Case Management · Kentucky Updated October 7, 2026

Kentucky HCB Waiver Contact Notes: Cadence, Records and a Checklist

How often a Kentucky HCB waiver case manager has to make contact, what the regulation says to document, and a note structure you can check against your agency's policy.

Source and date

Rules on this page come from 907 KAR 7:010, Home and community based waiver services version 2, read on October 7, 2026. The Kentucky Department for Medicaid Services (DMS), the approved waiver and DMS provider letters control current requirements and can change how these rules apply.

Direct answer: A Kentucky HCB waiver case manager contacts each participant at least monthly, sees them face to face every other month, and visits them at home at least three times a calendar year. The regulation requires every contact to be documented, but it does not prescribe a contact note form.

The contact cadence

Section 8(7)(b) sets three requirements that run at the same time.

How often	Contact required	Where
At least monthly	Telephone or face-to-face contact with the participant	Not specified for telephone contact
Every other month	Face-to-face visit	An adult day health care center or the participant's residence
At least three times a calendar year	Face-to-face visit	The participant's residence

Two details make this harder to track than it looks. The in-home count runs on the calendar year, not the plan year. And a visit at the adult day center satisfies the every-other-month rule but does not count toward the three home visits. So each contact needs its method and its location recorded, or the count cannot be proven later.

The case manager also meets the participant, guardian or legal representative within seven days of receiving a referral from an independent assessor (Section 8(3)).

What the regulation says to document

Every contact. The case record contains documentation of each contact with, or on behalf of, the participant (Section 3).
Work with other agencies. The case manager documents the participant's interactions and communications with other agencies involved in the person-centered service plan (Section 8(4)(h)).
Personal observations. The same section requires the case manager to document personal observations.
Status changes. The case manager reflects in MWMA when a participant is terminated from the program, admitted to a hospital or skilled nursing facility, transferred to another 1915(c) waiver, or moves (Section 8(4)(m)).
Critical incident follow-up. After a critical incident, the case manager follows up to make sure the participant's health, safety and welfare are not jeopardized (Section 9).

The regulation does not list the fields of a case management contact note. It also says the case record is maintained in MWMA, so ask Kentucky DMS or check your agency's policy for which documents your agency must enter or upload there.

A note structure to validate, not an official state form

The table below is our suggestion. It maps each part of a contact note to the duty in the regulation that it helps show. Your agency's policy and current DMS guidance decide what is required.

Note element	What it helps show	Section
Date, method and location	That the monthly, every-other-month and in-home requirements were met	8(7)(b)
Who was present	That the contact was with the participant, or on their behalf	3(1)(b)
Services against the plan	That services are being provided in line with the person-centered service plan	8(7)(c)
Quality, safety and cost	That the case manager assessed the quality, safety and cost effectiveness of services	8(4)(l)
Personal observations	What the case manager saw and heard during the contact	8(4)(h)
Contact with other agencies	Interactions and communications with agencies involved in the plan	8(4)(h)
Status changes	Hospital or nursing facility admissions, moves and transfers that also need updating in MWMA	8(4)(m)
PDS information	That participant-directed services were explained at the first plan and at least annually	8(4)(n)
Incident follow-up	That the case manager followed up after a critical incident	9(2)(d)
Follow-up actions and signature	Good practice for showing what happens next and who wrote the note; not a field the regulation lists	Agency policy

Checklist before you sign a note

Is the contact date the day the contact happened?
Is the method recorded as telephone or face to face?
If face to face, is the location recorded as the residence or the adult day center?
Does the note name who took part?
Does it say whether services matched the person-centered service plan?
Are your own observations written down, in your own words for this contact?
Are contacts with other agencies recorded?
Did anything change that needs updating in MWMA?
Is there an incident that needs follow-up?
Does this contact keep the participant on track for the every-other-month and three-home-visit counts?

Where One Care Portal fits

Kentucky HCB waiver case management agencies can use One Care Portal to write and review these notes. A contact note records the date, time, duration, method, type, location and people present. It can cover goal and service monitoring, health and safety review, incidents and hospitalizations, satisfaction, and backup-plan review. Follow-up items carry forward from one note to the next until they are resolved. Notes have required-field validation, signatures and attestation, and a supervisor can approve a note or return it with feedback. Amendments and audit history are kept.

Important boundary: One Care Portal does not connect to MWMA and sends nothing to it. It is not certified, endorsed or approved by Kentucky. Note sections, custom questions and required fields are configured per agency, and each agency's forms, permissions and reporting are confirmed before implementation. Ask us in the demo to show how contact method and location are recorded, and what reporting is available for a caseload.

Pricing is pay as you go and month to month: a $299/month platform fee plus $7.99 per active participant. For the wider program rules, see the Kentucky HCB waiver case management guide.

From a Kentucky HCB waiver case manager

“File maintenance is easy. Making our contact notes online is easy and quicker.”

Amy, a case manager for the home- and community-based waiver in Kentucky, in her published customer story. This is Amy's own statement, not a universal performance claim.

Watch Amy's story

See contact notes built for a waiver caseload

In 30 minutes we show a contact note from start to supervisor approval, and how your agency's own note sections would be set up. Bring a blank copy of the note template you use today.

Do not submit participant names, records, service details, or other PHI through the booking form.

Frequently asked questions

How often must a Kentucky HCB waiver case manager see a participant face to face?

907 KAR 7:010, Section 8(7)(b), requires a face-to-face visit every other month, in an adult day health care center or the participant's residence, and at least three times a calendar year in the participant's residence. Contact in the other months can be by telephone. Confirm current requirements with Kentucky DMS.

What must a Kentucky HCB waiver case manager document?

The regulation requires documentation of each contact with, or on behalf of, the participant (Section 3), and of the participant's interactions and communications with other agencies involved in the person-centered service plan, plus the case manager's personal observations (Section 8(4)(h)). The case manager also keeps participant status changes current in MWMA (Section 8(4)(m)).

Does 907 KAR 7:010 prescribe a contact note form for case managers?

No. The regulation says what has to be documented and where the case record is kept, but it does not list the fields of a case management contact note. Agencies set their own note format. Check yours against current Kentucky DMS guidance and your agency policy.

Can One Care Portal be used for Kentucky HCB waiver contact notes?

Yes. Kentucky HCB waiver case management agencies can use One Care Portal to write contact notes with the date, method, location and people present, track follow-up items between notes, and send notes for supervisor review. It does not connect to MWMA, and each agency's note sections and required fields are confirmed before implementation.