After months of delays filling the positions, Connecticut has hired three additional case managers for its autism waiver program, giving more families access to services.
The program funds home and community supports, including respite care, job coaching and live-in companions, which often aren't covered under private health insurance.
Those services can be transformative, helping recipients live more independently. However, those who are eligible face a long wait — some more than 10 years. Currently, 2,652 people are on a waiting list.
Connecticut Public reported last year that despite tremendous demand, hundreds of slots in the program are sitting empty, in part because the Department of Social Services (DSS) doesn't have enough case managers to onboard people. There also aren’t enough providers in the state for the type of specialized care the program offers.
The new hires, who began work in February, will speed up enrollment and bring dozens more families on board, said Christine Stuart, a spokesperson for DSS.
“We are in the process of filling the caseloads of the new hires and getting up to capacity,” Stuart said.
Case managers create personalized care plans and connect participants with providers. Ten currently staff the program. However, additional case managers are needed, said Susan Stange, manager of DSS waiver programs that provide home and community support.
“We still are waiting to have approval for some more case managers," Stange told the state's Autism Spectrum Disorder Advisory Council in February. "The goal is to fill all the current slots that we have."
Enrollment was long limited to only 120 slots. With a waitlist for the program growing into the thousands, state lawmakers added more slots incrementally over the last few years. By the end of 2025, 690 slots were available. The state estimated last year only about half would be used.
DSS is actively recruiting for one more case manager and one supervisor position. The agency will eventually need to fill five more case manager positions, as well as another supervisor position, according to Stuart.
Meanwhile, legislative efforts to devote more resources toward the waiver program have had mixed results.
One bill proposed this year would have allocated $5 million toward the program, but didn't advance out of committee.
Lawmakers also previously directed the state's chief workforce officer in 2023 to develop a plan and program to increase the number of state residents pursuing careers in human services, but the initiative didn't receive funding.
In written testimony submitted to lawmakers, Chief Workforce Officer Kelli-Marie Vallieres wrote state officials nevertheless convened working groups with multiple agencies to analyze the state's human services field. Her office expects to publish the findings later this year, Vallieres wrote.
