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

Childhood Cancer Lantern
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Wisconsin program

Support at home and breaks from caring (Children's Long-Term Support)

County-arranged support for children under 22 with substantial daily care needs.

What it is

County-arranged support for children under 22 with substantial daily care needs.

Children's Long-Term Support can pay for help ordinary Medicaid does not cover. The county assesses daily functioning and care needs. Its test is separate from Katie Beckett's disability review.

Eligibility rules
  • Your child must be under 22 and meet an institutional level of care on the children's functional screen. A separate disability determination is not required.
  • Families receiving SSI-related Medicaid, BadgerCare Plus, FoodShare, Wisconsin Works or WIC have no parental payment. Other families may have a payment based on the state worksheet; inability to pay does not change the child’s authorized services.
What you get
  • Support workers, equipment and home adaptations in an approved support plan.
  • Respite so another person can care for your child while you take a break.
  • No parental payment for families receiving certain benefits, including BadgerCare Plus or FoodShare.
If you decide to apply
  1. Ask your county's CLTS agency for a children's functional screen.
  2. Bring notes on daily care, the oncology team's description and a list of benefits your family receives.

Your county CLTS agency; Wisconsin Wayfinder referral: 877-947-2929 · Official page ↗

Good to know

A parent or primary caregiver living with the child cannot be paid for these waiver services, except certain transportation.

Other details
  • The county should contact you within ten days of the referral and decide eligibility within 45. A support plan follows within about two months after that; finding a worker can take longer.
  • Wisconsin describes continuous enrollment as enrolling children once they are found eligible.
  • The approved waiver is WI.0414.R04.01. The proposed 2027–2031 renewal is not yet approved.
  • Your child needs full Medicaid first; the county can say which route. There is no waiting list once a child is found eligible, but assessment, planning and finding providers take time. Families not on BadgerCare Plus or FoodShare may owe a monthly share, which the county can lower in hardship.

Federal background: Medicaid home-care programs (waivers).

Official sources
Ask your social worker

“Could the county support our child's care at home, what would the assessment and any family cost involve, and would you help us request it if it fits?”

Why I’m asking: I want to understand which care and respite the county could help arrange.

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

Ring the county agency, ask for the screen, and describe an ordinary day honestly.

Your social worker

The oncology team describes the care at home in writing for the screen.

The care team

A written description of the daily care supports the level-of-care finding.

Who decides
The county waiver agency, on the children's functional screen.
Ask your social worker
“Can you help us ask our county for a children's functional screen, and write down what the care at home involves?”

How to apply

First step: Find your county agency on the state's list and ask for a children's functional screen.

  1. Find your county agency on the state list and ask for a children's functional screen.
  2. Ask whether a parental payment applies to your household, and say which benefits you already get.

Official application / program page ↗

Where it starts: Call the county agency on the state's county list and ask for a children's functional screen.

What to gather

  • A note of what the daily care involves
  • The oncology team's written description
  • Which benefits the household already gets

How long: The current CLTS manual requires county contact within ten calendar days of referral and an eligibility determination within 45 calendar days of referral. Enrollment is due within 45 calendar days of being determined enrollable, and the individual service plan within 60 calendar days of that enrollable date. These are different starting dates and are not a promise that a particular worker is available.

What a yes looks like

A support and service plan agreed with the county agency, naming who does what.

What a no looks like, and the next move

The screen did not find that level of care. Ask what the screen recorded and whether the oncology team's description was in front of it.

Watch out

  • This is decided by a screen, not a disability decision, so it is a separate test from Katie Beckett.
  • A parent living in the home cannot be paid for these services, apart from certain transport.
  • Families receiving SSI-related Medicaid, BadgerCare Plus, FoodShare, Wisconsin Works or WIC have no parental payment. Other families may have a payment based on the state worksheet; inability to pay does not change the child’s authorized services.

Dates that change this

2026-09-04: The state now describes continuous enrolment rather than a waiting list. No current number of children waiting, and no date for one, was published, so we do not print either a wait or a zero.

2027-01-01: A 2027 to 2031 renewal of the waiver is proposed. It is not approved and is not treated as the current rule.

The numbers and the rules

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

What it is worth

Support at home and in the community for a child under 22 who meets an institutional level of care, arranged by the county.

Covers: Support workers and personal care beyond the ordinary benefit · Equipment and home adaptations · Respite for the family · A support and service plan written with the county agency

Legal protection: Families receiving SSI-related Medicaid, BadgerCare Plus, FoodShare, Wisconsin Works or WIC have no parental payment. Other families may have a payment based on the state worksheet; inability to pay does not change the child’s authorized services. · Services are not affected by a family's ability to pay a parental payment

What it costs the family: Nonexempt families use the current state parental-payment worksheet. The county confirms the amount and reviews hardship or changed circumstances; inability to pay does not change authorized services.

The eligibility facts, as published

Age
under 22
Level of care
institutional level of care as found by the children's functional screen
Disability determination
not required for this waiver
Financial
Nonexempt families use the current state parental-payment worksheet. The county confirms the amount and reviews hardship or changed circumstances; inability to pay does not change authorized services.
Waiver
WI.0414.R04.01, with a 2027 to 2031 renewal proposed and not approved

The trap: There is no separate disability determination for this, only the functional screen, so it is a different test from Katie Beckett and you can ask for both. A parent or another primary caregiver in the household cannot be paid to provide the services, apart from certain transport.

Where I read this

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