Written by a parent, not a doctor. Nothing here is medical advice.

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Alabama program

Care coordination and equipment help (Children's Rehabilitation Service)

Alabama’s service for children with long-term health needs (Children’s Rehabilitation Service).

What it is

Alabama’s service for children with long-term health needs (Children’s Rehabilitation Service).

A care coordinator can help with referrals and equipment. The clinic side is open at any income for children the service accepts. Equipment and other purchased services have separate financial rules.

Eligibility rules
  • The usual pediatric service is for Alabama residents younger than 21.
  • Ask CRS whether your child’s condition and requested services fit its program. A leukemia diagnosis alone does not establish acceptance for clinic care, coordination or purchased services.
What you get
  • For an accepted child, clinic care and care coordination are available at any income.
  • Purchased services have no yearly fee for families on Medicaid or ALL Kids.
  • Approved equipment, medicines or therapies can receive help after insurance. CRS must approve payment before the service.
What the help includes
  • Purchased-service help pays after insurance. A smaller purchased-service cost can limit the fee under the program’s rules.
  • The fee schedule effective August 1, 2019 remains in the current CRS rule. Its printed labels do not spell out every interval; CRS places your income in the appropriate band.
  • Clinic visits and care coordination are free at any income. If the program buys something for your child (equipment, medicine, therapy), there is one yearly family fee based on taxable income: nothing up to 200% of poverty, then $50 to $500 in steps as income rises. Families on Medicaid or ALL Kids pay no fee.
If you decide to apply
  1. Ask the oncology social worker for a spoken or written referral to a Children’s Rehabilitation Service office.
  2. Have ready: the diagnosis letter and last year’s tax return if a purchased-service fee could apply.

Alabama Department of Rehabilitation Services · Official page ↗

After you ask
  • Acceptance includes a named care coordinator.
  • Ask the CRS office to confirm referral receipt, missing records, the person responsible and the expected next contact. A referral does not approve a purchase.
Good to know

The fee table affects services the program buys. It is not an income limit on entering the clinic service.

Other details
  • A purchased-service fee applies only when the program bought something for the family in the previous calendar year.
Official sources
Ask your social worker

“Would this service take our child’s diagnosis and help with appointments or equipment, and could there be a fee? If it fits, could you help with a referral?”

Why I’m asking: I could use help arranging services, but need to know what this program actually covers.

More background and detailed requirements
Additional program information and published rules

Who does what

The three parts, side by side. The agency decides; nobody on this page does.

You

Discuss a referral and whether the purchased-service fee review requires a tax return.

Your social worker

The oncology social worker can refer you by phone in a minute.

The care team

A doctor can refer directly.

Who decides
The Alabama Department of Rehabilitation Services.
Ask your social worker
“Can you refer us to Children's Rehabilitation Service, and can you find out whether they serve leukaemia?”

How to apply

First step: Ask the oncology social worker to make the referral; a phone call is enough and there is no form to chase.

  1. Ask the oncology social worker to refer your child, which can be done by phone.
  2. Ask whether leukaemia is on the served list before relying on it for equipment.
  3. If you are on Medicaid or ALL Kids, say so: there is no fee at all.

Official application / program page ↗

Where it starts: A spoken or written referral to any office of the service, from you, the doctor or anyone else.

What to gather

  • The diagnosis letter
  • Last year's tax return, only if a fee band might apply

How long: CRS confirms referral receipt, missing information and the expected response date.

What a yes looks like

An enrolment and a named care coordinator you can call.

What a no looks like, and the next move

CRS explains which diagnosis or requested service did not qualify; clinic coordination is not automatically available after a diagnosis refusal.

Watch out

  • The fee table is about things the service buys for you, not about getting in.
  • It counts last year's taxable income from the return, not this month's pay.
  • Whether leukaemia is on its served diagnosis list could not be read, so ask before you count on it for equipment.

Dates that change this

2019-08-01: The fee table and the rules here come from a 2019 amendment, the newest text that could be read. A 2026 dollar table and the served diagnosis list were not found.

The numbers and the rules

The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 11, 2026.

What it is worth

Clinic care and care coordination at any income. The yearly fee on purchased items is $0 under 200 percent of the poverty level, rising to $500 above 450 percent.

  • $0/year — Yearly fee, family income up to 200 percent of the poverty level
  • $50/year — Yearly fee at the 250 percent band
  • $100/year — Yearly fee at the 300 percent band
  • $200/year — Yearly fee at the 350 percent band
  • $300/year — Yearly fee at the 400 percent band
  • $400/year — Yearly fee at the 450 percent band
  • $500/year — Yearly fee above the 450 percent band

Covers: Clinic evaluation and medical care · Care coordination · Equipment, medicines and therapies approved for payment by CRS before the service, after applicable insurance

Legal protection: No fee for families on Medicaid or ALL Kids · Referral can come from you, a doctor or anyone else, spoken or written

What it costs the family: No fee under 200 percent of the poverty level, and none on Medicaid or ALL Kids. Above that, $50 to $500 a year, and only when something was bought for you the previous year.

The eligibility facts, as published

Age
younger than 21 for ordinary pediatric services
Income
no income test for clinic care, evaluation or care coordination; purchased services are income-based on taxable annual family income
Residency
legal resident of Alabama
Processing standard
unknown

Decisions this site cannot make: CRS enrolment after an oral or written referral

Expect friction on: The diagnosis list was not readable, so whether leukaemia is served has to be asked

The trap: Clinic care and coordination are separate from the purchased-service fee. CRS must approve payment before a purchased service; the compiled fee schedule effective August 1, 2019 remains in the rule reviewed September 16, 2026.

Where I read this

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