Serving Georgia's NOW and COMP waivers means enrolling and being certified through DBHDD, getting your Medicaid provider number from DCH, clearing fingerprint background checks, meeting the DBHDD Community Standards, and training your direct support professionals to competency. Here is the whole path, in order.
Georgia's I/DD system is run by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD) — not to be confused with Virginia's DBHDS. The Department of Community Health (DCH) is Georgia's Medicaid agency and delegates day-to-day operation of the NOW and COMP waivers to DBHDD. You are certified and enrolled through DBHDD; DCH issues the Medicaid provider number and rates.
New providers begin with a Letter of Intent (LOI) during an open-enrollment period and a required New Provider Enrollment Forum administered through the Georgia Collaborative ASO (DBHDD Policy 02-701). NOW is the lower-intensity waiver; COMP covers more intensive needs, including residential.
DBHDD confirms the applicant meets Medicaid criteria and forwards a recommendation to the DCH Medicaid Program Specialist, who assigns the Medicaid provider number and service rates. Enrollment and Medicaid authorization are separate steps handled by the two agencies.
Anyone with direct-care, treatment, or custodial responsibility must pass a fingerprint-based criminal history record check (DBHDD Policy 04-104). This applies to owners and staff alike, before direct contact with individuals.
You must meet the DBHDD Community Standards in the Provider Manual for Community DD Providers (updated quarterly) and pass DBHDD certification review, which examines your services, health-and-safety practices, and staff-training documentation.
Staff training must be documented and competency-validated before direct contact and at least annually. Independent Support Coordinators author and monitor each individual's Individual Service Plan (ISP); your agency delivers the authorized supports (Georgia DSP training requirements). That's exactly what DSPlife™ TrainingHub handles — a ready-to-assign DBHDD course library, competency and renewal tracking, and audit-ready records for certification review.
DBHDD (Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities) operates the I/DD program day to day — it publishes the Community Standards, runs incident management (IMAGE), and certifies providers. DCH (Department of Community Health) is the state Medicaid agency that issues the Medicaid provider number and rates. DCH delegates NOW/COMP operation to DBHDD; you work with both.
You submit a Letter of Intent during an open-enrollment period and attend a New Provider Enrollment Forum through the Georgia Collaborative ASO (DBHDD Policy 02-701). DBHDD verifies you meet the criteria and recommends you to DCH, which assigns your Medicaid provider number and rates.
Yes. Anyone with direct-care, treatment, or custodial responsibility must pass a fingerprint-based criminal history record check under DBHDD Policy 04-104 before working with individuals.
An independent, conflict-free Support Coordinator develops and monitors each individual’s Individual Service Plan (ISP). The provider agency delivers the authorized supports and coordinates with — but does not act as — the Support Coordinator.
This guide is general information, not legal or regulatory advice. DSPlife™ TrainingHub is not affiliated with the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities. Always confirm current requirements at dbhdd.georgia.gov and dch.georgia.gov.
TrainingHub ships with a Georgia DBHDD course library your staff can complete on their own schedule — individual rights, IMAGE incident reporting, person-centered ISP implementation, and more — with competency and renewal tracking and alerts before anything lapses. Free to start — no credit card required.
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