Minnesota Minnesota

Consumer Directed Community Support (CDCS) Manual

Consumer Directed Community Support (CDCS) Manual

CDCS support planners

Page posted: 12/10/24

Page reviewed:

Page updated: 9/1/26

Legal authority

Federally approved BI, CAC, CADI, DD and EW waiver plans, federally approved AC 1115 demonstration, Minn. Stat. §256B.0913

Definitions

CDCS support planner: An individual selected by the person and reimbursed through the person’s CDCS budget to help develop and implement the person’s person-centered CDCS community support plan (CSP). The support planner may work independently or be employed by an agency.

CDCS support planning services: Optional services that are available to help a person develop and implement their CDCS community support plan (CSP). If a person chooses to receive support planning services, the cost is included in their budget. For more information, refer to CDCS Manual – Service category: Support planning services.

Qualifications

To be reimbursed through CDCS to help develop a person’s CSP, the support planner must be certified by DHS.

Certification

For initial certification, a person must:

  • · Be at least 18 years old.
  • · Complete a minimum of six hours of person-centered planning coursework within three years before taking the initial certification test.
  • · Successfully pass the Support Planner Initial Certification for CDCS training and test (TrainLink course DS651) with at least 80% correct.

    • Recertification

    Every two years, a CDCS support planner must:

  • · Complete and document 20 hours of training or education if providing support planner services to more than one family. For more information about this requirement, refer to the training section on this page.
  • · Successfully pass the Support Planner Recertification for CDCS training and test (TrainLink course DS651C) with at least 80% correct.

    • Accessing TrainLink courses

    The initial certification test, recertification test and training module are located in TrainLink. You must have a unique key to register. If you do not have a unique key, refer to TrainLink – Unique key request form.

    In TrainLink, follow these steps:

    1. Under Learning Center, select Disability Services.
    2. Under Courses and Classes, select Find a Course.
    3. In the Search by Class Name field, search for the course number.
    4. Select the word select next to the name of the course.
    5. Enter your unique key and select OK.

    Training

    Trainings and educational sessions to fulfill the 20-hour recertification requirement should relate to support planner standards and disability- or aging-related topics. These sessions might include information about:

  • · CDCS CSP development.
  • · CDCS policy.
  • · Department of Labor regulations.
  • · Employment of household workers.
  • · Mandated reporting.
  • · Minnesota waiver plan guidelines, including allowable and unallowable expenditures.
  • · Person-centered thinking and planning.
  • · Self-directed services.
  • · Vulnerable adults.
  • · Writing goals.
  • · Other relevant support planning topics.

    • Documentation

    Support planners must maintain their own training documentation. This documentation must include:

  • · Name of the trainer.
  • · Course outline.
  • · Course objectives.
  • · Length of training.

    • Documentation of training is subject to DHS audit.

    Limitations

    Support planners cannot:

  • · Be the employer of people or legal representatives to whom they are delivering support planner services.
  • · Be the parent of a minor child or spouse of the person receiving services.
  • · Have any direct or indirect financial interest in the delivery of the services in the CSP beyond support planning (e.g., a person receiving payment to help develop a support plan cannot employ others or hire independent contractors to deliver services and supports, even if chosen by the CDCS participant).

    • Additional requirements

    Support planners must:

  • · Comply with the DHS support planner service standards (refer to CDCS – Support planner service standards).
  • · Establish a written work agreement with the person outlining the tasks they are hired to perform.
  • · Provide a copy of the training certificate to the person/legal representative and lead agency, as requested.
  • · Provide evidence they meet any additional required training and qualifications requested by the person and defined in the CSP.
  • · Coordinate services with the lead agency (i.e., case manager/care coordinator) to ensure there is no duplication of functions/tasks.
  • · Have effective written communication skills sufficient to write a CSP that includes all required components.

    • If applicable to the people they serve, support planners must have the ability to serve:

  • · Older adults.
  • · People with disabilities.
  • · People whose primary language is not English.
  • · People who are deaf or hard of hearing.
  • · People who have specific communication needs.

    • This responsibility may include referring a person to other providers.

    Paying family/legal representatives

    A parent, spouse or legal representative can provide many of the same types of support to the person that a support planner can provide. However, neither a parent of a minor nor a spouse or a legal representative can receive payment for support planner activities.

    Additional resources

    CDCS Manual – Service category: Support planning services
    CDCS Manual – Support planner service standards

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