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Elizabeth M. Whitehorn, Director

Pathways to Community Living Overview

​The Pathways to Community Living program in Illinois was developed under the Money Follows the Person (MFP) federal demonstration project. Authorized by the Deficit Reduction Act of 2006, and extended until September 2016 by the Affordable Care Act, MFP supports state long term care rebalancing by assisting eligible individuals to move from long term care facilities (nursing homes) and Intermediate Care Facilities for Persons with Developmental Disabilities (ICF/DD) to community settings. In Illinois, the Department of Healthcare and Family Services is the lead agency in this initiative, working in partnership with the Department of Human Services, the Department on Aging, and the Illinois Housing Development Authority.

Under Money Follows the Person guidelines, the Pathways to Community Living initiative seeks to increase the use of community services and rebalance the state’s long term care systems by providing appropriate, person-centered services for individuals interested in transitioning from institutional settings to qualified home and community based settings. In support of this mission, the MFP Illinois Pathways to Community Living program primary objectives:

  • Increase the use of Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) and reduce the use of institutionally-based services;

  • Eliminate barriers and mechanisms in State law, State Medicaid plans, or State budgets that prevent or restrict the flexible use of Medicaid funds to enable Medicaid-eligible individuals to receive long-term care in the settings of their choice;

  • Strengthen the ability of Medicaid programs to assure continued provision of HCBS to those individuals who choose to transition from institutions; and,

  •  Ensure that procedures are in place to provide quality assurance and continuous quality improvement of HCBS.