Community Support System Provider Overview
A Community Support System Provider (CSSP) is a type of provider agency eligible for Arkansas Medicaid participation. CSSP agencies are certified to provide home and community-based services for Medicaid beneficiaries with behavioral health and intellectual and developmental disability (IDD) service needs. CSSPs are certified to deliver both outpatient behavioral health and Community and Employment Support (CES) Waiver services.
CSSP Training Slides for May 15, 2023
CSSP Agency Rule Goals
- Improve access to services for Medicaid beneficiaries with complex care needs, including people with both intellectual and developmental disabilities and behavioral health conditions.
- Increase business opportunities for Medicaid providers in the number and type of services they are certified to provide.
- Align Medicaid provider agencies with PASSE member populations. The PASSEs serve members with both IDD and behavioral health conditions. The CSSP certification permits agencies to provide services to both populations of Arkansans and beneficiaries with dual diagnoses.
- Community Support System Provider Program Overview One-Pager
CSSP Certified Services
CSSP agencies are certified to provide a combination of 1915(c) CES Waiver services, 1915(i) Waiver behavioral health services, and new services just added to the 1915(i) Waiver.
CSSP agencies are certified to provide services at three increasing levels of service with associated increases in requirements:
- Base Provider Type 96, Specialty 04
- Intensive Provider Type 96, Specialty CI
- Enhanced Provider Type 96, Specialty C9
CSSP agencies are certified to provide different services depending on the level of certification.
- Certification levels build upon the previous level:
- An Intensive certified CSSP must meet the requirements for both the Base and Intensive certifications.
- An Enhanced certified CSSP must meet the requirements for the Base, Intensive, and Enhanced certifications.
- Certified services build upon the previous level’s services:
- An Intensive certified CSSP is eligible to provide services listed under both the Base and Intensive certifications.
- An Enhanced certified CSSP is eligible to provide services listed under the Base, Intensive, and Enhanced certifications.
For details on CSSP agency certification and services, see the Licensure Manual for Community Support System Providers. Please see the CSSP Certification Tool (not yet in operation) to better understand the CSSP certification requirements and certification process.
For general questions regarding the CSSP agency certification, please email [email protected]
If you or your organization are interested in becoming a CSSP agency, please contact Division of Provider Services and Quality Assurance (DPSQA).
Attestation Letters for Existing CSSPs and Outpatient Behavioral Health Agencies
Providers certified and enrolled as a Base CSSP or an Outpatient Behavioral Health Agency that meet the certification requirements of Intensive CSSP Agency certification or Enhanced CSSP Agency certification, can receive provisional Intensive CSSP Agency certification or Enhanced CSSP Agency certification until July 1, 2023, by executing a provisional certification attestation from DPSQA.
Submit the appropriate attestation letter with your CSSP application by July 1, 2023. DPSQA will issue a provisional certification.
CSSP Base attesting to CSSP Intensive
CSSP Base attesting to CSSP Enhanced
OBHA attesting to CSSP Intensive
OBHA attesting to CSSP Enhanced
Community Support System Provider (CSSP) FAQS
Q. Is a CSSP a type of service?
A. No. A CSSP is an agency licensure type. CSSPs are certified to provide different services for Arkansas with intellectual and developmental disabilities and behavioral health needs.
Q. Who may apply to enroll as a CSSP?
A. Behavioral Health Agencies (BHA), Community and Employment Support (CES) Waiver providers, and other providers that meet the applicable certification requirements may enroll as a CSSP. Enrolling as a CSSP enables providers to deliver an increased array of services to Medicaid beneficiaries with behavioral health and/or intellectual and developmental disability (IDD) needs by streamlining the provider certification process, requiring a single certification to deliver both service types. Additionally, CSSPs are better aligned to serve PASSE members who meet eligibility criteria and receive a combination of these services. BHA’s and CES waiver providers that receive Enhanced CSSP Agency certification can expand their business opportunities by providing services they were previously unable to cover (i.e., Behavioral health services through the Arkansas Medicaid State Plan or IDD services through the CES waiver) and new services under the PASSE model, including (1) Assertive Community Treatment, (2) Intensive In-Home for Children, and (3) Complex Care Home.
Q. Can all CSSPs provide the same type of services?
A. No. CSSPs are certified to provide specific HCBS services within three levels: Base (PT 96/04), Intensive (PT 96/CI), and Enhanced (96/C9).
Q. The Licensure Manual for Community Support System Providers includes requirements for physical facilities. Does my facility need to fulfill these requirements to provide services as a CSSP agency?
A. Enhanced CSSP providers must meet specific physical facility standards. Therefore, the Enhanced certification is specific to each physical location and is issued to the specific facility’s address. The standards are different for residential and non-residential facilities. A provider will need a separate Enhanced certification for each unique facility providing Enhanced level services. The physical facility standards do not apply to the Base and Intensive level CSSP certifications.
Q. My organization is a CES Waiver/ 1915(i) Waiver Behavioral Health Services certified provider. Are we required to apply for a CSSP certification?
A. No, existing CES Waiver and 1915(i) Waiver providers are not required to apply for a CSSP certification. However, a CSSP certification does offer the benefit to providers of being eligible to bill for additional services. CSSPs also only have to maintain one certification.
