While the Agency for Persons with Disabilities is doing a better job of tracking people on its waiting list for services, it needs to develop a multi-year plan to eliminate that list altogether.

That is among the recommendations outlined in a July 2 report from the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA).

As of March 1, 2010, the agency reported having 18,862 individuals on its waiting list for waiver services.

Three-fourths have been waiting for waiver services for five years or less. The majority (67%) have a primary disability of mental retardation; others include autism (17%) and cerebral palsy (14%).

The agency currently assesses all new eligible applicants using a questionnaire and plans to reassess all clients every 36 months unless it needs to gather this information sooner, the OPPAGA report states.

The Legislature required APD to assign priority categories to individuals on the waiting list. To do that, the 2009 Legislature required the agency to place all applicants for waiver services into one of seven categories by July 1, 2010. That is underway. But due to limited waiver slots, the agency provides waiver services only to individuals in Categories 1 (individuals in crisis) and 2 (dependent children in foster care), the report states.

APD administrators report that the new system will need to be operational for two years before they can collect sufficient information to develop a plan to address the waiting list.

To read the full report, click here.