Intake Process for Funding with DMH/Regional Center in State of Missouri

Intake Process for Funding with DMH/Regional Center in State of Missouri

The Missouri Division of Developmental Disabilities was established in 1974 to support the unique needs of individuals, family members, and caregivers who experience a developmental disability (DD). The Division understands that individuals and those who support them, have diverse strengths, abilities, needs, and challenges.

Individuals and families identify that they face greater challenges in their attempt to navigate day-to-day life. They state the need for:

Relevant Information;
  1. Resources;
  2. Access to valuable supports and services, as well as;
  3. The opportunity to share their life experiences with others in similar situations to ensure long term success.
Any support beyond Support Coordination is considered a funded direct support service. New requests for funding require that the individual in need has active Medicaid. Missouri works in partnership with the federal government to share the costs of services through participation in Medicaid Waivers. The specific requirements to access such funding can be discussed in greater detail with the assigned Support Coordinator.

There is one exception to this rule. Any individual with an Autism diagnosis has the ability to access specific funding distributed by the five Parent Advisory Councils across the state. This allotment of funding is provided solely by Missouri tax dollars and not in partnership with the Federal Government, which means participating in Medicaid is not a requirement.


Accessing DD services begins by contacting the local Regional Office/ Satellite Office for the County you reside in. Connect to the state map to locate your local office. https://dmh.mo.gov/dev-disabilities/regional-offices
Facilities Map multi color

Application Process

  1. An Intake worker will conduct an initial interview either by phone or in-person where they will gather basic demographic information such as name, age, date of birth, and the like. They will also gather information regarding the nature of the disability, names of those who would have information supporting the disability, and the potential applicant’s current status with Medicaid.
  2. An application will be provided to the individual or their responsible party, either in person or by mail. The packet will consist of:
    1. Application for Services
    2. Rights Acknowledgment
    3. Financial Questionnaire
    4. Releases of Information (ROI)
  3. Intake staff will mark/ indicate where signatures or information is required.
  4. Once the application has been signed and completed, it will need to be returned to the appropriate Regional/ Satellite Office.
  5. The application will be reviewed to ensure that it is complete. Once the application is validated, the eligibility process will begin.

Eligibility Process

The eligibility process will look different for each applicant but a few similarities are listed below:

  1. Medical/Psychological/Education records will be requested by utilizing the ROI’s included in the application packet.
  2. Eligibility Staff will review the records
  3. Various assessments may be completed by Eligibility Staff if there is sufficient information noted in the records that were obtained.
  4. Most importantly, Eligibility Staff is available to answer questions as they come up.
  5. Visit - https://dmh.mo.gov/dev-disabilities for more information.

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