Title 42The Public Health and WelfareRelease 119-73

§1396u Community supported living arrangements services

Title 42 › Chapter CHAPTER 7— - SOCIAL SECURITY › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER XIX— - GRANTS TO STATES FOR MEDICAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS › § 1396u

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

Provides federal Medicaid money to help people with developmental disabilities live in their own home, apartment, or a family home. Covered supports include personal care, training to increase independence, 24-hour emergency help, assistive technology and adaptive equipment, help joining community activities, and other approved supports. A “developmentally disabled individual” means a person described under the Secretary’s rules for “mental retardation and related conditions” as of July 1, 1990, who lives with family or a legal guardian in a home with no more than three other program recipients. During the first five years, only 2 to 8 States may get federal help. Federal funds cannot pay for room and board or for prevocational, vocational, or supported employment costs. Money spent under the program must be in addition to current State spending. Funding levels are $5,000,000 for FY1991, $10,000,000 for FY1992, $20,000,000 for FY1993, $30,000,000 for FY1994, $35,000,000 for FY1995, and later amounts set by Congress. States that receive funds must run a quality assurance program. They must certify and unannouncedly survey providers (about once a year), set staff training, financial, and grievance standards, have monitoring boards with family and neighbors, publish reports, check each recipient’s health, and use individual support plans. State plan changes must be reviewed by the State Council on Developmental Disabilities and the protection and advocacy system. The Secretary will issue interim rules by July 1, 1991, and final rules by October 1, 1992, to protect health and safety without relying only on State licensure. Rules must guard against neglect, abuse, financial exploitation, require background checks, ban abusive financial deals, and stop providers or their relatives from being named life insurance beneficiaries. The Secretary can fine up to $10,000 per day for violations and may waive some State plan rules like comparability and statewideness.

Full Legal Text

Title 42, §1396u

The Public Health and Welfare — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)In this subchapter, the term “community supported living arrangements services” means one or more of the following services meeting the requirements of subsection (h) provided in a State eligible to provide services under this section (as defined in subsection (d)) to assist a developmentally disabled individual (as defined in subsection (b)) in activities of daily living necessary to permit such individual to live in the individual’s own home, apartment, family home, or rental unit furnished in a community supported living arrangement setting:
(1)Personal assistance.
(2)Training and habilitation services (necessary to assist the individual in achieving increased integration, independence and productivity).
(3)24-hour emergency assistance (as defined by the Secretary).
(4)Assistive technology.
(5)Adaptive equipment.
(6)Other services (as approved by the Secretary, except those services described in subsection (g)).
(7)Support services necessary to aid an individual to participate in community activities.
(b)In this subchapter the term,11 So in original. The comma probably should precede “the term”. “developmentally disabled individual” means an individual who as defined by the Secretary is described within the term “mental retardation and related conditions” as defined in regulations as in effect on July 1, 1990, and who is residing with the individual’s family or legal guardian in such individual’s own home in which no more than 3 other recipients of services under this section are residing and without regard to whether or not such individual is at risk of institutionalization (as defined by the Secretary).
(c)The Secretary shall develop criteria to review the applications of States submitted under this section to provide community supported living arrangement services. The Secretary shall provide in such criteria that during the first 5 years of the provision of services under this section that no less than 2 and no more than 8 States shall be allowed to receive Federal financial participation for providing the services described in this section.
(d)A State selected by the Secretary to provide services under this section shall in order to continue to receive Federal financial participation for providing services under this section be required to establish and maintain a quality assurance program, that provides that—
(1)the State will certify and survey providers of services under this section (such surveys to be unannounced and average at least 1 a year);
(2)the State will adopt standards for survey and certification that include—
(A)minimum qualifications and training requirements for provider staff;
(B)financial operating standards; and
(C)a consumer grievance process;
(3)the State will provide a system that allows for monitoring boards consisting of providers, family members, consumers, and neighbors;
(4)the State will establish reporting procedures to make available information to the public;
(5)the State will provide ongoing monitoring of the health and well-being of each recipient;
(6)the State will provide the services defined in subsection (a) in accordance with an individual support plan (as defined by the Secretary in regulations); and
(7)the State plan amendment under this section shall be reviewed by the State Council on Developmental Disabilities established under section 125 of the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 2000 [42 U.S.C. § 15025] and the protection and advocacy system established under subtitle C of that Act [42 U.S.C. 15041 et seq.].
(e)States selected by the Secretary to receive Federal financial participation to provide services under this section shall maintain current levels of spending for such services in order to be eligible to continue to receive Federal financial participation for the provision of such services under this section.
(f)No Federal financial participation shall be allowed for the provision of the following services under this section:
(1)Room and board.
(2)Cost of prevocational, vocational and supported employment.
(g)The Secretary may waive such provisions of this subchapter as necessary to carry out the provisions of this section including the following requirements of this subchapter—
(1)comparability of amount, duration, and scope of services; and
(2)statewideness.
(h)(1)(A)The Secretary shall publish, by July 1, 1991, a regulation (that shall be effective on an interim basis pending the promulgation of final regulations), and by October 1, 1992, a final regulation, that sets forth interim and final requirements, respectively, consistent with subparagraph (B), to protect the health, safety, and welfare of individuals receiving community supported living arrangements services.
(B)Interim and final requirements under subparagraph (A) shall assure, through methods other than reliance on State licensure processes or the State quality assurance programs under subsection (d), that—
(i)individuals receiving community supported living arrangements services are protected from neglect, physical and sexual abuse, and financial exploitation;
(ii)a provider of community supported living arrangements services may not use individuals who have been convicted of child or client abuse, neglect, or mistreatment or of a felony involving physical harm to an individual and shall take all reasonable steps to determine whether applicants for employment by the provider have histories indicating involvement in child or client abuse, neglect, or mistreatment or a criminal record involving physical harm to an individual;
(iii)individuals or entities delivering such services are not unjustly enriched as a result of abusive financial arrangements (such as owner lease-backs); and
(iv)individuals or entities delivering such services to clients, or relatives of such individuals, are prohibited from being named beneficiaries of life insurance policies purchased by (or on behalf of) such clients.
(2)If the Secretary finds that a provider has not met an applicable requirement under subsection (h), the Secretary shall impose a civil money penalty in an amount not to exceed $10,000 for each day of noncompliance. The provisions of section 1320a–7a of this title (other than subsections (a) and (b)) shall apply to a civil money penalty under the previous sentence in the same manner as such provisions apply to a penalty or proceeding under section 1320a–7a(a) of this title.
(i)Any funds expended under this section for medical assistance shall be in addition to funds expended for any existing services covered under the State plan, including any waiver services for which an individual receiving services under this program is already eligible.
(j)The amount of funds that may be expended as medical assistance to carry out the purposes of this section shall be for fiscal year 1991, $5,000,000, for fiscal year 1992, $10,000,000, for fiscal year 1993, $20,000,000, for fiscal year 1994, $30,000,000, for fiscal year 1995, $35,000,000, and for fiscal years thereafter such sums as provided by Congress.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 2000, referred to in subsec. (d)(7), is Pub. L. 106–402, Oct. 30, 2000, 114 Stat. 1677. Subtitle C of the Act probably means subtitle C of title I of the Act, which is classified generally to part C (§ 15041 et seq.) of subchapter I of chapter 144 of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see

Short Title

note set out under section 15001 of this title and Tables. Codification Pub. L. 101–508, title IV, § 4712(b)(1), Nov. 5, 1990, 104 Stat. 1388–187, which directed renumbering of section 1930 of the Social Security Act, act Aug. 14, 1935, as section 1931, could not be executed because there was no section 1930.

Amendments

2000—Subsec. (d)(7). Pub. L. 106–402 substituted “State Council on Developmental Disabilities established under section 125 of the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 2000 and the protection and advocacy system established under subtitle C of that Act” for “State Planning Council established under section 6024 of this title, and the Protection and Advocacy System established under section 6042 of this title”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Pub. L. 101–508, title IV, § 4712(c), Nov. 5, 1990, 104 Stat. 1388–190, provided that: “(1) In general.—The

Amendments

made by this section [enacting this section and amending section 1396d of this title] shall apply to community supported living arrangements services furnished on or after the later of July 1, 1991, or 30 days after the publication of

Regulations

setting forth interim requirements under subsection (h) [probably means 42 U.S.C. 1396u(h)] without regard to whether or not final

Regulations

to carry out such

Amendments

have been promulgated by such date. “(2) Application process.—The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall provide that the applications required to be submitted by States under this section shall be received and approved prior to the

Effective Date

specified in paragraph (1).”

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

42 U.S.C. § 1396u

Title 42The Public Health and Welfare

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73