The Employment and Community First CHOICES program is administered by TennCare through its contracted managed care organizations. It offers services to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Services in the program will help people become employed and live as independently as possible in the community. All new enrollment is in the Employment and Community First CHOICES program, as DIDD’s waivers are closed to new enrollment.

There is a limited amount of funding available to serve people each year. That means not everyone who wants to apply can enroll or get services right away. 

To apply for the program, please complete the self-referral form online at https://perlss.tenncare.tn.gov/externalreferral.

Remember: you can apply by completing the self-referral form at the link above without calling any entity for assistance. But if you need help or have questions you can call the entities listed below.

If you already have Medicaid, and therefore have a Managed Care Organization (MCO): then:

If my health plan (MCO) is Amerigroup:
Applicants who already have Medicaid and are enrolled with Amerigroup should contact their Managed Care Organization with questions or if you need assistance completing the self-referral form. The number is 866-840-4991.

If my health plan (MCO) is BlueCare:
Applicants who already have Medicaid and are enrolled with BlueCare should contact their Managed Care Organization with questions or if you need assistance completing the self-referral form. The number is 888-747-8955.

If my health plan (MCO) is United Health Care:
Applicants who already have Medicaid and are enrolled with United HealthCare Community Plan should contact their Managed Care Organization with questions or if you need assistance completing the self-referral form. The number is 800-690-1606.

If I have Medicaid but I am not sure who my MCO is:
You can call the Tennessee Health Connection line at 1-855-259-0701 to find out who your MCO is.

If I do not have Medicaid:
Applicants who do not have Medicaid should contact the Department of Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities Regional Intake Offices with questions or for assistance completing the self-referral form for both Employment and Community First CHOICES and applying for Medicaid. The DIDD contact information is below:

DIDD Regional Intake Office Contact information:
West Tennessee Regional Office: (866) 372-5709
Middle Tennessee Regional Office: (800) 654-4839
East Tennessee Regional Office: (888) 531-9876

You can find a complete list of services available on TennCare’s website. There are also many resources for people interested in the program on TennCare’s Employment and Community First CHOICES page: https://www.tn.gov/content/tn/tenncare/long-term-services-supports/employment-and-community-first-choices.html