Support brokers (SB) are employed directly by members who are eligible for the developmental disability (DD) waiver and select the self-direction option.
As a support broker you will:
- Help your employers develop and manage their services and supports.
- Provide support in a way that is flexible and responsive to the needs and abilities of your employers.
- Help your employers develop a support and spending plan.
- Monitor your employer's annual budget.
- Develop back-up plans to mitigate potential risks to the health and safety of your employer.
- Assist your employers in the process of managing employees, including recruiting, hiring, and monitoring, as necessary.
You may provide services to either children or adults, but the requirements are different. If you are a guardian, parent, spouse, payee, or conservator, or have a control influence over an adult employer's choices, you can't be the adult's SB.
To learn more about being a support brokers for children, visit the Support Broker or Family Directed Services pages for additional information.
Becoming a support broker
Aa a support broker you will perform many responsibilities, including the following:
- Assist in facilitating the person-centered planning process as directed by the member.
- Develop a written support and spending plan with the member that includes the paid and unpaid supports the member needs and wants, related risks identified with the member's wants and preferences, and a comprehensive risk plan for each potential risk with at least three back-up plans.
- Assist the member to monitor and review the budget.
- Submit documentation regarding the member's satisfaction with identified supports as requested by the department.
- Participate with the department's quality assurance measures, as requested.
- Assist the member 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 member, as needed, to meet the member responsibilities and protect their own health and safety.
- Complete the department-approved criminal history check waiver form when a member 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 member and their circle of support regarding the risks of waiving a criminal history check. You 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 your employer you may also:
- Assist the member to develop and maintain a circle of support,
- Help the member learn and implement the skills needed to recruit, hire, and monitor their community supports.
- Assist the member to negotiate rates for paid community support workers.
- Maintain documentation of supports provided by each community support worker and member's satisfaction with the these supports.
- Assist the member to monitor community supports.
- Assist the member to resolve employment related problems.
- Assist the member to identify and develop community resources to meet specific needs.
- Assist the member in distributing the support and spending plan to community support workers or vendors.
As a support broker you 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 your 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 if you are planning to work with children.
- The closed-book, proctored exam is taken first. You can prepare for this exam by reviewing the Support Broker Manual. If you plan to test for both children and adults, you only need to take one proctored exam conducted by either Family Directed Services or the 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, you may then begin providing services. If approved, you can choose to be added to the Support Broker Listing. Your 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 (SB), 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 SB job duties and responsibilities. Six of these hours can be completed through independent self-study. A list of examples can be found in the SB Manual, under annual re-qualification. Questions regarding what trainings would qualify as continuing education can be emailed to SDSBA@dhw.idaho.gov for SB who serve adult members or CDSO@dhw.idaho.gov for SB who serve children.
See the training library for a list of support broker trainings.