Arkansas Autism Waiver: Eligibility, Application, and Interest List

The Arkansas Autism Waiver is a Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services program that pays for 20 to 25 hours a week of Applied Behavior Analysis and related early intervention for young children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. It is run by the Division of Developmental Disabilities Services (DDS) inside the Arkansas Department of Human Services. To use it, a child must enroll before their fifth birthday, and all services end at age eight. Slots are capped, so the practical answer for most families is to apply the moment a diagnosis is in hand.

Who Qualifies

Five requirements have to be met independently. Miss one and the application is denied.

Age

Your child must be at least 18 months old to begin services and must enroll on or before their fifth birthday. The waiver provides a maximum of three consecutive years of services, and everything ends when the child turns eight.¹ If your child is already four, treat the application as urgent. The clinical review alone runs eight to 12 weeks.

Diagnosis

Two licensed professionals must independently confirm a primary diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder, drawn from this group: a physician, a psychologist, or a speech-language pathologist. Both must find the child fully meets the DSM criteria currently in use.²

Level of Care

DDS has to find that without intensive intervention, your child would need the level of support provided in an Intermediate Care Facility for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities. That determination is made from the medical and psychological records you submit.¹

Financial Eligibility

Because the waiver is treated as an alternative to institutional care, the state looks only at the child’s own income and assets, not the parents’. For most young children this is a formality. The income cap is 300 percent of the federal SSI benefit rate. For 2026, the SSI rate for an individual is $994 per month, which puts the threshold at $2,982 per month.³ The child’s asset limit is $2,000. Families may owe a sliding-scale premium based on their own finances.

Residency

The child must be an Arkansas resident.

What the Waiver Pays For

Services are delivered in the child’s home or an approved community setting so skills carry over into daily life.

The core service is Applied Behavior Analysis, 20 to 25 hours a week, targeting communication, social skills, self-care, and behavior regulation.¹ A consultant conducts a full evaluation, writes an Individual Treatment Plan, and adjusts it as your child progresses. Specialists also provide consultative clinical and therapeutic services, working with parents and direct-care staff to keep the plan on track and reviewing the quality of intervention being delivered.⁴ The waiver also covers therapeutic aides and behavioral reinforcers prescribed as part of the treatment plan.

Parent involvement isn’t optional. You will sign a Parental Participation Agreement committing to active involvement in the treatment plan, and you’ll be expected to reinforce the therapy between sessions.

How to Apply

Start by contacting DDS Intake and Referral at 501-683-5687 or through the online referral on the DDS portal.⁵ An intake specialist will tell you exactly what paperwork is needed and walk you through the steps.

The documentation package typically includes:

A current psychological evaluation from a licensed psychologist.
A standardized adaptive behavior assessment of daily living skills.
A speech evaluation specific to the ASD diagnosis from a licensed speech-language pathologist.
The DHS-703 Evaluation of Medical Need Criteria form, which DDS uses to assess the level of care.
A social history form with background on the child and family.

If your child has already been evaluated by a developmental pediatrician or a diagnostic team at Arkansas Children’s Hospital, pull those reports together before you call. Evaluations older than a year may need to be refreshed. Once your package is in, a clinical review team decides whether your child meets the level of care requirement, generally in eight to 12 weeks. If approved, your child goes on the Interest List.

The Interest List and the Wait

Approval is not the same as enrollment. Slots are capped, and children are assigned on a first-come, first-served basis by the date they were added to the list.⁶ How long you wait depends on how quickly other children age out or leave. DDS sends annual mailings asking you to confirm your contact information and continued interest. Do not ignore them. Not responding can cost your child their spot on the list.

While you wait, a child who is approved for Medicaid gets assigned to a Provider-led Arkansas Shared Savings Entity (PASSE), which coordinates care and provides access to traditional Medicaid services, including medical equipment, counseling, personal care, and occupational, physical, and speech therapy.⁶ Those are not the intensive ABA hours the waiver pays for, but ask your PASSE care coordinator whether any ABA is covered through the standard Medicaid benefit; Arkansas Medicaid does cover some ABA outside the waiver.

Given the five-year enrollment ceiling and the waitlist, apply as early as possible after diagnosis. A child diagnosed at two who applies right away has far better odds of being served before aging out than one who applies at four.

If Your Application Is Denied

You have the right to a fair hearing under federal Medicaid rules.⁷ The request has to be made within 30 calendar days of the date on the denial letter. Email DHS.Appeals@dhs.arkansas.gov, or mail the request to the Department of Human Services, Office of Appeals and Hearings, P.O. Box 1437, Slot S101, Little Rock, Arkansas 72203-1437.⁸ Miss the 30-day window and the request is denied automatically. Mark the deadline the day the letter arrives.

At the hearing you can review the case file, bring witnesses, present evidence, and question anyone testifying against you. The state must issue a written decision laying out the facts and the rules it relied on. If the denial was based on the level of care finding, an updated or more detailed evaluation from a specialist can make a real difference.

Keeping Eligibility After Enrollment

Federal rules require redetermination at least once every 12 months.⁹ DDS will try to verify eligibility from records already on file; if that doesn’t work, you’ll get a prepopulated renewal form and at least 30 days to return it. If the state decides your child no longer qualifies, it must give at least 10 days’ notice before stopping services, and the same fair hearing rights apply. Keep medical records current and answer DDS correspondence quickly.

What Happens at Age Eight

All waiver services end on the child’s eighth birthday, no matter where they are in the treatment plan. DDS starts transition planning six months out and helps families apply for other programs, including the Katie Beckett Program (Part B) and other community-based services.⁶ The Community and Employment Support (CES) Waiver is the state’s main long-term HCBS waiver for people with intellectual or developmental disabilities; it covers a broader age range and a different mix of services, and it has its own interest list. Raise CES eligibility with your DDS case manager well before the eighth birthday so the wait doesn’t catch you flat.

1
Legal Information Institute (LII) / Cornell Law School. 016.05.24 Ark. Code R. 004 – Autism Services for Children
2
Justia. Arkansas Code 20-77-124 – Medicaid Waiver for Autism – Definitions
3
Social Security Administration. SSI Federal Payment Amounts for 2026
4
Arkansas Department of Human Services. Arkansas Medicaid Manual – Autism Waiver
5
Arkansas Department of Human Services. DDS Frequently Asked Questions
6
Arkansas Department of Human Services. Autism Waiver Detailed Fact Sheet
7
eCFR. 42 CFR Part 431 Subpart E – Fair Hearings for Applicants and Beneficiaries
8
Arkansas Department of Human Services. File an Appeal
9
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Implementation of Eligibility Redeterminations