DHA Case No. CWA 212824 (Wis. Div. Hearings and Appeals Jun. 26, 2024) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF The Department may deny an IRIS budget amendment (BA) request if it is not cost-effective or necessary to achieve the participant’s long-term care outcomes. In this case, the petitioner sought a BA to fund a 4% increase in […] Read more

DHA Case No. CWA 212682 (Wis. Div. Hearings and Appeals Jul. 12, 2024) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF Customized goods or services under the IRIS program must generally be necessary and cost-effective. In this case, the petitioner already had one trained service dog (the training was approved in a prior appeal) but wanted IRIS to pay […] Read more

DHA Case No. 212756 (Wis. Div. Hearings and Appeals Aug. 19, 2024) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF To be approved, IRIS home modifications must address long-term care needs that increase independence; or ensure safe, accessible means of ingress/egress to living quarters; or “otherwise provide safe access to rooms, facilities or equipment within the participant’s living quarters.” […] Read more

DHA Case No. CWA 214423 (Wis. Div. Hearings and Appeals Nov. 6, 2024) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF IRIS funds may only be used for services, supports, or goods that address a long-term support need. In this case, the petitioner asked IRIS to pay for his participant-hired worker’s travel and lodging costs so he could attend […] Read more

DHA Case No. CWA 211701 (Wis. Div. Hearings and Appeals Mar. 5, 2024) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF Services provided through the IRIS program must generally be cost-effective and necessary to achieve a long-term care outcome. In this case, the petitioner’s request for twice-weekly mowing was denied. Although she claimed this was necessary to maintain a […] Read more

DHA Case No. CWA 211232 (Wis. Div. Hearings and Appeals Feb. 6, 2024) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF IRIS participants who fail to comply with program requirements or lose functional eligibility may be disenrolled. In this case, the petitioner needed to complete an annual long-term care functional screen but failed to respond to “multiple attempts” by […] Read more

DHA Case No. CWA 211033 (Wis. Div. Hearings and Appeals Feb. 6, 2024) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF To be functionally eligible for the IRIS program, a person must have a long-term care functional screen that determines them to need a “nursing home” level of assistance with activities of daily living (ADLs) and instrumental activities of […] Read more

DHA Case No. CWA 210988 (Wis. Div. Hearings and Appeals Feb. 5, 2024) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF IRIS participants who fail to comply with program requirements or lose functional eligibility may be disenrolled. In this case, the petitioner needed to complete an annual long-term care functional screen but failed to respond to twelve phone calls […] Read more

DHA Case No. CWA 211040 (Wis. Div. Hearings and Appeals Feb. 2, 2024) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF A budget amendment may be denied if it requests services that are duplicative of services already provided. In this case, the petitioner, an 18-year-old with Down Syndrome, requested a budget amendment to allow her to attend a 9-month […] Read more

DHA Case No. CWA 211308 (Wis. Div. Hearings and Appeals Jan. 25, 2024) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF IRIS participants choose needed supports and services to meet long-term care outcomes as identified in an Individual Support and Services Plan. In this case, the petitioner (a 29-year-old with autism) sought a budget amendment to pay for therapeutic […] Read more

DHA Case No. CWA 210734 (Wis. Div. Hearings and Appeals Jan. 5, 2024) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF IRIS can pay for an already-trained service dog, but not an untrained dog or an emotional support dog. In this case, the petitioner requested funding to buy an untrained dog and then train it as a service animal. […] Read more

DHA Case No. CWA 210721 (Wis. Div. Hearings and Appeals Jan. 3, 2024) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF The IRIS program can cover home modifications, but they must address the participant’s independence, health, safety, or long-term care needs and be cost effective. In this case, the petitioner made a one-time expense request to pay for a […] Read more

DHA Case No. CWA 213161 (Wis. Div. Hearings and Appeals Oct. 28, 2024) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF The Department must ensure the health and safety of IRIS participants. The IRIS policy manual allows involuntary disenrollment for “health and safety risks that participants are unable or unwilling to resolve.” In this case, the participant was a […] Read more

DHA Case No. CWA 213537 (Wis. Div. Hearings and Appeals Oct. 18, 2024) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF The IRIS Policy Manual requires a notice of action and provides a right to appeal when services are reduced, terminated, or denied. In this case, the petitioner’s care worker failed to timely submit the required documentation to become […] Read more