A Kentucky nonprofit · Louisville area
Positive behavior supports and resource coordination for children and adults with behavioral, cognitive and developmental disabilities, and for the families who love them. Waiver or no waiver, you can start here.
Several doors into the same place. Pick the one that sounds like you.
You do not need a waiver
A lot of families reach us stuck. They have been told they need a waiver, the waiting list is years long, and nobody has explained what to do in the meantime.
Resource coordination is that middle ground. We sit down with you, work out what you actually need, and connect you with what already exists: school supports, state programs, therapy, respite, benefits, questions about decision making, other waivers you may qualify for. There is no charge to ask.
Our mission
We believe every person deserves a life that feels like their own.
So we start by listening. We build support around what someone actually wants from their days, we plan it together with them, and we measure our work by one thing: whether their world got a little bigger.
A small, focused set of services. We would rather do a few things properly than list everything.
We learn what a person is trying to tell us, then build a plan that teaches skills and changes what surrounds them. Coaching for the family and staff who are there every day comes with it, because a plan that only works when the specialist is in the room isn't a plan.
How it worksFinding, applying for and holding on to the supports a person is entitled to, across programs and paperwork that were never designed to talk to each other. You do not need a waiver for this.
What we connect you toTraining and consultation for employers, schools, churches and community groups who want to include disabled people well and are not sure how.
Learn moreInformation nights and gatherings, free and open to the community. You do not have to be someone we support to come.
See what's plannedWe are working toward Kentucky Medicaid certification so we can deliver waiver services directly. Until then, we will help you navigate the waiver itself.
About the waiverThe Michelle P. Waiver
The Michelle P. Waiver is one of Kentucky's Medicaid 1915(c) home and community based waivers. It exists so that people with intellectual and developmental disabilities can get support where they live instead of in an institution.
We walk alongside people who are enrolled on this waiver, and we will help you understand the process if you are not there yet.
The Commonwealth decides eligibility, not us. We can walk you through it and point you to the right office.
Two generations
Jeremy grew up inside developmental services: riding along, filling in, and eventually working alongside his father for most of his adult life. He learned the parts you cannot teach in an orientation packet. How to read a room. How to sit with a family on the worst day. How to notice the small win nobody else clocked.
Sweet Dreams Developmental Services is what happens when that experience gets its own front door. Organized as a Kentucky nonprofit, accountable to a volunteer board, and built around one question: what would make this person's life better?
One of my first clients was a little boy, about six, with cerebral palsy. He was so shy he could barely speak, and he ran from me the first time we met. Twelve years later, he got voted class clown.
Some of the things that change a person's year never appear on a service plan. A ticket to the game. A haircut before a first date. A birthday somebody remembered. Those are the things a community can give, and they are a good part of why this is a nonprofit.
Classes, equipment, experiences and small emergencies that no program covers.
Drivers, event help, musicians, gardeners, and people willing to just be a friend.
Workshops and gatherings that put people together instead of apart.
Four steps, in this order. It takes time, and we will be honest with you about that.
Waiver programs run through Medicaid, so financial eligibility comes first. You can apply through kynect, by phone, or at a DCBS office.
Apply online through kynect, or in person at an Aging and Disability Resource Center or a Community Mental Health Center. Your application date is what sets your place in line.
There is a waiting list, and it is long. When your name comes up, you choose who supports you. You are allowed to choose us, and you are allowed to change your mind later.
You, the people you trust, your case manager and our team write a person centered service plan together. Services start once that plan is approved.
That might be a loved one, someone on your caseload, or you. We will answer honestly, even when the answer is "not yet."
Where to start
Nobody hands you a map for this. Most people reach us in the middle of a hard stretch, holding a diagnosis, a school meeting, or a phone number that did not go anywhere.
Start with your doctor and ask directly for a developmental evaluation referral. For a child under three, Kentucky First Steps takes referrals from families directly, with no doctor's permission needed. If your child is school age, put a request for an educational evaluation in writing to the school. That starts a legal timeline.
Call us in the meantime. A diagnosis is not required for us to talk with you.
This is what we do. We start by learning what the person is trying to tell us, which can be about pain, a medical need nobody has caught, too much noise or light, a routine that does not fit, past experiences that left a mark, or simply not having a way to say the thing. Then we build a plan that teaches skills and changes what surrounds them.
If someone is in danger right now, call 911 or 988 first.
A Medicaid waiver is a program that pays for long term support in your own home and community instead of in an institution. In Kentucky, the main one for intellectual and developmental disabilities is the Michelle P. Waiver. There is a waiting list, and your place on it is set by the date you apply, so applying early is the single most useful thing you can do, even if you do not need services yet.
Then this is exactly the moment for resource coordination. There are almost always supports available while you wait, including state plan Medicaid services, school services, respite, therapy and community programs, that families never hear about because nobody's job is to tell them.
A lot changes at 18: how decisions get made, adult Medicaid eligibility, SSI, transition planning through the school, and adult service systems that work nothing like the school system. Start a year early if you can.
On decision making, we will always talk you through supported decision making first. It keeps your child as the person who decides, with people they trust helping them understand options and communicate their choice. Guardianship removes rights, and while it is the right answer for some specific situations, it is worth treating as a last resort rather than a default. We can explain both, honestly, and neither of them is our decision to make.
Get in touch directly. Tell us the county, the supports needed and the timeline, and we will tell you plainly what we can and cannot take on right now.
Still not sure? Call or email and say exactly that. "I do not know what I need" is a perfectly good way to begin, and we have heard it a hundred times.
Services
Services for people with behavioral, cognitive and developmental disabilities. A short list on purpose. We would rather do a few things properly than advertise everything.
Core service
Behavior is communication. Our whole approach starts there.
Families usually call us about the hard hours. Someone gets overwhelmed and lashes out. Someone hurts themselves. Someone leaves the house without telling anyone. Someone shuts down completely, or breaks things, or refuses everything for weeks. It is exhausting, and it is not a sign that anybody failed.
The useful question is never how to stop the behavior. It is what the person is trying to tell us. That can be pain, a medical need nobody has caught, too much noise or light, a routine that does not fit, past experiences that left a mark, a demand that is harder than it looks, or simply not having a way to say the thing. Once we know, we can teach another way to say it and change what surrounds the person so they need to say it less often.
We work with children and adults, at home and out in the community, and we coach the people who are there every day.
We do not use restraint, seclusion or aversive interventions. Positive behavior support means building skills, not suppressing behavior.
To the person first, and to you. What is happening, when, and what has already been tried.
Time spent watching and asking, including health, sleep, sensory and history, not just the behavior itself.
What to change ahead of time, what skill to teach, and what to do in the moment.
Coaching for family and staff, then reviewing how it is going and adjusting.
Core service
You should not need a case manager to find a case manager.
The support system for disabled people is a patchwork of agencies, programs and forms that do not talk to each other. Families lose years in the gaps between them.
Resource coordination is us learning your situation once, then doing the finding, calling and following up so you do not have to explain it eleven more times. You do not need a waiver for this.
Children and adults, across a wide range of support needs.
When behavior is putting someone's home, school, job or safety at risk, with or without a formal diagnosis attached.
Differences in memory, processing, judgment or problem solving, whether present from birth or acquired later.
Conditions beginning in childhood that affect learning, language, movement or daily living, including intellectual disability, cerebral palsy and Down syndrome.
Across the full range of support needs, at every age, including adults diagnosed late or never formally at all.
How we talk about disability. We use person first language by default, as in "a person with autism." Many people prefer identity first language, as in "an autistic person." Tell us which you prefer and that is what we will use.
Beyond individual services
Inclusion usually falls apart for ordinary reasons. A manager who does not know how to give an instruction. A volunteer who panics. A classroom with no plan. All of that is fixable with a couple of hours and somebody who has done it before.
We offer training and consultation to employers, schools, churches, first responders and community organizations across the Louisville area.
Practical coaching for teams hiring or supporting a disabled employee.
Making programs, services and events genuinely usable by everyone who shows up.
Short, specific sessions on what helps and what makes things worse.
Free, open to the community, and no requirement to be someone we support.
A plain English walkthrough of the Michelle P. Waiver, what it covers, and how to apply, with time for questions afterward.
Practical sessions on the hard hours at home, school meetings, and planning for the transition to adulthood.
Time together for families and self advocates, because a lot of people doing this are doing it alone.
Nothing on the calendar yet. We are booking our first sessions now. If you would like to know when dates are set, email Secretary@SweetDreamsServices.org and we will add you to the list.
Michelle P. Waiver services are in progress. We are working through Kentucky Medicaid certification and provider enrollment so we can deliver Michelle P. Waiver services directly. We will say so here the moment it is approved, and we will not claim it before then. In the meantime we will gladly help you understand and apply for the waiver itself. Read about the waiver.
Most people are not. Tell us what is happening and we will help you sort it out.
Understanding the program
No acronyms without translation. Here is what the waiver is, who it is for, what it pays for, and what it cannot do.
Where we stand today. Sweet Dreams is not yet an enrolled Michelle P. Waiver provider. Certification is in progress and it is the last major piece. We will update this page the day it is approved. Everything below is here to help you regardless, and helping you apply costs nothing.
The Michelle P. Waiver (MPW) is part of Kentucky's Medicaid 1915(c) home and community based services program. It "waives" the usual rule that Medicaid pays for this level of care only inside an institution, so that support can follow a person into their own home and community instead.
It came out of a lawsuit. In 2002, Kentucky Protection and Advocacy sued the Cabinet for Health and Family Services on behalf of Kentuckians with intellectual and developmental disabilities who were stuck waiting for services. The waiver that resulted carries the name of the lead plaintiff. It exists because people fought for it.
The waiver serves people of any age with an intellectual or developmental disability. To be eligible, the Commonwealth must determine that you:
Age, how long someone has been in an institution, and a history of previous institutionalization cannot by themselves be used to say no.
A broad set of supports: daily living help, respite, day training, positive behavior supports, employment services, therapies, home and vehicle modifications, specialized equipment, transportation and more. Each service must be in the person centered service plan and prior authorized.
An enrolled provider recruits, screens, trains, schedules, supervises and pays the staff. You get continuity and backup coverage, and the agency carries the employer responsibilities.
You hire and manage your own employees for many non medical, non residential services, including, in some circumstances, family members. More control, more paperwork. A community guide and a financial management agency help you run it.
You can also combine both. Many families do.
The hard part: there is a waiting list. Kentucky currently maintains a waiting list for Michelle P. Waiver services, and placement on it is determined by the date your completed application is received. That is exactly why applying early matters, even if you do not need services this month.
Both serve people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. In general, the Supports for Community Living (SCL) waiver covers more intensive, residential style supports including staffed residences and adult foster care, while the Michelle P. Waiver is oriented toward people living at home or with family who need a defined set of community supports. A person can only be enrolled in one 1915(c) waiver at a time. Your case manager or an ADRC can help you figure out which fits.
The section of federal Medicaid law that lets states pay for long term supports in the community instead of an institution.
The state's determination that, without waiver services, a person would need care in an ICF-IID or nursing facility. It is re-checked periodically.
Intermediate Care Facility for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities, an institutional setting. The waiver exists to be an alternative to it.
The written plan built with the person that lists their goals and the services authorized to support them. Nothing gets billed that is not in the plan.
Your guide through the system. Coordinates the plan, monitors services, and is your first call when something is not working. You can choose and change your case manager.
Approval that must be in place before a waiver service is delivered and paid for.
An amount some waiver participants must contribute toward their care based on income. Ask your DCBS worker if it applies to you.
Kentucky's online benefits system, where you apply for Medicaid and for waiver services.
Aging and Disability Resource Center, a local office that can help you apply in person, for free.
Where this information comes from. Michelle P. Waiver services, eligibility and provider requirements are set out in Kentucky administrative regulation 907 KAR 1:835 and the approved waiver application, administered by the Department for Medicaid Services with the Department for Behavioral Health, Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities. Program details can change, so always confirm current rules with the Commonwealth. For program questions, DBHDID can be reached at (502) 564-7700.
Get started
Kentucky decides who is eligible, and we cannot approve anyone. What we can do is make sure you do not lose months to a form nobody explained. Here is the order it goes in.
Waiver services are Medicaid services, so this comes first. Apply online at kynect.ky.gov, call the Department for Community Based Services at (855) 306-8959, or go in person to a DCBS office.
Waiver programs have their own financial rules, which are often more generous than regular Medicaid. Do not assume you will not qualify.
This is a separate application. You can do it online through kynect, or in person, for free, at an Aging and Disability Resource Center or a Community Mental Health Center.
Do this as soon as you possibly can. Your place on the waiting list is set by the date your completed application is received.
The Commonwealth will assess needs and decide whether the person meets waiver level of care. Expect at least one face to face visit and requests for documentation.
Once a slot opens, you choose a case manager and the providers you want. If you would like that to be us, say so, and if we are not the right fit, we will tell you who might be.
Then the person centered service plan gets written with you, services get authorized, and support begins.
Gathering these ahead of time saves weeks:
The waiting list is long, and pretending otherwise does not help anyone. Things worth doing in the meantime:
No, and no provider can. Eligibility and waiting list placement are decided by the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Anyone who tells you they can move you up the list is not telling you the truth. We can help you understand the process, gather documents and connect with the right office, at no cost, whether or not we ever support you.
It varies and it is out of our hands. Because placement is by application date, the single most useful thing you can do is apply now.
Waiver services are paid by Kentucky Medicaid. Some participants have a "patient liability" contribution based on income. There is no charge from us for answering questions or helping you find your way through the process.
Under Participant Directed Services, family members can be paid for some services in specific circumstances, subject to state rules and limits. Talk with your case manager about whether PDS fits your family.
You have appeal rights. Read the denial notice carefully, because it will state the deadline and the deadline is short. Kentucky Protection and Advocacy and your ADRC can help. Do not let the deadline pass while you decide.
Yes. The Michelle P. Waiver serves people of all ages, and our behavior support and resource coordination work with children as well as adults.
Jefferson, Oldham and Bullitt counties, roughly a thirty minute radius around Louisville.
Resources
This page is free and always will be. If something here is out of date or you cannot get through to somebody, tell us and we will help you chase it.
Where you apply for Medicaid and for waiver services in Kentucky, and where you keep your information current so you do not get dropped.
kynect.ky.govApply for Medicaid, report changes, and ask financial eligibility questions.
(855) 306-8959The state's official program page, with eligibility, services and how to apply.
CHFS waiver pageIncome support for disabled people. Worth applying for even if you expect a denial the first time, because many approvals come on appeal.
ssa.govFree, in person help applying for waivers and benefits, in every region of Kentucky.
Find your ADRCRegional centers offering behavioral health services, crisis lines and help applying for the waiver.
Find your CMHCDial 211 for local help with food, housing, utilities, childcare and crisis support. Free, 24 hours a day.
Call 211Early intervention for children under three. Families can refer directly, with no doctor's referral required.
Kentucky has a federally funded Parent Training and Information Center that helps families with IEPs and school disputes, free of charge.
Call or text 988 any time for a mental health crisis, for yourself or someone you are caring for.
Call or text 988To report suspected abuse, neglect or exploitation of a child or adult in Kentucky, call the statewide reporting line, or 911 in an emergency.
(877) 597-2331If you would rather talk to a person than click through eleven websites, that is exactly what resource coordination is for.
Contact usWhere we serve. Jefferson, Oldham and Bullitt counties in Kentucky, roughly a thirty minute radius around Louisville.
About us
Sweet Dreams Developmental Services is a Kentucky nonprofit corporation formed to support people with behavioral, cognitive and developmental disabilities and the families around them, with the patience and follow through the work deserves.
Jeremy grew up inside developmental services: riding along, filling in, and eventually working alongside his father for most of his adult life. He learned the parts you cannot teach in an orientation packet. How to read a room. How to sit with a family on the worst day. How to notice the small win nobody else clocked.
Sweet Dreams Developmental Services is what happens when that experience gets its own front door. Organized as a Kentucky nonprofit, accountable to a volunteer board, and built around one question: what would make this person's life better?
One of my first clients was a little boy, about six, with cerebral palsy. He was so shy he could barely speak, and he ran from me the first time we met. Twelve years later, he got voted class clown.
We would rather tell you exactly where we stand than let a website imply more than is true.
The plan starts with what someone wants their week to look like, then we work out the logistics. Not the other way around.
The person being supported is the one who decides. When we plan with families, we are planning with the person, not for them.
Growing means getting to try things, and sometimes getting them wrong. We keep people safe while still letting them reach.
You know things about the person you love that no assessment will ever capture. We plan with you, not around you.
Many of the people we walk alongside have been through institutions, hospitals, or treatment that was done to them rather than with them. That shapes how we work, and how carefully we move.
About wait times, about what is covered, about what went wrong. Trust is built on unwelcome honesty.
Our board serves without pay. They approve the budget, set policy, and are responsible for making sure this organization stays worthy of the people who rely on it.
Founder
Behavior Consultant, Master of Social Work
Board Member
Board Member
Coming to this page
The most useful thing on this page will eventually not be written by us. This space is held for the people we support to say what they want said, in their own words.
If you are someone we support and there is something you want said here, tell us. Your name goes on it, or does not, exactly as you prefer.
Support our work
Waivers and programs pay for services. They do not pay for the ticket to the game, the haircut before a first date, the equipment that is not on the approved list, or the birthday somebody remembered. Those are the things a community can give.
Classes, equipment, experiences and small emergencies outside what any program covers.
Drivers, event help, musicians, gardeners, and people willing to just be a friend.
Equipment, venue space, printing, or professional services your business can donate.
We are not accepting donations quite yet. Our 501(c)(3) application is with the IRS. Until the determination letter arrives we will not ask anyone for money or suggest a gift is tax deductible, because it would not be yet. If you would like to know the day that changes, email us and we will tell you. That is the whole ask.
No commitment and no ask. Leave your name and we will let you know once the 501(c)(3) comes through. If you would rather give time than money, say so and we will follow up about that instead.
You are on the list. We will be in touch, and we will not use your details for anything else.
Something went wrong sending that. Please email Secretary@SweetDreamsServices.org instead.
Would rather talk to a person? Call (812) 989-6338.
Contact
That might be a loved one, someone on your caseload, or you. If you are just starting out and do not know what to ask, that is fine. Start anywhere.
Fill in as much or as little as you like. The only things we really need are a name and a way to reach you back.
Someone will get back to you within two business days. If it is urgent, call (812) 989-6338 instead of waiting on email.
Something went wrong sending that. Please email us directly at Secretary@SweetDreamsServices.org or call (812) 989-6338, and we are sorry for the trouble.
Call 911 for a medical or safety emergency. For a mental health crisis, call or text 988. To report suspected abuse or neglect of a child or adult in Kentucky, call (877) 597-2331. In Indiana, call (800) 800-5556.
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