Support brokers are employed directly by participants who are eligible for the developmental disability waiver and select the self-direction option. Support brokers will:
- Help their employers develop and manage their services and supports
- Provide support in a way that is flexible and responsive to the needs and abilities of their employers
- Help their employers develop a support and spending plan
- Monitor the annual budget
- Develop back-up plans to mitigate potential risks to the health and safety of their employer
- Assist their employers in the process of managing employees, including recruiting, hiring, and monitoring, as necessary
Support brokers may provide services to either children or adults, but the requirements are different. Support brokers who provide services to adults must not be the adult's guardian, parent, spouse, payee, or conservator, or have any control or influence over the adult employer's choices.
To learn more about support brokers for children, visit the Support Broker page for Family Directed Services.
Becoming a support broker
A support broker performs many responsibilities, including the following:
- Assist in facilitating the person-centered planning process as directed by the participant
- Develop a written support and spending plan with the participant that includes the paid and unpaid supports the participant needs and wants, related risks identified with the participant’s wants and preferences, and a comprehensive risk plan for each potential risk with at least three back-up plans
- Assist the participant to monitor and review the budget
- Submit documentation regarding the participant’s satisfaction with identified supports as requested by the department
- Participate with department quality assurance measures, as requested
- Assist the participant in completing the annual re-determination process as needed, including updating the support and spending plan and submitting it to the department for authorization
- Assist the participant, as needed, to meet the participant responsibilities and protect their own health and safety
- Complete the department-approved criminal history check waiver form when a participant chooses to waiver the criminal history check requirement for a community support worker. Completion of this form requires that the support broker provide education and counseling to the participant and their circle of support regarding the risks of waiving a criminal history check. The support broker also will assist with detailing the rationale for waiving the criminal history check and outlining how health and safety will be protected.
- Sign the written support and spending plan
Depending on the needs of their employer, a support broker may also:
- Assist the participant to develop and maintain a circle of support
- Help the participant learn and implement the skills needed to recruit, hire, and monitor community supports
- Assist the participant to negotiate rates for paid community support workers
- Maintain documentation of supports provided by each community support worker and participant’s satisfaction with the these supports
- Assist the participant to monitor community supports
- Assist the participant to resolve employment related problems
- Assist the participant to identify and develop community resources to meet specific needs
- Assist the participant in distributing the support and spending plan to community support workers or vendors
A support broker must possess the following requirements:
- Be 18 years of age or older
- Have the skills and knowledge typically gained by completing college courses or community classes or workshops that count toward a degree in the human services field
- Have at least two years verifiable experience with the target population and knowledge of services and resources in the developmental disabilities field
- Pass the department's criminal history background check
- Complete and submit the Support Broker Application for Adults.
- If the application is approved, a letter will be sent with information regarding support broker training and the required qualification examinations. Attendance at the support broker training is required only for applicants planning to work with children.
- The closed-book, proctored exam is taken first. Applicants can prepare for this exam by reviewing the Support Broker Manual. Applicants who plan to test for both children and adults need only take one proctored exam conducted by either Family Directed Services or Bureau of Developmental Disability Services staff.
- Upon successful completion of the proctored exam, information will be sent regarding an open-book case study and workbook. The applicant will then complete a support and spending plan using the information from the case study. If the applicant has been approved for both adults and children, two case studies will need to be completed.
- Upon successful completion of the required qualification examinations, applicants may then begin providing services. Approved applicants can choose to be added to the Support Broker Listing. Status on the support broker listing may be changed at any time by emailing SDSBA@dhw.idaho.gov.
Annual re-qualification
To be re-qualified as a support broker, a requalification application and supporting documentation must be submitted 45 days prior to the expiration of your current qualification notice, one year from the initial qualification date.
Go to the requalification application for adults
Go to the requalification application for children
Supported documentation must be submitted with your application verifying that you have completed a minimum of 12 continuing education hours of training in subjects specific to support broker job duties and responsibilities. Six of these hours can be completed through independent self-study. A list of examples can be found in the Support Broker Manual, under annual re-qualification. Questions regarding what trainings would qualify as continuing education can be emailed to SDSBA@dhw.idaho.gov for support brokers who serve adult participants or CDSO@dhw.idaho.gov for support brokers who serve children.
See the training library for a list of support broker trainings.