What is the Arizona Division of Developmental Disabilities?

The Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD) is a service system administered through the Arizona Department of Economic Security (DES) that supports people who develop severe and/or chronic disabilities that may limit a person's ability to do the tasks related to daily living. If a child is enrolled in DDD, a support coordinator will be assigned to help determine a service plan to meet the needs of the child. For more information about eligibility, common developmental disability terms, and FAQs, Click Here

Sweetwater Care offers caregiving solutions to individuals through the Arizona Division of Developmental Disabilities, While providing a variety of services as well as family resources.

How do I Get Started?

Habilitation

This service provides learning opportunities designed to help a member develop skills and independence. Habilitation may be provided to increase or maintain independence and socialization skills, community skills, as well as member’s health and safety. It is also intended to provide training in essential activities required to meet personal and physical needs, as well as enhancing alternative and/or adaptive communication skills, self-help and daily living skills, and to develop the member’s support system.

Attendant Care (ATC)

This service provides assistance to allow a member to remain in their home and participate in community activities by attaining or maintaining personal cleanliness, activities of daily living, and safe and sanitary living conditions. ATC may include the following as determined by the member's assessed needs:

Meal Prep: Meal preparation and clean up (e.g., meal planning, preparing foods, special diets, clean-up, and storing foods). This also includes eating and assistance with eating
Washroom Prep: Bathing (e.g., washing, drying, transferring, adjusting water, and setting up equipment)
Dressing Assistance: Dressing and grooming (e.g., selecting clothes, taking off and putting on clothes, fastening braces and splints, oral hygiene, nail care, shaving, and hairstyling)
Mobility Assistance: Mobility (e.g., physical guidance or assisting with the use of wheelchair)

Respite

This service provides short-term care to relieve caregivers. Members who are cared for by Respite providers must be eligible for supports and services through the Division. Respite services are intended to temporarily relieve unpaid caregivers. Respite services are not intended as a permanent solution for placement or care.

Adult Developmental Health (ADH)

The goal of health care for patients with developmental disabilities is to improve their well-being, function, and participation in family and community. It is not always necessary or desirable to try to change a person's traits and characteristics to make them appear or behave more normally. The distinction between the medical, neurodiversity, and social models has important implications for medical care.

Individualized Habilitation Support

Sweetwater Care provides a unique, specialized service to ensure meaningful and quality-driven habilitation. Sweetwater Care members have access to additional supports to review goals to confirm alignment with current needs as well as train providers and caregivers on individualized goal implementation and strategies. In addition to the above supports, the Habilitation Specialists provide a training series for providers to enhance their overall habilitation skill set. These trainings include topics such as goal implementation, behavior management, and strategies for success.

Individually Designed Living Arrangement (IDLA)

It can be just about as fantastic as it sounds, but these situations do require quite a bit of planning and thinking outside the box. Any member who is eligible to receive services through the Division of Developmental Disabilities and is 18 years of age or older could potentially choose to live in an individually designed living arrangement (IDLA). A member would live in their own home/apartment, they may or may not have a roommate(s), and they would be responsible to pay all of their own expenses, such as rent, utilities, and groceries. These are not licensed residences. An IDLA is the members chosen home where they, along with their families and selected providers, work together to help with teaching and/or honing self-help skills, providing supervision that can help increase a member’s autonomy and responsibility, socialization skills, and adaptive skills that can further their independence in their chosen living situation. The Sweetwater Care team works with the members and their families to help make sure that all angles have been examined so that when the member moves into such a situation they are already on a road leading toward success.