# Colorado CDASS enrollment guide

This general planning guide helps members, support people, representatives, and prospective attendants prepare for enrollment. It does not determine eligibility, approve care, or replace the case manager or Financial Management Services (FMS) provider. Program research dates and source limitations are shown on the website.

## Start with your situation

Confirm the member’s age, county, Health First Colorado coverage, assigned case manager, Community First Choice (CFC) status, and waiver if applicable. Unknown answers are useful questions for the agency. Find the agency serving the county in the [HCPF directory](https://hcpf.colorado.gov/case-management-agency-directory).

The website’s optional age, relationship, and Medicaid-status inputs tailor planning questions. They are not saved or sent to an agency. Adults and children have different assessment tools. Ask which forms apply; do not infer caregiver eligibility or payroll exemptions from age or relationship alone.

## Enrollment checkpoints

1. Confirm coverage and case management. If coverage is not active, ask how to apply, check an application, and arrange necessary assessments.
2. Review care needs with the case manager. Request the age-appropriate assessment, service plan, task worksheet, and allocation. Bring a care log and relevant clinical instructions.
3. Confirm the required initial documents, capacity documentation, representative designation if needed, and referral to Consumer Direct Colorado.
4. Complete orientation and the readiness assessment.
5. Prepare the Attendant Support Management Plan: staffing, approved tasks, wages, training, budget, backup care, and emergencies. Obtain approval and select an FMS.
6. Complete the employer packet and a separate hiring packet for every attendant. Confirm background checks, wage approval, payroll classifications, and any live-in documentation.
7. Obtain authorization and the FMS-confirmed member and individual attendant start dates before paid care begins.
8. Record approved care accurately, meet timesheet deadlines, review payroll and budget reports, and maintain backup coverage and renewal records.

## Keep roles separate

The member receives care and guides the plan. Attendants provide approved care and record actual time. A designated authorized representative manages the plan on the member’s behalf when applicable. Confirm role compatibility with the case manager and FMS; an AR cannot also be paid as the same member’s attendant. A parent, guardian, AR, and legal employer are distinct roles.

Ask how parental, spousal, or guardianship responsibilities affect services and extraordinary-care documentation. Ask the FMS which family employment-tax rules apply based on the attendant’s relationship to the legal employer. Live-in income-tax treatment and payroll-tax exemptions are separate questions.

## Prepare documents and questions

Request the current service plan, age-appropriate Direct Care Services Calculator, allocation worksheet, required capacity and representative forms, training evidence, approved management plan, employer and attendant packets, authorization, and start-date confirmations. Ask who owns each handoff and what proves it is complete. Follow appeal deadlines on any written denial or reduction notice.

Use the calculator for estimates with confirmed allocation, wages, employer costs, overtime classification, and employee deductions. It does not calculate exact payroll taxes or determine tax exemptions.

Submit sensitive documents using the agency or FMS’s approved secure process. Review the [site disclaimer](disclaimer.html) and [research limitations](RESEARCH-NOTES.md). Find official forms and training at [Consumer Direct Colorado](https://www.consumerdirectco.com/cdass/).