Roads to Community Living

Helps people with significant long‑term care needs move from institutions back into homes and community settings. It offers person‑centered planning, one‑time moving supports, and a full year of additional services.

 

Helping People Move Back Home

Roads to Community Living helps people leave institutions and return to their communities. It supports people with long-term care needs, including people with disabilities, who want to move back home. Some people live in a hospital, nursing home, or other facility for many months or years. Roads to Community Living gives support to help them move into a home of their choice.

Roads to Community Living offers person-centered services that support independence, dignity, and inclusion. See how this funding supports people moving out of institutions and back into their community.
 

Who We Support

Roads to Community Living is for people who meet all the following. This includes people in psychiatric hospitals if they are 20 or younger or 65 or older:

  • Have resided at least 60 consecutive days in a hospital, nursing home, or Residential Habilitation Center
  • Are eligible for Medicaid at least one day before transitioning into the community.
  • Moving to a qualified community setting, which may include:

 

What Roads to Community Living Offers

Support is available before, during, and after the transition out of the facility. The team stays involved for one full year after the move, checking in often and adjusting services as needed to support a successful transition home.

RCL can help with:

  • Planning the move.
  • One-time moving costs.
  • Assistive technology or devices.
  • Home modifications for accessibility so it’s easier to move around.
  • Job support or a path to employment.
  • Training for you and any caregivers in the new home.

 

How the Transition Works

What you can expect:

1. Planning while in the institution

  • Meet with a transition case manager.
  • Talk about goals and needs.
  • Create a plan for the move.

2. Moving

  • Get help with moving costs.
  • Receive extra services during the move.
  • Learn about community resources.

3. Support for One Year

  • Regular check-ins.
  • Help adjusting services.
  • Support for long-term success.

 

Resources

 

YouTube Videos

  • Roads to Community Living: Home Starts Here (1:43 | YouTube)
  • Out of the Nursing Home and into Community Living: Lisa's Story (4:13 | YouTube)
  • Roads to Community Living Transitions Playlist (YouTube)
  • Roads to Community Living (13 mins | YouTube)
  • What to Expect When You Move (5:57 | YouTube)

 

Success Stories

Success stories of people living their best lives, thanks to the help of Roads to Community Living.

 

Contact Information

Roads to Community Living Contacts

Statewide Eligibility and Service Delivery Team helps people across Washington get timely eligibility decisions and connects them to needed services.
Call: 877-429-7019
Fax: 855-635-8305
By email: sesdcommunityinquiry@dshs.wa.gov

 

Become a Provider

Roads to Community Living partners with community providers across Washington. If you’re interested in becoming a provider, visit Contracting Opportunities for Potential Provider.

 

 

White is north, it is the image of a buffalo photographed in the Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Red is south, an image of a bird of prey, often depicted in the art, songs and oral histories of Native Americans including those of the south and southwest. Yellow is east, an image of a loon and is a clan symbol for the Ojibwe people who have tribes in both Minnesota and Wisconsin. Black is west, the image of a salmon which is often found in northwest tribal art.

MFP Tribal Initiative

The MFP Tribal Initiative supports American Indian and Alaska Native communities. The state, Tribes, and counties work together to offer care that respects culture and community.

This work helps to:

  • Find Tribal members living in institutions.
  • Support their return to their chosen community.
  • Build culturally respectful services.
  • Strengthen Tribal long-term care programs.

 

 

Logo for "Money Follows the Person" featuring figures representing support and mobility, with the acronym "MFP" and an arrow indicating progress.

Money Follows the Person  began in 2007 as a five-year project. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has approved extensions through 2029. More information is available in the Washington state Money Follows the Person Operational Protocol (Version 1.9 PDF) 

This website is supported by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services with full federal funding. The information here does not represent official views or an endorsement by CMS, HHS, or the U.S. Government.

 

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Illustration of two women discussing transitioning to a new home, with one in a wheelchair and the other standing beside her, accompanied by the title and subtitle of the document. Transcribed Text: Department of Social and Health Services Transitioning to a New Home What to expect and how your case manager can help you DSHS 22-1984 (Rev. 5/25)
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