SNAP Benefits Update October 2025

The Iowa Compass resource database successfully transitioned to our new software platform on July 13! Thank you for your patience and support throughout this process. We’ll continue making minor refinements over the coming weeks to further improve the platform.

LivingWorks Start – Enroll Today for Free Begin the Conversation On behalf of Iowa’s Center of Excellence for Behavioral Health, we are pleased to offer enrollment to LivingWorks Start at no cost to you. LivingWorks Start is a 90-minute online training that helps learners develop foundational skills to recognize when someone may be thinking of suicide and connect them to further help. Once you enroll, you have 60 days to complete, so we encourage you to get started with your learning as soon as you can! Steps to Enroll: 1. Click “Enroll Now” below to begin 2. Create LivingWorks Learn account 3. Proceed to the learning catalog via “Our Training” 4. Launce the course by clicking “LivingWorks Start” 5. Complete the course within 60 days   Enroll Now

Please contact iowa-cebh@uiowa.edu with any questions. To learn more about LivingWorks, Visit Living Works                          If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat online at 988lifeline.org.

There will be no more “self-employed” CDAC providers registering with HHS as of December 31, 2025. CDAC is Consumer Directed Attendant Care and is the service of in-home Personal Care. CDAC is a service covered by all HCBS waivers except the Children’s Mental Health waiver. CCO will remain an option as will “agency” CDAC for the waivers that currently offer CDAC.

For more information, visit Individual Consumer Directed Attendant Care (ICDAC) Transition | Health & Human Services

On behalf of the DD Council, Disability Rights Iowa, and Wartburg College Slife Social Work Institute, you are invited to a Disability Policy Issues Forum. The Disability Policy Issues Forum is a non-partisan, voter education event to provide Iowans with disabilities and members of their support team an opportunity to engage candidates directly about issues that impact their daily lives within the 2nd Congressional District. Prior to the main forum, Wartburg is hosting a networking and tabling event from 5:30 to 6:00 pm. This session will allow attendees to connect, enjoy refreshments, and learn about local resources, agencies, and organizations they can engage with. The Issues Forum will take place from 6:00 to 7:30 pm. The event will be held on Tuesday, September 29th at the Heritage and St. Elizabeth Ballrooms at the Saemann Student Center at Wartburg College in Waverly. For more information, please see the Disability Policy Issues Forum flyer. For a map of the 2nd Congressional District, please see the Iowa Congressional Districts map.

The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has released the updated Iowa Olmstead Plan, which provides a strategic framework to expand opportunities, improve service access, and enhance the quality of life for Iowans with disabilities.

The updated plan outlines how state agencies, local governments, and community organizations can work together to build a more coordinated and inclusive system of support. Through an emphasis on collaboration, the Olmstead Plan reaffirms Iowa’s commitment to ensuring that individuals with disabilities have the ability to live, work, and participate fully in their communities.

The plan identifies several Olmstead Progress Areas that guide this work, including strengthening community-based services, expanding independent living opportunities, improving access to housing and transportation, and supporting employment and wellness initiatives. These priorities reinforce Iowa’s dedication to advancing integration and promoting meaningful choice for individuals with disabilities.

You may access the plan and related materials using the links below:

2026 Iowa Olmstead Full Plan   

2026 Olmstead Plan Summary & Resource Documents

Olmstead Plan and Stakeholder Engagement | Health & Human Services

Join Iowa Compass for a quarterly webinar to learn more about Iowa Compass and how to search the resource database to connect older adults, people with disabilities and complex health-related needs of all ages, and caregivers with services and supports. This webinar will be recorded. The target audience includes Managed Care Organization (MCO) Case Managers, Targeted Case Managers, Money Follows the Person (MFP) Transition Specialists, community-based service providers, and other professionals who support older adults, people with disabilities and complex health-related needs of all ages, and caregivers. Check the Iowa Compass website for more information and to register: Webinars – Iowa Compass