Transition 101: #7 Understanding the DDS Application Process for Adult Services

This week, I will take a couple of steps back to provide an overview of the application process we went through to get L eligibility in Adult Services. As a reminder, we live in Massachusetts, so the process may differ if you are in another state.

If you go back to the general transition checklist post, one of the “things to do” items once your child is at least two years away from leaving school is to apply for adult services. During this process, I learned that even though L was found eligible for DDS services as a minor, we had to have him apply again as an adult. Before you can deep dive into anything else programming-wise, you need to know which agency your (adult) child is going to be aging out into.

Here is an overview of how the process went for us. The specifics may differ for you and your family, especially since our process started pre-COVID, but the overall steps should be similar.

1. The 688 Referral: we briefly discussed the 688 referral in the post “Transition 101 #1: It’s never too early to start planning: What is transition? “The 688 referral in Massachusetts is initiated by the school district at least two years before your student is expected to be leaving the public school system, thus ending their special education services. Why is this important? It starts the entire adult service process. The schools will make the referral to the agency(s) that the team has deemed appropriate for future services. Those state agencies are DDS (Department of Developmental Services), MRC (Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission), and DMH (Department of Mental Health). This information will be documented in the student’s IEP.
   • Important!!! This is just the referral to the agency; this does not mean that your student QUALIFIES for this agency post-high school. Once the agency has received the referral, you (the parent/guardian) will be notified as to the next steps within the application process, so make sure you keep an eye out for the mailing/email and complete the next steps in the application process. If you do not receive a letter in a timely manner with the next steps, you can always contact the agency(s) that the school sent the application to as a follow-up.
2. Once the referral is completed, the agency will notify you that a referral has been made.  For L, his referral went to DDS, so I will be talking specifically about the DDS process. For the other agencies (MRC and DMH), you should contact your school to ask them about the next steps in that process. Our first letter stated that they had received the school’s referral form and agreed that DDS was the correct agency for him to begin his transition planning.
3. Start the application process with DDS: the second letter we received from our DDS regional eligibility team was the beginning of the application with them. This letter included the actual “Application for DDS Eligibility” form and a list of the documents DDS needed from us to complete the application packet. Because L was in the middle of his 3-year testing when we received this letter, we talked to our area coordinator listed on the letter to ask for an application extension so that they could receive the current information they were asking for.  **My advice during this (and really any ) process is to document in writing everything that you communicate with them so that if there is any confusion/discrepancy, you have your written notes vs. just going by memory (especially if you have a lot of transition stuff going on at 18 years old).**
4. The interview: after DDS receives the application and the requested documentation and has reviewed the file, you will receive a letter from DDS asking you to set up an interview for your adult child with DDS. When we did this, it was pre-covid, so our interview was in person. (I don’t know if they are back to in-person interviews now. ) I was able to stay with L during the interview process. They reviewed his file and asked questions about his independence and plans (I can’t remember the specific questionnaire they used, but it was a formal questionnaire they recorded the answers on).
5. The determination letter: DDS will send you the eligibility determination letter once everything is completed. DDS has two primary ways listed on the letter to qualify for services, which will determine the budget from which you get your money. Those eligibility categories are: 1. Intellectual Disability Services on the basis of Intellectual Disability (115 CMR 2.01) or 2. Community Development Disability Supports on the basis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (115 CMR 2.01); Prader-Willi Syndrome (115 CMR 2.01) or Smith-Magenis Syndrome (115 CMR 2.01)
6. Once the approval occurs, the next step is to get assigned a transition coordinator from DDS.  They will start attending your child’s IEP meeting at the latest one year before they age out. We were able to get our coordinator to attend two years out, which was good to put a face to the name (for both) and for her to know what we were going to be looking at for the following year.
7. What if you don’t get approved? You have the right to an appeal—the determination letter lists who you can contact. At the time of our letter, the process required a written request to appeal that needed to be submitted within 30 days of receiving the eligibility letter.

The process took us about 10 months from start to finish. This is why it is crucial that the 688 referral from the school be submitted at least two years before aging out. The first step of the referral assists with the budget process for the agency(s). For us, L qualified for adult services via DDS. Because we did this two years before he “aged out,” DDS knew he was coming, and they included him in that upcoming budget based on his exit date.

Call to action:

• If you are at least two years away from the aging out date, ensure the 688 referral has been completed and documented in the IEP.

Until next time,

Cheryl