KDADS defends use of $24.2M in reappropriations to avert wait lists; IDD wait list remains over 5,300

Laura Howard, secretary of the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services, told the committee that the $24.2 million in one‑time savings from waiver slot timing arose because individuals offered new waiver slots are not enrolled for the full initial year, producing first‑year carryforward savings.

Howard said KDADS requested authority and the House and Senate budget committees approved using those savings last year to avert wait lists for three waivers: the Frail Elderly waiver (~$19.0M), the Brain Injury waiver (~$2.96M), and the Technology Assisted waiver (~$2.6M). "Every dollar that you have appropriated for the IDD waiver to fund slots, is in the IDD based budget," Howard said, adding that the funding was not diverted from the IDD base budget and that the agency sought legislative authorization to use one‑time savings where they were approved.

Several members pressed the department on a proviso in a prior bill that mentioned reducing the IDD wait list to 4,000 eligible individuals. Howard responded that the proviso included no dedicated funding to achieve that target and that, absent specific appropriations for additional slots, the department lacked a resource to fund that reduction. She also described operational constraints: offer rounds acceptance rates (~69% in an initial 778 offer round), required assessments, Medicaid enrollment steps and workforce capacity delays that can push service start dates weeks or months after an offer.

Howard said the active IDD wait list was 5,357 as of Aug. 28, 2026, and confirmed the department had prioritized crisis exceptions and targeted administrative changes, including beginning community support waiver outreach in October to shift some individuals into different services.