The NC Innovations Waiver helps people with intellectual/developmental disabilities (I/DD) get services and supports in their home and participate in their community. It is an NC Medicaid waiver with a limited number of slots. If slots are full, you can apply to be added to the Innovations Waitlist.
Vaya Health helps coordinate services for Innovations Waiver participants and maintains the Innovations Waitlist in these North Carolina counties: Alamance, Alexander, Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Caldwell, Caswell, Chatham, Cherokee, Clay, Franklin, Graham, Granville, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Person, Polk, Rockingham, Rowan, Stokes, Swain, Transylvania, Vance, Watauga, Wilkes, and Yancey.
If you have questions about the Innovations Waiver or waitlist, or if you want to apply, call the Vaya Member and Recipient Service Line at 1-800-962-9003 (TTY 711) between 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday – Saturday.
What is the NC Innovations Waiver?
The Innovations Waiver is a federally approved 1915(c) Medicaid home- and community-based services waiver. Home- and community-based services and supports help people make their own choices about their care and participate in their community.
Waiver services are designed to promote well-being, community integration, and the ability to achieve life goals. The Innovations Waiver includes services that:
- Support personal needs and help with daily activities
- Help you live where you choose
- Support you to spend your day in a way you choose
- Provide education on how to be more integrated into the community
- Help you live more independently and manage your own services
NC Innovations Waiver Q&A
The Innovations Waitlist, formerly known as the Registry of Unmet Needs, is a list of people waiting for an Innovations Waiver slot. Some services and supports may be available to people who are on the waitlist and meet certain requirements.
Innovations Waiver slots are funded by the North Carolina General Assembly and allocated by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS). Local management entities/managed care organizations (LME/MCOs), like Vaya, maintain the list of people waiting for a slot.
The wait time for an Innovations Waiver slot is based on how many slots are available. We encourage people who may be eligible to apply and join the Innovations Waitlist as soon as they find out they may need services.
To be added to the Innovations Waitlist, call Vaya’s Member and Recipient Service Line at 1-800-962-9003 between 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday – Saturday. Ask to speak to someone about the Innovations Waitlist. We will tell you what information is needed and help you complete an application.
We will contact you to tell you if your application meets the requirements for the Innovations Waiver and the waitlist. We will contact people on the waitlist when a slot is available.
Visit the NCDHHS statewide Innovations Waitlist dashboard to see how many people are on the waitlist by county and LME/MCO.
To receive Innovations Waiver services and supports, you must:
- Meet the requirements for the Intermediate Care Facility for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities (ICF/IID) level of care
- Live in an ICF/IID or be at risk of being placed in an ICF/IID
- Be able to stay safe, healthy, and well in your home and community while using Innovations Waiver services
- Need and use Innovations Waiver services listed in your care plan at least once a month
- Want to use Innovations Waiver services instead of living in an ICF/IID
- Live in North Carolina
You also must have a psychological evaluation that shows functional impairments due to an I/DD.
Participation in the Innovations Waiver is based on eligibility and availability of slots.
The NC Innovations Waiver supports daily activities such as bathing, eating, working, developing friendships, and living an active lifestyle. The program includes some non-medical services, like respite and home modifications. These are not available under traditional Medicaid and may help keep people out of institutional settings.
NC Innovations Waiver services are based on your individual needs and may include:
- Benefits counseling
- Community networking
- Day supports
- Community living and support
- Respite
- Supported living
- Supported employment
- Assistive technology equipment and supplies
- Transition from a facility to the community
- Crisis services
- Home modifications
- Vehicle modifications
- Natural supports education
- Specialized consultation services
- Individual goods and services needed to live independently
- Community navigator (for individuals who self-direct their supports)
Self-direction, also known as individual- and family-directed services, gives you an opportunity to make your own decisions and take responsibility for them. It can provide more flexibility and the opportunity to take greater control of your life. You, a parent, or a legally responsible person may choose to direct one or more Innovations Waiver services.
Learn more about Individual and Family-Directed Services.
As the first step in the person-centered planning process, Vaya arranges for your needs to be identified using the Supports Intensity Scale™ (SIS). The SIS is an assessment tool. It includes interviews that focus on your support needs.
Assessments include interviews with people you know well, such as family members, guardians, friends, staff from residential settings or day programs, teachers, and personal caregivers.
The information gathered from SIS interviews is used to help develop your care plan, also called an Individual Support Plan (ISP). After the first assessment, children receive new assessments every two years. Adults receive new assessments every three years. A major life change or event may mean you need a new SIS assessment before your scheduled re-assessment date.
Not necessarily. A person in a Standard Plan can remain with the Standard Plan until an Innovations Waiver slot becomes available – then, they will switch to Vaya.
However, a person on the Innovations Waitlist may switch to Vaya before receiving an Innovations Waiver slot if the services they need are not offered through their current plan.
Yes. Your Innovations Waiver services can move with you across North Carolina. If you move out of North Carolina, you will lose your Innovations Waiver slot or your place on the waitlist.
It is important to let your care manager know if your address changes. Your care manager and your local Department of Social Services (DSS) will let you know if a move affects your Medicaid eligibility or Vaya enrollment.
It is important that your local DSS always has the information they need to update your Medicaid eligibility and that you read and respond to all letters they send you.
Innovations Waitlist Training
Vaya offers Innovations Waitlist Training sessions. Participants get an overview of the Innovations Waiver and the waitlist, review steps to apply for the waitlist, and learn about waiver services. This virtual training is available to people interested in the Innovations Waitlist, stakeholders, and community members.
Innovations Stakeholder Group
To better serve Innovations Waiver participants and their families, we host quarterly NC Innovations Stakeholders meetings to share news information about the program. Visit our NC Innovations Stakeholders webpage to learn more.
