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Children’s Long-Term Support (CLTS) Provider Handbook

Section 6: Connecting With County Waiver Agencies (CWAs)

The CLTS Program relies on collaborative teamwork among participants, families, and professionals to support participant outcomes. County waiver agencies (CWAs) work directly with providers, participants, and families.

What is a county waiver agency (CWA)?

DHS contracts with Wisconsin counties to locally implement the CLTS Program. County waiver agencies refer to the local county government and any subcontracted entities that the county contracts with to implement the CLTS program. 

CWAs determine participant eligibility, provide support and service coordination, authorize services, and monitor participant outcomes. Some counties subcontract with an agency to provide support and service coordination. Others hire support and service coordinators as county employees.

What is a support and service coordinator (SSC)?

All participants in the CLTS Program work with a support and service coordinator (SSC), assigned by the CWA. These professionals are a provider’s main contacts in the CLTS Program. SSCs work with families and participants to create person-centered service plans, using the participants’ strengths, goals, and needs to create a plan of services and supports to achieve their individual outcomes. Person-centered planning focuses on the child’s strengths and abilities, respects participant and family choice, embraces the dignity of risk, supports decision making, and promotes community inclusion. In the CLTS Program, service planning is done through a process called Deciding Together (Section 7: Connecting with Participants and Families). SSCs communicate regularly with participants and families, checking in on how services and supports outlined in service planning are meeting outcomes.

How do providers and SSCs work together in the CLTS Program?

SSCs work with participants and families to find providers who best fit the participant-centered outcomes defined in the service planning process. SSCs also work with providers to:

  • Communicate information regarding the service plan, called an Individualized Service Plan (ISP). ISPs are re-evaluated at a minimum every six months and recertified yearly. Services and supports can change based on team decisions.
  • Address concerns quickly and respectfully.
  • Ensure documentation is accurate.
  • Ensure the services or supports being provided align with the ISP.
  • Service providers that meet the definition of an essential provider will also need to sign and receive the ISP.

All CLTS Program participants and families must be given a choice of qualified service providers. SSCs inform participants of their right to choose willing and qualified providers during initial service planning, ISP review, and ISP recertification. The information given to a participant and family must include a description of all qualified providers available for the services the participant is authorized to receive, as listed in the CLTS Provider Directory.

Open communication between providers and SSCs is essential to make sure that providers are a good fit for the participant and family, providers are delivering services that follow the ISP, and participants are receiving the personalized support they need to meet their outcomes.

How do I connect with CWAs?

While the CLTS Program Directory is the primary tool SSCs, participants, and families use to connect with providers, the CLTS Provider Registry does not alert CWAs when a new provider enrolls.

It’s important for newly enrolled CLTS providers to reach out to CWAs about the services and supports they offer. CWAs can provide helpful information that may be unique to the county. Providers should communicate that they are newly enrolled providers to CWAs to build relationships with SSCs, learn more about the needs in the community, and share their service expertise. This helps ensure SSCs can support participants and families in finding providers who best fit their unique outcomes.

You can find an alphabetized list of CWA contacts by county on the Programs for Children with Delays and Disabilities: County Contact Information webpage.

While providers should connect with CWAs and SSCs, CWAs can’t require signed agreements or contracts with providers for CLTS Program services or as a pre-condition for service authorization. CWAs can access a provider’s information, enrollment status, and qualification documentation via the CLTS Provider Registry. It’s important to keep contact, service, and business website information up to date on the CLTS Provider Registry so CWAs and SSCs can easily find you.

How are services authorized?

When service planning is complete and the team has decided on services and supports for the participants, SSCs reach out to providers who best fit the participant and family. If the provider has the capacity and availability to deliver the service or supports, the CWA issues authorization for services called Prior Authorization (PA).

  • PAs and instructions on how to find them are located in the ForwardHealth Portal.
  • The PA will include the specifics of the services. The provider should review the PA for accuracy and communicate to CWA any errors. The PA will have start and stop dates, units, and rates.
  • Even when a PA is issued, providers should check a participant’s eligibility in the ForwardHealth Portal before providing every service.
  • CWAs may authorize service delivery for a provider only for the service(s) that DHS has qualified them for and not for any other services.

Glossary