What is the difference between a group home and sponsored residential in Virginia?

Sponsored residential

Sponsored residential service is skill-building, routine supports, general supports and safety supports provided in the home of a sponsor, a family or person who supports the individual under a DBHDS-licensed provider. It is authorized only when the person-centered planning process finds it necessary, and it can serve up to two people in the same home.

Group home residential

Group home residential service is skill-building, routine supports, general supports and safety supports that help a person live successfully in the community, provided by paid staff who are physically present. It is billed by the day and paid at a tier based on the person’s assessed level of support and the home’s licensed bed capacity. Homes must meet the federal home and community-based settings rules, and lease or residency agreements must support the person’s choice of service and setting.

Medicaid pays for group home residential service only in homes with no more than six licensed beds, except for larger homes that became DD waiver providers before March 31, 2021.

Other places to live with a DD waiver

• Supported living: an apartment setting run by a DBHDS-licensed provider, with staff available around the clock (FIS and CL waivers).
• Shared living: a person lives in their own home with a roommate who gets a Medicaid-funded stipend toward rent, food and utilities in exchange for minimal supports (all three waivers).
• In-home supports: support in the person’s or family’s home and in the community (FIS and CL waivers).
• Independent living supports: skill-building toward a self-sustaining independent living situation, for adults (BI waiver).

Choosing

Your support coordinator can give you a list of local services and providers. The DBHDS guide adds that if you are thinking about living somewhere with five or more people, such as a group home, your support coordinator will ask a Regional Support Team to review the decision so that you have all the information you need.