The CDDO Path: What Happens After You Call

Step 1: Call your local CDDO

A CDDO (Community Developmental Disability Organization) is the local intake authority for the I/DD and AU Waivers. Kansas has roughly 27 of them, each tied to a specific geographic region. You don't choose which CDDO to call; the person's county of residence determines it.

KDADS maintains the official directory of CDDOs by county. Because the list of CDDOs and their contact information occasionally changes, we do not publish a hardcoded list here. We link directly to KDADS so you are always calling a current number.

Find your regional CDDO (KDADS directory) (opens in new tab)

Step 2: Intake and eligibility

Your first substantive interaction with the CDDO is an intake meeting, sometimes on the phone, sometimes in person. The CDDO gathers basic information about the person, confirms county of residence, and begins the eligibility determination for I/DD or AU Waiver services. Expect to provide:

• Diagnostic documentation (psychological evaluation, school IEP, medical records establishing the qualifying condition).
• Functional-assessment material, if available: a record of how the disability affects day-to-day functioning.
• Medicaid financial information, or a plan for applying for Medicaid if the person is not yet enrolled.

Eligibility determination takes weeks, not days. If the person is determined eligible for the I/DD Waiver, they are added to the waiting list, which is significant in Kansas (contact your CDDO for current estimates rather than rely on a static number that may be wrong by the time you read it). AU Waiver capacity is separate and has its own timing pattern.

Step 3: TCM (Targeted Case Manager) assignment

Once eligibility is confirmed and the person's waiver slot becomes active, the CDDO assigns (or helps the family choose) a TCM. The TCM is the person's ongoing point of contact inside the HCBS system. They:

• Author and update the Individual Support Plan (ISP), the legal document that defines what services the person receives, from whom, and when.
• Coordinate across providers, MCOs, medical teams, and the family.
• Advocate for the person in annual ISP reviews and when authorized services need to change.

The TCM is intentionally independent of the service provider. That independence is the point: your TCM's job is to advocate for the person's interests across the full ecosystem, not to promote any single provider. At Servants Mission, we work closely with every TCM for every client we serve. They are the family's advocate, not ours.

Step 4: Waiver services and provider choice

With eligibility confirmed and a TCM in place, the next decision is which services the person will receive and which provider will deliver them. The service mix (residential, day services, supported employment, respite, and so on) is built into the ISP based on assessed need. For each authorized service type, the family chooses a credentialed provider from among several in-network with the person's MCO.

Provider choice is the family's decision, not the CDDO's or the TCM's. The TCM can explain options; the MCO lists in-network providers; the family picks. You can also change providers later without losing authorized services. Our rights guide covers the specifics of that right. Our choosing-a-provider guide covers what to ask any agency, including us.

Step 5: If you choose Servants Mission

If Servants Mission is one of the providers on your list, here is what onboarding with us looks like. Your TCM sends us the referral packet. We schedule an introduction in your home, at your preferred location, or virtually. We walk through our approach, answer questions, and leave you the time and the documentation to make the call without pressure.

From there, the referral progresses into formal intake and service start. The contact pageis the entry point if you'd like to begin that conversation.