Week of Jan. 6, 2026





Minnesota Department of Human Services





Aging & Disability
Weekly Updates



*Week of Jan. 6, 2026*






This weekly digest is a method to communicate updates, initiatives and policy changes from the Aging and Adult Services Division (AASD) and Disability Services Division (DSD) in a simplified way. We send this announcement every week on Tuesdays.

In this edition





Joint AASD/DSD messages

* 2026 innovation grants request for proposals (RFP) is open [ #RFP ]

 

DSD messages

* Direction on Disability Waiver Rate System (DWRS) framework rates and service changes for 2026 [ #DWRS ]
* Expanded eligibility for Minnesota ABLE accounts [ #ABLE ]



Training and event information

* Community First Services and Supports (CFSS) information sessions [ #CFSS ]
* Reminder: Webinar announcement: Culture of Safety Orientation [ #CoS ]
* Reminder: Webinar announcement: Elderly Waiver (EW) Hospital High-Needs Budget Exception for Lead Agencies [ #EW ]

 

Other messages

* Join the Minnesota Dual-Training Pipeline Health Care Services Industry Forum on Jan. 27 [ #Other ]





Joint AASD/DSD messages

2026 innovation grants RFP is open [ [link removed] ]

* *Audience:* All interested parties
* *Summary:* DHS is accepting proposals from qualified applicants to support innovative strategies to improve outcomes for people with disabilities.





DSD messages

Direction on DWRS framework rates and service changes for 2026 [ [link removed] ]

* *Audience:* Lead agencies, caseworkers and other interested parties
* *Effective date:* Jan. 1, 2026
* *Summary:* As announced in a previous eList, DHS expects to implement the 2026 DWRS framework rates and service changes starting Feb. 1, 2026. This eList provides lead agencies with guidance until DHS implements these changes.

 

Expanded eligibility for Minnesota ABLE accounts [ [link removed] ]

* *Audience:* All interested parties
* *Effective date:* Jan. 1, 2026
* *Summary:* People whose disability began before age 46 (previously 26) are now eligible to open a Minnesota ABLE account.





Training and event information

CFSS information sessions [ [link removed] ]

* *Audience:* People who receive personal care assistance (PCA), Consumer Support Grant (CSG) or CFSS, their families and friends and other interested parties
* *Event date:* Jan. 29, 2026
* *Summary:* DHS and Crow Wing County will host two in-person CFSS information sessions for people who receive services on Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026.

 

Reminder: Webinar announcement: Culture of Safety Orientation [ [link removed] ]

* *Audience:* Counties, tribal nations, providers and other interested parties
* *Event dates:* Jan. 21, May 20 and Sept. 16, 2026
* *Summary:* DHS will host three identical Culture of Safety Orientation webinars that cover the human factors and safety science principles necessary to analyze critical incidents and inform decision-making.

 

Reminder: Webinar announcement: EW Hospital High-Needs Budget Exception for Lead Agencies [ [link removed] ]

* *Audience:* All interested parties, including counties, tribal nations and managed care organizations
* *Event date:* Jan. 29, 2026
* *Summary:* DHS is hosting a webinar about the new EW hospital high-needs exception. Participants will learn about when and how to request the exception using a new form.





Other messages

Occasionally, AASD/DSD shares messages from other state agencies. We are sharing the following announcement from the past week:


* Jan. 5, 2026: Join the Minnesota Dual-Training Pipeline Health Care Services Industry Forum on Jan. 27 (Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry message) [ [link removed] ]





AASD ARCHIVE [ [link removed] ] | DSD LEAD AGENCY ARCHIVE [ [link removed] ] | DSD STAKEHOLDER ARCHIVE [ [link removed] ]

Visit CBSM – What’s new [ [link removed] ] often for a list of policies/pages we’ve recently updated in the Community-Based Services Manual [ [link removed] ].








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