Age 18 & Up
The Community Mental Health Supports (CMHS) waiver provides assistance to people with a mental illness that require long-term supports and services in order to remain in a community setting.
- CMHS services work with or add to the services that are available to you through the Health First Colorado State plan and other federal, state, and local public programs.
- CMHS works with the supports that families and communities provide.
- If you receive services through the CMHS waiver, you are also eligible for all Health First Colorado covered services except nursing facility and long-term hospital care.
View the full text of the CMHS waiver and Waiver Lifecycle
To qualify:
- Be willing to get services in your home or community.
- Require long-term support services at a level comparable to services typically provided in a nursing facility.
- A person experiencing severe and persistent mental health needs that require assistance with one or more Activities of Daily Living (ADL),
- 18 years of age or older with a severe and persistent mental health need,
- Currently has or at any time during the past year leading up to assessment has a diagnosable mental, behavioral, or emotional disorder of sufficient duration to meet diagnostic criteria specified within the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), and
- Has a disorder that is episodic, recurrent, or has persistent features, but may vary in terms of severity and disabling effects, and
- Has resulted in functional impairment which substantially interferes with or limits one or more major activities.
- A severe and persistent mental health need does not include:
- Intellectual or developmental disorders, or
- Substance use disorder without a co-occurring diagnosis of a severe and persistent mental health need
- Meet financial determination requirements as outlined in the Colorado Code of Regulations and as determined by your local Department of Human Services.
Services & Supports
If you are enrolled in the CMHS waiver, you will receive regular Health First Colorado benefits. Additionally, you will also receive the following services specific to the CMHS waiver:
- Adult Day Services
- Alternative Care Facilities
- Home Delivered Meals
- Home Modifications
- Homemaker Services (with Remote Supports options)
- Life Skills Training
- Medication Reminder
- Non-Medical Transportation
- Peer Mentorship
- Personal Care (with Remote Supports options)
- Personal Emergency Response System (PERS)
- Respite Care
- Transition Set Up
Service Delivery Options / Additional Benefits
- Consumer Directed Attendant Support Services (CDASS)
Visit the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy & Financing website for the most current information about the CMHS waiver.