Medicaid waivers for autism in Mississippi
Mississippians of any age with autism, an intellectual disability or a developmental disability who meet ICF/IID level of care.
- Main program
- Intellectual Disabilities/Developmental Disabilities (ID/DD) Waiver
- Typical wait
- Years, with roughly 2,500 waiting — crisis cases are prioritized
- Administered by
- Mississippi Department of Mental Health, Bureau of IDD, with the Division of Medicaid, through regional IDD programs
- Phone
- 877-210-8513
- Age rules
- No minimum age; serves children and adults.
How to get on the list
Contact your local Department of Mental Health regional center, or call the Bureau of IDD on 877-210-8513, and schedule an evaluation at your regional IDD program. If found eligible you are assigned a targeted case manager. Ask for written confirmation of your application date.
Open the official Mississippi page →Does autism qualify?
Autism is explicitly named in the waiver's target population, and there is no lower age limit — the program serves from birth.
How the waiting list works
Around 2,496 Mississippians with developmental disabilities are on the waiting list, and crisis situations are prioritized over queue position. Two things follow. First, because crisis moves you, it is worth knowing in advance what the state counts as a crisis rather than discovering the definition during one. Second, and this is the reason Mississippi's own guidance stresses it: confirm your application date in writing. In a system where date matters for everyone who is not in crisis, an unrecorded or disputed application date is the single most damaging administrative error a family can suffer, and it is entirely preventable with one email asking for written confirmation.
- People with developmental disabilities waitingroughly 2,496
- Prioritycrisis situations move ahead of the queue
What it can pay for
- Support coordination
- In-home and community respite
- Home and community supports
- Behaviour support services
- Therapy services
- Supported living and shared supported living
- Host home
- Day services and prevocational services
- Supported employment and job discovery
- Crisis intervention and crisis support
- In-home nursing respite
- Specialized medical supplies
- Transition assistance
Other programs worth knowing
IDD Community Support Program
A separate DMH program running alongside the waiver. Ask which you are being considered for — they are not the same thing.
Mississippiproviders & resources →
Local help you can access now, while you wait.
Waivers explained →
What to do while you're on the list, and what to ask.
Sources · last checked August 2026
- Mississippi Division of Medicaid — ID/DD Waiver
- Mississippi DMH — IDD services
- Mississippi DMH — IDD Waiver and CSP, 2026 (PDF)
Waiting lists and eligibility rules change. Always confirm current details with the agency before making decisions. If something here is out of date, tell us.