if applicable)
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EVV Guardian/designee account set up
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Member back up plan
OUR SERVICES INCLUDE
Habilitation
Provides methods and training to increase a member’s ability to become more independent and improve upon lifeskills.
Respite Care
Provides relief to parents, primary caregivers, and natural supports with short term care.
Attendant Care
Provides a member with assistance for personal care tasks, home tasks or specialized supervision.
How Does Habilitation Work?
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To obtain HAH, your DDD Support Coordinator will complete an assessment. Come prepared ready to discuss 3-6 goals that the member would like to learn over the next 90, 180 or 365 days.
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HAH goals are unique to the member, no one has the same HAH goals.
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Our Area Managers can help you with writing robust HAH goals.
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Depending on the number of goals and the time it takes to work on each goal, your Support Coordinator will allocate you weekly HAH hours.
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HAH hours must be used each week; unused HAH hours do not roll over each week or “bank”.
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Providers working with a member on a HAH goal measure accuracy, prompting and frequency each session. These notes are given to the Support Coordinator and are used to help determine goal mastery, any necessary revisions, level of assistance and overall progress.
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At least once a year, your Support Coordinator will review the goals and HAH hours with you. You can always request changes to your Person-Centered Service Plan during your regularly scheduled DDD meetings.
How Does Respite Care Work?
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All DDD/ALTCS members are entitled to 600 hours of respite each year.
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The respite year is from October 1st – Sept 30th; respite hours are reset on Oct 1st, and any hours not used by Sep 30th will not roll over.
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Members and their families can use respite hours however they wish. Some families use them each week, others as needed.
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Sometimes Support Coordinators will authorize a small amount of respite hours at a time versus all of them at once upfront. This is done to help members & families pace themselves. If you need more hours, you can just ask your Support Coordinator to authorize additional hours up to the 600 hour limit.
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If a member uses all of their respite hours before the end of the respite year, then they are not eligible for additional hours until Oct.1st when the respite year resets.
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Respite gives the primary caregiver a chance to do things outside of caring for the member. Some families use respite to care for other children or family members, participate in activities they enjoy, complete chores, exercise, or relax. When a caregiver can’t be in two places at once, respite can help.
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Respite can be performed at home or in the community.
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Unlike HAH and ATC, respite services do not have progress notes to complete at the end of every visit.
How Does Attendant Care Work?
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To obtain ATC, your DDD Support Coordinator will complete an assessment. Be prepared to discuss what personal care, or home care tasks the member needs assistance with and how long it typically takes to complete those tasks.
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ATC tasks are universal, but each member has a unique combination of approved ATC activities and the time it takes to complete those tasks.
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Sometimes ATC activities are also common HAH goals. Typically, if a member has a HAH goal in one of these areas, they would not be eligible for ATC support in that area. In order to get ATC for that activity, the member would need to show that they aren’t make progress on the HAH goal, the HAH goal was removed, or that the member has long-term self-care needs that they cannot fulfill themselves.
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For members under 18, some of these personal care tasks are considered “typical”: such as changing a 2 year old’s diapers, assisting with bathing a 6 year old or dressing a 4 year old. When the need for personal care tasks out extends beyond typical self-care milestones, we tend to see an increase in ATC services, but each member’s ATC assessment is unique and specific to their family’s situation.
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Sometimes ATC is a temporary service due to family or member situations; such as if the primary caregiver or natural support is injured and unable to do these tasks as normal, or if the member has a temporary health concern that requires a higher level of personal care than normal (such as a surgery).
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ATC can be done at home or in the community (such as a workplace).
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ATC Supervision is a specialized ATC task that is utilized when the member is not able to participate in typical daycare, school or day programs etc. due to significant health and safety risks, placing a strain on the primary caregiver or natural supports. This may be due to previous removal from these programs, health concerns that require 24hr monitoring, high risk for elopement etc. Parent Providers are unable to provide ATC Supervision services.
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Members utilizing ATC must complete an ATC Monitoring visit every 90 days. At this visit, we need to verify that member’s needs are being adequately met (quality, health & safety). It is a brief 30 minute visit where the monitor observes the provider perform a simple, non-intrusive service that is part of the member’s ATC service plan. Before leaving, the monitor will confirm with the guardian that they are satisfied with the care being provided.
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Providers completing ATC services will chart and record the tasks completed during or after each visit.
Member Frequently Asked Questions
Can I have more than one provider?
Yes, you set the tone for your services! We are happy to work with you to find one provider who can cover all of your services, or you can have as many providers as you need/would like. The number of providers who are assigned to your member does not impact the quantity of services your member receives (ie. more providers does not equal more services).
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Please note that providers are able to work a maximum of 16 hours/24hours; regardless of agencies they work for. If your member requires 24 hour care; we can provide a daily rate to the provider for continuous care (which adjusts for the 8 hours “off/sleeping”), or we can have another provider give care for the 8 hours until the provider is able to return to work.
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This policy does not limit members from continuous care.
What if someone I know wants to be my provider?
We are happy to hire, train and work with a provider of your choice. All providers must be meet the minimum hiring and training requirements in order to provide services. This includes but is not limited to:
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Being at least 18 years old;
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Having at least 3 months experience with people with disabilities;
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Obtaining a Level 1 Arizona Fingerprint Clearance Card;
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Passing a background check;
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Obtaining CPR/First Aid/Article 9 certificates;
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Completing all additional trainings as necessary.
It is pretty common for members and families to refer their own providers to our agency. Sometimes if a member already has a caregiver who helps out (such as a sibling, relative or family friend), its just a few extra steps to hire them as a provider so that they can provide services. Providers are able to work with specific members and are able to have flexible schedules.
What if my parent wants to be my provider?
We are happy to hire, train and work with parent providers. Parent providers are subject to the same hiring and training requirements as non-parental providers.
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Per DDD and AHCCCS rules, parent providers are only allowed to bill attendant care (ATC) or habilitation (HAH) hours.
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Parent providers of minor children is allowable through September 2024. Parent providers of minor children may be subject to limitations starting November 13th, 2023 or later. The proposed limitation includes a 40 hour per week limit to be shared between qualified parent providers, per member, across all agencies that they work for. We will keep our members and parent providers up to date on this anticipated limitation as additional details become available.
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Parent providers of adult members is indefinitely allowable and is not subject to a weekly limit.
Can I use one provider at Absolute HCBS and another provider at a different agency?
You can do that! Members are entailed to Agency of Choice, and can utilize any of the DDD Qualified Vendors to fulfill their services.
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Your DDD Support Coordination can allocate your service authorizations based on your preferences. You can fulfill all of your services at one agency, or split types of services or the amount of hours per service among as many agencies as you want and need.
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Sometimes splitting the hours up too much can cause continuity of care issues, but it’s very common for families to move hours between agencies. For example, a member has 400 hours of RSP at Agency 1 and 200 hours at Agency 2; but all ATC hours at Agency 2 OR a member has HAH hours at Agency 1 and ATC at Agency 2 and RSP at Agency 3. Providers can work for multiple agencies.
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If your hours and providers are split among multiple agencies, please note that “double billing” is not allowed. For a member’s services, only one agency/provider is allowed to bill at one time for one service at a time.
What do I do if my provider cancels a shift?
Providers should contact the parent/guardian prior to missing a shift as soon as possible. Most of the time, providers and parents work on their schedules together; so there is frequent communication. If the member needs care but the regular provider is going to be unavailable, the parent/guardian can reach out to their Area Manager to make an alternative provider arrangement for that shift.
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Each year, your Area Managers works with the parent/guardian to complete an EVV Contingency (Back-Up) Plan.
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This plan lets us know what to do if your provider cancels or misses a shift. Sometimes care will just continue during the next regularly scheduled shift and other times the agency is required to provide care within 2 hours, 24 hours or 48 hours of the missed shift. These timelines are determined by the member’s preference.
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If a provider misses a shift, parents/guardians are encouraged to contact their Area Manager. If the missed shift causes an immediate health and safety concern for the member, parents/guardians can call the 24hr Emergency Line to reach the on-call administrator (1-855-344-5993).
How do get an EVV exemption?
All members and providers must participate in EVV (Electronic Visit Verification).
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Members may qualify for an alternative EVV system when one or more of the following is true for the member:
1. When the provider and the member live in a geographic area with limited, intermittent or no landline, cell, and internet service;
2. When the use of electronic devices would cause adverse physical or behavioral health side effects/symptoms to the member;
3. When the electronic visit verification modalities is refused by the member on the basis of moral or religious grounds;
4. When a member has a live-in provider or has a provider accessible on-site 24 hours and for whom the use of other visit verification modalities would be burdensome.
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If the member is approved for EVV accommodations based on one or more of the above criteria by the DDD Support Coordinator, then will utilize paper time sheets with a fixed device located within their home that can independently verify the date and time of service. These accommodations are limited and must be reviewed annually. All providers who work with the eligible member must participate in the alternative system when providing their services. All services must start and stop in the members home (where the device is located) in this case, which could be potentially limiting.
What other HCBS services does Absolute HCBS cover?
Absolute specializes in habilitation, respite, and attendant care. Our members may be entitled for a variety of other services including Behavioral Health Services, Day Support Services, Employment Services. Home Health Aides, Home Modifications, Home Nursing, Housing Opportunities, In-Home Support Services (Habilitation, Respite, Attendant Care, Homemaker, etc.), Medallion Program, Medical Insurance & Services, Respiratory Therapy, Therapies, and Transportation.
New to Arizona and disability services?
Apply for the Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD)
The Division of Developmental Disabilities empowers individuals with developmental disabilities to lead self-directed, healthy and meaningful lives. DDD provides supports and services for eligible Arizonans. DDD provides supports and services to individuals diagnosed with one of the following developmental disabilities:
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Autism;
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Cerebral palsy;
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Epilepsy;
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Cognitive / Intellectual Disability;
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Down Syndrome; or
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Are under the age of six and at risk of having a Developmental Disability
DDD serves more than 50,000 people with developmental disabilities and their families throughout Arizona each year.
DES DDD Customer Service Center
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ddcustomerservicecenter@azdes.gov
Toll Free (844) 770-9500 option 1
TTY/TDD 711
Fax: (602) 542-6870
Find your nearest office here.
Office Hours:
Monday – Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. (Arizona Time)
Closed on State Service Holidays
Apply for Arizona Long Term Care Services (ALTCS)
ALTCS is Arizona’s Medicaid program that provides long-term care services, at little or no cost, to financially and medically eligible Arizona residents who are aged, blind, disabled or have a developmental disability. This program is intended for individuals of any age who are determined to need ongoing services at an institutional level; members who qualify do not have to reside in an institutional care facility, most members live in their own homes or other community settings and receive their ongoing services there.
Contact AHCCCS ALTCS
Submit an application by email: altcsregistration@azahcccs.gov
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Call (888) 621-6880
Toll Free (888) 507-3313
Toll Free Local (602) 253-6385
Find your nearest office here.
Office Hours:
Monday – Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. (Arizona Time)
Closed on State Service Holidays