You live in Virginia, your child has an autism diagnosis and people around you mentions “the waiver?” Suddenly there are three of them, a waitlist with thousands of names, and an agency you’ve never heard of holding the keys. Welcome to one of the most confusing corners of Virginia’s disability system.
The Virginia Developmental Disabilities (DD) waiver is actually three Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services waivers: Community Living (CL), Family and Individual Supports (FIS), and Building Independence (BI). They fund support for people with developmental disabilities, including autism, so they can live at home or in the community instead of an institution. All three are administered through your local Community Services Board (CSB), all three have a needs-based waitlist (not first-come-first-served), and eligibility is built on diagnosis, function, and priority level.
What the Virginia DD Waiver Actually Is
The Virginia DD waiver isn’t one program. It’s a three-tier system jointly run by the Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS) and the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS). The “waiver” part means the federal government waives the rule that Medicaid only pays for institutional care, letting Virginia fund supports that help people avoid living in a nursing home or other institution.
A 2023 Autism Family Resources review notes that families often confuse the DD waiver with private insurance ABA coverage. They’re separate funding streams that can stack. The waiver covers supports private insurance won’t.
The Three Waivers, Side by Side
These are three waivers that will support the needs of people with developmental disabilities:
Community Living (CL) Waiver — The most comprehensive tier. Formerly known as the Intellectual Disability Waiver, CL is built for individuals who need substantial daily support, including round-the-clock residential or complex medical and behavioral care. It funds the full menu: residential supports, skilled nursing, intensive crisis services, and broader respite hours.
Family and Individual Supports (FIS) Waiver — The middle tier. FIS works for children and adults who live at home with family but need functional, behavioral, or medical supports. Most kids with autism whose families pursue a waiver end up here. It covers in-home support, day services, assistive technology, environmental modifications, therapeutic consultation, and respite — without the 24-hour residential piece.
Building Independence (BI) Waiver — The light-support tier, available only to adults 18 and older. It assumes the person can live mostly independently and just needs help with employment, community access, or limited personal assistance.
For young autistic children, the relevant waivers are almost always CL or FIS. BI becomes a transition consideration later.
Eligibility: Three Boxes to Check
To qualify for any Virginia DD waiver, the applicant must meet diagnostic, functional, and financial criteria. Here’s what each one means in practice.
- Diagnostic. The person must have a developmental disability under Virginia’s legal definition: a severe, chronic disability that began before age 22 and causes substantial functional limitations. An autism diagnosis from a licensed psychologist, developmental pediatrician, or neurologist qualifies.
- Functional. A Support Coordinator administers the VIDES (Virginia Individual Developmental Disabilities Eligibility Survey) to measure daily-living function. The Arc of Virginia advises families to describe how the individual would perform if they had no supports, no parents, family, or caregivers around. This is the single most important interview tip parents miss.
- Financial. Here’s a fact that surprises most families: for children under 18, only the child’s income and resources count, not the parents’. Middle and upper-middle-class families regularly qualify.
Your First Call: The Community Services Board
Every Virginia DD waiver application starts at the local Community Services Board Virginia office. There are 40 CSBs covering every locality in the state, and your CSB handles screening, the VIDES, the waitlist intake, and ongoing support coordination once you receive a slot. Move Up ABA’s Virginia services page covers how ABA fits alongside waiver-funded supports while families navigate this process.
Ask explicitly for a “Developmental Disability Waiver Screening”, not a generic intake. The wording matters.
The Waitlist Reality
Here’s the part nobody softens. As of mid-2025, there were 19,924 individuals assigned a waiver slot and a total waitlist of 14,258 across Virginia. The DD waiver waitlist Virginia uses isn’t chronological. It’s needs-based, assigned by priority level after the CSB completes a Priority Needs Checklist:
- Priority 1 — Individual is actively experiencing a crisis and needs services within a year
- Priority 2 — Significant unmet need; would benefit from services soon
- Priority 3 — Eligible but no urgent crisis; longer wait expected
Slots open based on the state budget. Waiver Slot Assignment Committees (WSACs), panels of trained community volunteers, review anonymized cases and recommend who gets newly funded slots. Priority 1 candidates are reviewed first.
A Real Scenario
Consider a Fairfax family with a 4-year-old recently diagnosed with autism. They contact their CSB, get a VIDES, and are placed on the waitlist as Priority 2. While waiting, they apply for the Individual and Family Support Program (IFSP), which gives flat-rate funding to people on the waitlist. The family also uses Virginia Medicaid’s EPSDT benefit (separate from the waiver) to access ABA therapy through a managed care plan. Two years later, increased behavioral and medical needs shift the child to Priority 1, and an FIS slot is offered. The waiver then adds respite, assistive tech funding, and therapeutic consultation on top of the ABA already in place. That stacking, Medicaid for therapy, waiver for everything else, is the financial picture most prepared families end up building.
What the Waiver Pays For (Once You Have It)
Both CL and FIS commonly fund: personal assistance, respite care, in-home supports, assistive technology, environmental modifications, therapeutic consultation, skilled nursing, private duty nursing, community engagement, supported employment (for adults), and crisis services. Our services overview explains how in-home ABA therapy operates alongside many of these waiver-funded supports rather than competing with them.
ABA therapy itself is more often covered through Virginia Medicaid’s EPSDT benefit for children under 21 than through the waiver directly, but waiver-funded therapeutic consultation can support ABA goals at home. Move Up’s team page covers how BCBAs coordinate with Support Coordinators on this overlap.
The Steps for Applying
- Find your local CSB on the DBHDS website
- Request a DD Waiver Screening
- Complete the VIDES with your Support Coordinator
- Complete the Priority Needs Checklist
- Get placed on the statewide waitlist
- Apply for IFSP funding while waiting
- Renew documentation annually; update priority if needs change
Move Up ABA’s FAQ page addresses common questions families have during the wait, especially around starting therapy before waiver approval.
The waiver process is long, paperwork-heavy, and emotional, but it isn’t something you have to figure out alone. If your child has an autism diagnosis and you’re trying to map out how ABA, EPSDT, and the Virginia waiver eligibility for autism all fit together, our Virginia and Maryland team can walk through where therapy can start now and how to coordinate it with your CSB once a slot opens. Poke us and we’ll help you build the plan, not just the paperwork.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q: How do I apply for the Virginia DD waiver?
A: Contact your local Community Services Board and request a Developmental Disability Waiver Screening. A Support Coordinator will complete the VIDES and Priority Needs Checklist to place you on the statewide waitlist.
Q: How long is the wait for a Virginia DD waiver?
A: Wait times vary by priority level and locality. Priority 1 (crisis-level need) cases are often offered slots within a year; Priority 2 and 3 cases can wait several years depending on state budget allocations.
Q: Does the Virginia DD waiver cover ABA therapy?
A: ABA therapy for children is usually covered through Virginia Medicaid’s EPSDT benefit rather than the waiver itself. The waiver funds related supports like therapeutic consultation, respite, and in-home assistance.
Q: What’s the difference between CL, FIS, and BI waivers?
A: CL is for those needing the most intensive support, including residential care. FIS is for those living at home who need moderate functional, behavioral, or medical support. BI is for adults 18+ who live mostly independently with light supports.
Q: Do parents’ income or assets affect a child’s Virginia waiver eligibility?
A: No. For applicants under 18, only the child’s own income and resources are counted, not the parents’. Many middle-income families qualify.
Q: Can my child receive any services while on the DD waiver waitlist?
A: Yes. The Individual and Family Support Program (IFSP) provides flat-rate funding for people on the waitlist. Children may also access ABA, speech, and other therapies through Medicaid EPSDT independent of the waiver.
Sources:
https://dbhds.virginia.gov/developmental-services/waiver-services/
https://law.lis.virginia.gov/admincode/title12/agency30/chapter122/section90/
https://dbhds.virginia.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Developmental-Disability-Waivers-2026.pdf
https://www.thearcofva.org/developmental-disabilities-waiver
