Missouri manual section 6.5
Community networking
Official service name: Community Networking
Community Networking helps a person take part in ordinary community activities, develop relationships and valued roles, and build connections that can continue with less paid support over time. It follows the person's interests and person-centered service plan and is not an employment service.
What the manual describes
What this service can help with
- Finding community activities, organizations, groups, projects, and other local resources that match the person's interests
- Building the skills and confidence needed to participate in community life
- Developing positive relationships, valued community roles, and a stronger sense of membership
- Connecting with formal and informal community supports that may become sustainable natural supports
- Including personal-assistance tasks that are necessary for participation without turning the service into personal assistance alone
Source-backed working pathway
To establish you'll probably need:
These steps translate the cited manual section into a practical review sequence. Confirm the current local process before acting.
Identify the community goal with the support coordinator.
Describe the person's interests, strengths, preferred activities, current community connections, and the relationships or community roles the person wants to develop. The goal and expected outcomes should be reflected in the person-centered service plan.
Confirm that Community Networking is the right service.
The planning team should confirm that the request is for community participation rather than employment and that the person is not receiving Group Home, Individualized Supported Living, or Shared Living services that already include this support.
Define the activities, support, and path toward natural connections.
Identify the kinds of integrated community activities to explore, the skills or assistance needed to participate, whether support will be individual or group, and how paid support may decrease as sustainable community relationships develop.
Identify a qualified Community Networking agency.
Confirm that the agency has the required Department of Mental Health contract, certification and accreditation, and staff qualifications for Community Networking.
Confirm authorization, schedule, transportation, and documentation.
Before services begin, confirm the approved outcomes, hours, individual or group arrangement, staffing ratio, transportation included during activities, and the progress-note requirements. As practical preparation, ask how the provider will introduce activities and track whether community connections are becoming more independent.
Important boundaries
Limits that may affect fit or authorization
- Community Networking is not intended for employment settings.
- A person receiving Group Home, Individualized Supported Living, or Shared Living cannot also receive Community Networking because community participation is already part of those residential services.
- Paid support is expected to decrease and transition to natural supports over time when possible.
- Personal-assistance tasks may be part of the service when needed, but they cannot make up the entire service.
- A Community Networking group cannot include more than four people for each staff person.
- Transportation during Community Networking activities is included in the service rate.
- The manual's billing table lists a maximum of 432 fifteen-minute units, or 108 hours, per month for individual or group Community Networking. Current authorization and billing rules must be confirmed before relying on that amount.
- Comprehensive and Community Support waivers remain under a temporary renewal extension through December 27, 2026, or until CMS grants final approval. Confirm the currently approved rules with the support coordinator; proposed renewal changes are not automatically active.
Do not assume this part
Questions to confirm locally
- Is Community Networking included and authorized in the current person-centered service plan?
- Which qualified Community Networking agencies currently serve the person's location?
- Do the proposed activities match the person's interests and occur in integrated community settings rather than employment settings?
- Will support be individual or group, and does the proposed group stay within the four-person-per-staff limit?
- Which personal-assistance tasks are incidental to participation, and would another service be needed if those tasks make up most of the request?
- How will the provider help paid support transition toward sustainable natural supports when possible?
- What hours, transportation arrangements, progress notes, and start procedure are authorized?