Services to help people gain, maintain, and improve skills that allow them to live and participate in their local community.

In-Home & Community Supports (IHCS) consists of services designed to assist individuals in acquiring, retaining, and improving the self-help, socialization, and adaptive skills necessary to reside successfully in home and community-based settings. IHCS may be provided up to about 16 hours a day based on the needs of the individual, to protect the individual’s health and welfare. Camp day or overnight may only be provided under respite. Through the provision of this service individuals learn, maintain, or improve skills through their participation in a variety of everyday life activities. These activities must be appropriate and meaningful for consumers to live more independently and be a productive member of their community. Services are always provided using positive behavioral approaches that protects the individual’s health and welfare.

This is a direct service (face-to-face) provided in home and community settings to protect the health and welfare, and to assist individuals in acquiring, maintaining, and improving self-help, domestic, socialization, and adaptive skills. Services consist of support in the general areas of self-care, communication, fine and gross motor skills, mobility, therapeutic activities, personal adjustment, relationship development, socialization, and use of community resources. When services are provided by agency-based providers, this service also includes transportation services necessary to enable the individual to participate in the home and community habilitation service in accordance with the individual’s ISP. This service may not be provided in licensed settings, and is not a licensed residential service. For residential services, see Residential Home and Community Habilitation Licensed Homes and Unlicensed Homes. Home and Community Habilitation is a service that may be provided to individuals in their own home or in other community settings not subject to licensing regulations.

Examples of In-Home & Community Supports include:

  • Supporting someone to participate in a church activity
  • Learning to cook safely
  • Learning to use public transportation independently.