How to Choose or Change a Waiver Support Coordinator in Florida

What a waiver support coordinator does

In APD's own words, Waiver Support Coordination services “include case management services to help individuals access supports and services,” and coordinators “facilitate ongoing person-centered planning to help individuals identify their goals and plan for their needs.” Everyone receiving iBudget Waiver services works with one.

You can change at any time — this is the sentence

The Developmental Disabilities Individual Budgeting Waiver Services Coverage and Limitations Handbook, May 2023, says under the heading Freedom of Choice:

That is the whole answer to the question people usually ask nervously. There is no waiting period in it, and no requirement to justify the decision.

Your coordinator cannot be a one-person operation

The same Handbook states that providers of waiver support coordination services cannot be solo providers and must be enrolled with a Qualified Organization. That matters when you are comparing people, because the organization behind a coordinator carries obligations of its own under Chapter 65G-14, F.A.C. — including qualifications, a code of ethics, agency monitoring, and a mentoring program for new coordinators. So “who do you work for” is a fair question, and the answer is checkable.

How to compare coordinators, and where the request goes

1. 1Search the APD WSC Scorecard by county or by name. It is the only public comparison tool APD offers, and it is a better starting point than a list somebody hands you.
2. 2Ask any coordinator you are considering which Qualified Organization they are enrolled with. They must be enrolled with one, and you can look the organization up.
3. 3Contact your APD regional office to select or change a coordinator. APD runs six of them and lists the counties each one covers. The request goes there — not to the agency you are leaving, and not to the one you are considering.

What APD does not publish, said plainly

We went looking for a documented procedure and it is not there. APD's Waiver Support Coordinator page describes the service and links the Scorecard, but carries no selection or change procedure. Section 393.0663, F.S. governs the qualified organizations that employ coordinators — their standards, training and oversight — and says nothing about how a recipient chooses one. Chapter 65G-14, F.A.C. is the same shape.

That gap is why the question keeps getting asked and keeps getting answered differently by different people. The right is documented; the paperwork is handled regionally. If somebody tells you a specific form or packet is required, ask your regional office to confirm it — that is the office that would know, and nothing published contradicts or confirms it.