Waiting for APD Services? Here’s How Pre-Enrollment Works.
To get services through Florida’s Agency for Persons with Disabilities (APD), you start with an application. If you’re seeking help through the iBudget Medicaid waiver, being found eligible is one step. Getting funded services is another. Pre-enrollment is the waiting stage between those decisions.
How you get from an application to services
1. Apply to APD. You can apply online or submit a paper application to your local APD office. Include the records supporting the developmental disability and Florida residency. If you’re missing documentation, ask APD what it needs.
2. APD reviews eligibility. APD checks whether you meet its requirements and sends a written decision. Respond to requests for more information. A diagnosis by itself doesn’t complete the application or establish waiver eligibility.
3. If you’re eligible and seeking waiver services, APD assigns a pre-enrollment category. Your letter should tell you which one. APD also says it will help develop a support plan within 60 days of the eligibility determination. That plan identifies needs and goals; it doesn’t mean funding has been approved.
4. When APD offers waiver enrollment, return the offer form and complete the enrollment requirements. These include Medicaid eligibility, a needs assessment, and choosing a waiver support coordinator. Your coordinator helps plan the services and budget approved for you. Then you choose providers for those authorized services.
What the October 2 report tells us
APD’s October 2, 2026 report lists 14,145 people in pre-enrollment statewide. Across the 12 counties CareOne Connected serves, the total is 3,737. The map shows the total in each county, including all seven categories.
Those numbers describe people already in pre-enrollment. They aren’t a count of pending applications, new funding awards, or everyone who has a developmental disability.
What your category means
APD places people in Categories 1–7, with 1 the highest priority. The categories describe circumstances and support needs, rather than ranking diagnoses. Here’s what the report’s labels mean:
Category | Who it covers | Statewide total |
|---|---|---|
1 — Crisis | Homelessness, life-threatening danger, or a caregiver who can no longer protect the person’s health and safety. | 0 |
2 — Child welfare | Certain people transitioning out of child welfare, needing extended foster care and waiver services, or qualifying young adults who withdrew from extended foster care. | 0 |
3 — Intensive needs | Serious risks or loss of care: a caregiver expected to become unable to help within 12 months with no replacement; risk of incarceration or serious harm; certain facility discharges; or qualifying DCF protective-services situations. | 44 |
4 — Older caregiver | A caregiver is 60 or older, the person needs a caregiver, and no alternate caregiver is available. | 268 |
5 — School transition | Leaving secondary school within 12 months and needing support for a meaningful day activity, competitive employment, or an accredited postsecondary program that has accepted the person. | 11 |
6 — Age 21 and older | Adults 21 or older who don’t meet Categories 1–5. | 6,015 |
7 — Under age 21 | People younger than 21 who don’t meet Categories 1–4. | 7,807 |
The report labels Category 4 “Caregiver Over Age 60.” The actual criterion includes caregivers who are 60.
APD reports that people in Categories 1 and 2 are offered waiver enrollment immediately. Both columns show zero in this snapshot. That doesn’t mean nobody is in crisis or needs help through child welfare.
For Categories 3–7, funding offers generally follow category priority. Within each category, APD uses the date the person was determined eligible for waiver services. So someone in Category 6 can have waited longer than someone in Category 3 and still have a lower funding priority. The report gives neither person a start date.
There are also specific enrollment pathways for eligible people with Phelan-McDermid syndrome and certain active-duty military families transferring existing home- and community-based services to Florida. Ask APD whether either applies to you.
Make sure APD has the situation you’re living with now
A category assigned years ago may no longer reflect your family’s needs. A caregiver’s illness, loss of a support arrangement, a safety concern, or an approaching school transition is a reason to contact APD and ask for a review.
Here’s a few questions we think you should be prepared to ask:
What category am I in, and what eligibility date is on file?
Does my current situation meet the criteria for a different category?
What documentation do you need to review it?
What support can I access while I’m in pre-enrollment?
Call APD’s Central Region at 407-245-0440 and ask for your assigned worker. If the situation is already a crisis, say so and request a crisis review. Keep your contact information current and respond to APD’s annual update letter.
CareOne Connected offers personal supports and respite. If you’d like to discuss the help your family needs, contact us. APD determines eligibility, category placement, and waiver enrollment.
Sources
APD: Apply for Services; Pre-enrollment Categories; October 2, 2026 county report; Priority Categories, revised July 1, 2025; Quarterly Report, May 2026. Florida Statutes: Section 393.065. APD: Waiver Enrollment Offer presentation, revised April 1, 2026.
