If someone has told you that your family member needs a "MnCHOICES assessment" before services can start, you have probably also discovered that nobody explains what it is. It sounds like a test. It isn't. It is a conversation, in your home, that decides which publicly funded supports a person qualifies for — and preparing for it well genuinely changes the outcome.
What a MnCHOICES assessment actually is
MnCHOICES is Minnesota's single assessment process for long-term services and supports. A certified assessor — usually a county social worker or public health nurse — visits and works through a structured set of questions about daily life: health, mobility, memory, personal care, medications, housing, transportation, safety, work, and what the person wants their life to look like.
There is no cost to you, and any Minnesota resident can request one. You do not need to already be on Medical Assistance to ask for an assessment, though most of the programs it unlocks do require it.
Which services it gates
Almost everything runs through this one assessment. It determines eligibility for the disability and aging waivers — CADI (Community Access for Disability Inclusion), Brain Injury (BI), Community Alternative Care (CAC), Developmental Disabilities (DD), Elderly Waiver, and Alternative Care — as well as CFSS (Community First Services and Supports), which replaced PCA for many people.
This is why the assessment matters so much. It is not one step among many. It is the gate.
CADI is the waiver most adults with disabilities end up on, and it has its own set of requirements on top of the assessment — who actually qualifies for the CADI waiver walks through all four.
How to request one
Call your county or tribal human services office and ask for a MnCHOICES assessment. If you are not sure who to call, two numbers are worth keeping:
- Disability Hub MN — 1-866-333-2466. A free statewide line that will point you to the right county office and help you think through options.
- Hennepin County Front Door — 612-348-4111, if you are in Hennepin.
Timelines vary by county; some aim to schedule within roughly 20 days of your request. If you have not heard back in a couple of weeks, call again. Politely persistent works.
While you wait, start two things in parallel, because both take time and both are usually required: a Medical Assistance application, and a disability certification through Social Security or Minnesota's State Medical Review Team.
Not sure whether your family member will qualify, or which services would fit? Midway Homes Adult Care offers a free, no-obligation conversation to help you understand the landscape before the county visit — whether or not you ever become our client. Call 612-416-8555.
How to prepare
This is where families gain the most, and where most go in cold. The assessor can only record what they hear.
Write down a hard day, not an average day. The single most common mistake is describing how things go when everything is calm. If a person can shower independently four days a week and needs full assistance the other three, the assessment needs to reflect the three. Support is built around real need, not best-case need.
Bring a current medication list and the names of doctors, therapists, and any providers already involved.
Think ahead about goals. Assessors ask what the person wants — work, school, living more independently, more time in the community, specific hobbies. Vague answers produce vague plans. Concrete ones ("he wants a part-time job and to take the bus by himself") produce plans with those things in them.
Note the barriers plainly. Transportation, stairs, memory, seizures, behaviour that is hard to manage, nights that go badly. None of this is a complaint about the person. It is the evidence the plan is built from.
Invite someone. Family members, friends, or an advocate can be present, and should be. Two people remember more than one.
What happens during the visit
Expect around two hours, usually where the person lives. The assessor observes as well as asks, so a home visit genuinely shows things an office appointment would not. The person being assessed should be present and should answer for themselves wherever they can — the process is meant to centre on them, not on the family speaking over them.
What happens afterward
The assessor writes up the results and discusses likely eligibility with you. The county then makes the formal determination of which program or waiver applies. You should receive a written summary and, if eligible, a community support plan describing the services approved.
Only then do you choose a provider — and that choice is yours, not the county's. A case manager may give you a list; you are not obliged to pick the first name on it. It is entirely reasonable to interview two or three, ask which waivers they accept, which counties they cover, and how they involve families in ongoing decisions.
Details and forms vary by county and tribal nation, so confirm specifics with your own county office.
When the plan is in place
Midway Homes Adult Care LLC is a Minnesota 245D-licensed provider offering ICS supportive housing, Individualized Home Supports, respite, night supervision, and personal care across Ramsey, Hennepin, Dakota, Scott, Washington, Chisago, and Pine counties, funded through the CADI, BI, DD, CAC, and Elderly waivers.
If you have an assessment coming up, or a support plan in hand and no provider yet, call 612-416-8555 for a free assessment of what we can offer. We are glad to talk things through even if you choose someone else — knowing what to ask is worth something on its own.