CMS has renewed California’s optional 1915(i) state plan benefit for people with developmental disabilities for five more years, with an effective date of Oct. 1, 2026.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services approval letter for SPA 26-0009, signed Sept. 30, 2026, and posted by the California Department of Developmental Services, keeps the targeted benefit in force through Sept. 30, 2031. Because California targets the benefit to people with developmental disabilities, federal law limits the approval to five-year periods. The SPA projects about 109,000 unduplicated participants in the first year (Oct. 1, 2026–Sept. 30, 2027).
The benefit is operated by DDS and regional centers under DHCS as the Medicaid agency. Covered services include community living arrangement services, day and behavioral habilitation, supported employment, respite, self-direction supports, remote supports, and related therapies and adaptations—supports for people who meet needs-based criteria that are less stringent than institutional level of care.
DDS lists no pending 1915(i) amendments on its HCBS page as of mid-October 2026, after posting the approval package.
Why this matters for providers and DSPs
Regional centers and vendored agencies rely on 1915(i) federal match for many community services outside the 1915(c) waiver. A clean five-year renewal locks in that authority and the quality-monitoring obligations CMS will check again before the next renewal. Providers should confirm which consumers are billed under 1915(i) versus the HCBS waiver and watch for any later rate or service amendments that ride on this SPA.