OREGON
C+Oregon's system, honestly. A letter grade is a summary, not a verdict on your family — a low grade doesn't mean nothing is available, it means the path is narrower. What's behind it is below.
Do this first
Contact the Community Developmental Disabilities Program for your county and ask for the developmental disabilities eligibility and enrollment application. Every CDDP uses the same form and the county worker will help you complete it. Then ask specifically about K Plan services: Community First Choice is a Medicaid state plan benefit rather than a capped waiver, which means the state cannot turn you away for lack of resources and there is no waiting list for it.
Last verified 2026-07-03
HOW WE GRADE OREGON
Full methodology (v2.1) →Oregon's strongest area is institutional vs. community balance; what pulls the grade down most is self-direction index.
Waitlist Burden
30% of grade—Not available
Nobody waiting scores 100. 225 per 100,000 scores 0.
- Not scored: Oregon's core services run through a genuine K Plan entitlement with no general waiting list. But its Children's Extraordinary Needs program keeps a budget-capped, application-order waitlist that has held roughly 2,000 children against about 230 funded places.
Source:KFF State Health Facts, People Waiting for HCBS by Target … (FY2025 (KFF Medicaid HCBS Waiver Program Survey, FY 2025))US Census Bureau Vintage 2025 state population estimates (2025-07)
HCBS Spending Per Capita
25% of grade67/100$518 spent per resident
$200 per resident scores 0. $675 scores 100.
Source:CMS / Mathematica — Medicaid LTSS Annual Expenditures and … (CY2023)
Self-Direction Index
20% of grade50/10050 out of 100 on the self-direction index
Scored directly on its own 0–100 scale.
Source:CMS approved 1915(c) waiver application (2026-08-05)CMS approved 1915(c) waiver application (2026-08-05)
Waiver Program Count & Breadth
15% of grade75/10075 out of 100 on program breadth
Scored directly on its own 0–100 scale.
Source:Medicaid.gov State Waivers List, Authority=1915(c), Status… (Section 1915(c) counts: Medicaid.gov State Waivers List retrieved 2026-08-05. Target populations & 1915(k): KFF Medicaid HCBS Survey 2025 (FY2025). 1915(i): CMS SPA database retrieved 2026-08-05.)KFF Medicaid Home Care (HCBS) in 2025, Appendix Table 2 (Section 1915(c) counts: Medicaid.gov State Waivers List retrieved 2026-08-05. Target populations & 1915(k): KFF Medicaid HCBS Survey 2025 (FY2025). 1915(i): CMS SPA database retrieved 2026-08-05.)KFF Medicaid Home Care (HCBS) in 2025, Appendix Table 1 (Section 1915(c) counts: Medicaid.gov State Waivers List retrieved 2026-08-05. Target populations & 1915(k): KFF Medicaid HCBS Survey 2025 (FY2025). 1915(i): CMS SPA database retrieved 2026-08-05.)
Each factor is scored against a fixed bar, not against the other states, so Oregon's grade moves when Oregon moves. Think we have it wrong? Every number above links to its source — email hello@spectrumpathways.ai and we will correct it in public.
WHAT THINGS ARE CALLED IN OREGON
Use these exact words when you search, call, or fill out forms — they're what Oregon's own offices use.
- Medicaid here is
- Oregon Health Plan (OHP)
- The DD agency is
- Office of Developmental Disabilities Services (ODHS)
- You contact
- Community Developmental Disability Program (CDDP)
- The plan is
- Individual Support Plan (ISP)
- Self-direction is
- Self-Directed Servicescontrolling your own budget and hiring your own people
- A denial arrives as a
- Notification of Planned Action (form 0947)the letter that gives you the right to appeal
WHO TO CONTACT, IN ORDER
Five different offices, and they don't talk to each other. Disability services, health coverage, and income each run through a separate agency — applying to one does not start the others. Ask each office for the name of the person you spoke to and write down the date; if something is later denied, that record is what an appeal is built on.
- 1
Developmental disability services
This is the office that decides whether your child is eligible for disability services. Ask for "intake" or "eligibility determination" by name. In Oregon, you contact Community Developmental Disability Program (CDDP).
- 2
Health coverage — Oregon Health Plan (OHP)
Almost every waiver and personal-care route requires this first, and it is decided by a different office from the one above. Apply in parallel rather than waiting.
- 3
Help at home, and who can be paid for it
Unless you say otherwise, services come the traditional way: the agency picks and pays the providers. Self-direction — where you get a budget and hire your own people — is opt-in almost everywhere and is not offered automatically. Here it is called Self-Directed Services. Ask for it by that name.
- 4
Income — SSI
Federal, so it's the same everywhere: 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778). There is no minimum age — you can apply for a newborn. Until 18, the parents' income is deemed to the child, so an early denial is usually about that rather than the child's disability. In many states an SSI award also opens Medicaid automatically — ask when you call.
- 5
If you get told no
Every state has a Protection & Advocacy agency by federal law — free legal help on disability services and appeals. Most families never hear of it, and it is the number to have before a deadline, not after. Yours is Disability Rights Oregon.
Disability Rights Oregon · 1-800-452-1694
RUNNING IT YOURSELF
In many states you can control the budget and hire your own people — including, sometimes, family. Most families are never told this is an option. Here's what we've verified for Oregon; where we haven't verified an answer we say so — it does not mean the answer is no, and it is worth asking.
Can you control the budget?
Not verified yet — ask, don't assume the answer is no.
Can a family member be paid to provide care?
Not verified yet — ask, don't assume the answer is no.
Who is legally the employer of the people you hire?
You are, if you employ a Personal Support Worker directly. Oregon is also standing up Agency with Choice, a middle option where the agency takes the employer duties and you co-manage day to day — ask ODDS whether it is available to you yet
How freely can money move between services?
Not verified yet — ask, don't assume the answer is no.
Can the budget buy things, not just staff time?
Not verified yet — ask, don't assume the answer is no.
Is your case manager independent of your providers?
Not verified yet — ask, don't assume the answer is no.
Deadlines reflect this state’s rules as researched; they can change — always confirm the current deadline with your state agency or Protection & Advocacy office before relying on it.
HOW TO GET SERVICES & APPEAL IN OREGON
- DD (ODDS) service reduction/suspension/termination: request contested case hearing within 90 calendar days of the Notification of Planned Action
- DD continuation: request hearing before the effective date, or within 10 business days after the effective date
- General OHA/FFS Medicaid: request hearing within 60 days of the decision notice (continuation by effective date or 10 days after notice, whichever later)
- CCO managed care: appeal the plan first, then request a contested case within 120 days of the Notice of Appeal Resolution
KEY AGENCIES & RESOURCES
NOTABLE WAIVERS
Community First Choice (K Plan)
SourceAll ages meeting institutional level of care — attendant care, skills training.
Waitlist: NO waitlist — K Plan is a state plan entitlement.
Children's HCBS Waivers (model/medically involved)
SourceChildren with intensive needs.
Waitlist: Apply through CDDP.
Adult DD Waiver services
SourceAdults with IDD (supported living, employment).
Waitlist: Case management through county CDDPs; no traditional slot waitlist.
Full milestone guide
View the Oregon Roadmap →
Six age-based stages — state-correct programs, benefits, and milestones from birth through adulthood.
Compare with the rest of the West
Waiver rules, waitlists and self-direction options vary sharply between neighbouring states. Grades come from the same published methodology.
The words Oregon will use
Every one of these appears on an application, in a denial letter, or in a case manager's notes. Plain-English definitions, no jargon.
- HCBS Waiver (Home and Community-Based Services)
- Katie Beckett Waiver (TEFRA)
- EPSDT (Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic and Treatment)
- Self-Determination (Self-Direction)
- Person-Centered Planning
- Respite Care
- Supported Employment
- ABLE Account (Achieving a Better Life Experience)
- Special Needs Trust (Supplemental Needs Trust)
- IEP (Individualized Education Program)
