Reference · Minnesota
The HCBS and 245D glossary, in plain English.
43 terms an agency owner actually meets — in statute, on county paperwork, and in licensure reviews — each defined in a sentence or two with its citation.
A to C
Aggregator
The single statewide system every EVV-required provider's visit data must flow through, whatever EVV tool captured it. Minnesota's aggregator is HHAeXchange. See: HHAeXchange in Minnesota.
Annual training
Direct support staff repeat the core orientation topics every year; a current first aid certification covers the first aid topic (Minn. Stat. 245D.09, subd. 5). See: 245D compliance checklist.
Assessment
For intensive supports: how the person self-manages health, personal safety, and behavior. Due before 45 days of service or within 60 calendar days of initiation, whichever is shorter, then at least annually (Minn. Stat. 245D.071, subd. 3).
Background study
The chapter 245C clearance the license holder must ensure is completed, including for subcontractors, temporary staff, and volunteers providing direct support (Minn. Stat. 245D.09, subds. 6 and 7). See: 245D compliance checklist.
Basic support services
The lighter 245D category: assistance, supervision, and care to ensure health and welfare, without training or habilitation. Includes respite, adult companion, night supervision, homemaker, and IHS without training (Minn. Stat. 245D.03, subd. 1(b)). See: starting a home care agency.
Case manager
The person designated to provide waiver case management, care coordination, or long-term care consultation (Minn. Stat. 245D.02, subd. 3). Usually your county or MCO contact for each person served.
CFSS (Community First Services and Supports)
The program replacing PCA and the Consumer Support Grant. Extended PCA ends September 30, 2026; the overall transition window runs through September 30, 2027. See: the CFSS transition for agencies.
Chemical restraint
A drug or medication given to control behavior or restrict movement when it is not standard treatment or dosage for the person's condition (Minn. Stat. 245D.02, subd. 3b).
Community residential setting
A residential program serving adults where the license holder owns, leases, or rents the facility and does not live there (Minn. Stat. 245D.02, subd. 4a). See: starting a group home in Minnesota.
CSSP (coordinated service and support plan)
Older shorthand still common on county forms. Current statute text calls the same document the support plan (Minn. Stat. 245D.02, subd. 4b) — see that entry.
D to H
Designated coordinator
The named role overseeing day-to-day service delivery, support plan implementation, and documentation review. EUMR reports must reach this person within three calendar days (Minn. Stat. 245D.061, subd. 5). See: coordinator and manager roles.
Designated manager
The named role holding agency-level oversight of program operations and internal reviews. Both roles carry a statutory qualification ladder trading education against supervised experience. See: coordinator and manager roles.
Direct support staff
Employees with direct contact with persons served, including temporary staff and subcontractors under the license holder's control, regardless of employer (Minn. Stat. 245D.02, subd. 6a).
Electronic visit verification (EVV)
Electronic capture of six visit facts: service type, who received it, who provided it, date, location, and start and end times. Minnesota required 50% of billed visits compliant from January 1, 2026, and 80% from July 1, 2026. See: Minnesota EVV requirements.
Emergency use of manual restraint (EUMR)
Manual restraint used only when a person poses an imminent risk of physical harm, as the least restrictive route to safety, ending when the threat ends. Property damage, verbal aggression, or refusal of care never qualify (Minn. Stat. 245D.02, subd. 8a; 245D.061, subd. 2). See: the incident report template.
Expanded support team
The support team plus licensed or qualified professionals added at the person's or legal representative's request (Minn. Stat. 245D.02, subd. 8b). It must review every EUMR incident (245D.061, subd. 7).
HHAeXchange
Minnesota's EVV aggregator. Every EVV-required provider must enroll and submit all visit data through it, non-compliant visits included; it emails a monthly compliance report around the 25th. See: HHAeXchange in Minnesota.
Home and community-based services (HCBS)
The services in Minn. Stat. 245D.03, subd. 1, as defined in the approved waiver plans — BI, CAC, CADI, DD, and elderly waiver — plus the alternative care program (Minn. Stat. 245D.02, subd. 10).
I to L
ICF/DD
Intermediate care facility for persons with developmental disabilities: a licensed residential program serving four or more persons, certified by the Department of Health (Minn. Stat. 245D.02, subd. 11a).
Incident
An occurrence requiring a response outside ordinary services: serious injury, death, a medical or mental health emergency, a 911 call, unauthorized absence, certain conduct between persons served, any EUMR, or a maltreatment report (Minn. Stat. 245D.02, subd. 11). See: the incident report template.
Individualized home supports (IHS)
Waiver services delivered in the person's home and community. Without training they are a basic support service; with training or family training, intensive (Minn. Stat. 245D.03, subd. 1).
Integrated community support (ICS)
An intensive support service defined under the BI, CADI, CAC, and DD waiver plans (Minn. Stat. 245D.03, subd. 1(c)).
Intensive support services
The heavier 245D category: care plus services directed toward training, habilitation, or rehabilitation — positive supports, crisis respite, IHS with training, residential supports, day services, and employment services (Minn. Stat. 245D.03, subd. 1(c)). See: starting a group home in Minnesota.
Least restrictive alternative
The least intrusive, most normalized way to provide supports given the protection the person needs, allowing risk-taking where serious harm is not reasonably likely (Minn. Stat. 245D.02, subd. 11b).
Legal representative
A minor's parent, a court-appointed guardian, or another person with legal authority to make service decisions, including a health care agent or attorney-in-fact (Minn. Stat. 245D.02, subd. 12).
License holder
The individual or organization holding the 245D license (Minn. Stat. 245D.02, subd. 15). Every duty in the chapter lands here.
Licensing moratorium
DHS stopped accepting new 245D license applications on January 1, 2026 — a pause expected to run about 24 months, through December 31, 2027. Exceptions move only through lead agencies or Tribal Nations, not providers. See: the 245D licensing moratorium.
Licensure review
DHS's periodic check of whether practice matches policy and statute: sampled client files and staff files, compared against your written policy set. See: what DHS checks in a licensure review.
M to R
Manual restraint
Physical intervention that holds a person immobile or limits voluntary movement using body contact alone (Minn. Stat. 245D.02, subd. 15a). Its emergency use is governed by the EUMR conditions in 245D.061.
Orientation
Due within 60 calendar days of hire: job functions, policies, data privacy, rights, maltreatment reporting, person-centered principles, restraints, and first aid, among other required topics. The maltreatment topic is due within 72 hours of first direct contact (Minn. Stat. 245D.09, subd. 4). See: 245D policies and procedures.
Positive support strategies
The de-escalation techniques staff must attempt before behavior poses an imminent risk of harm — required content of your EUMR policy and training (Minn. Stat. 245D.061, subd. 9).
Respite care
Short-term relief care, in-home or out-of-home, listed as a basic support service; crisis respite is instead an intensive intervention service (Minn. Stat. 245D.03, subd. 1).
S to T
Seclusion
Involuntarily confining a person to a room they cannot leave, or separating them from an area or social contact and blocking return (Minn. Stat. 245D.02, subd. 29).
Semi-independent living services (SILS)
An in-home intensive support service (Minn. Stat. 245D.03, subd. 1(c)), with the meaning given in Minn. Stat. 252.275 (245D.02, subd. 29b).
Service initiation
The start of services. For intensive support services it starts the clocks: preliminary support plan addendum within 15 days; assessments and the initial planning meeting before 45 days of service or within 60 calendar days, whichever is shorter (Minn. Stat. 245D.071, subd. 3). See: client workflow management.
Service plan review
A team meeting at least yearly — or within 30 days of a written request — to decide whether the service plan needs to change (Minn. Stat. 245D.071, subd. 5). See: the progress note template.
Service recipient record
The person's file, where 245D requires EUMR reports, internal reviews, corrective action plans, and team summaries to live (Minn. Stat. 245D.061, subds. 5 to 7). See: case notes in ClientCentric.
Supervision
Staff oversight as specified in the support plan, response to serious risks, and staff presence during services unless the plan documents otherwise — 'while services are being provided' meaning any period billed (Minn. Stat. 245D.02, subd. 33b).
Support plan
The person-centered plan from waiver case management identifying the person's services; 'service' means what this plan assigns to the license holder (Minn. Stat. 245D.02, subds. 4b and 30). Formerly the CSSP.
Support plan addendum
The documentation chapter 245D requires the license holder to keep for each person served — your agency's layer on the case manager's support plan (Minn. Stat. 245D.02, subd. 4c). See: the progress note template.
Support team
The person's service planning team as identified under Minnesota's waiver and case management provisions (Minn. Stat. 245D.02, subd. 34).
Time out
Involuntarily moving a person to a designated area they are free to leave. Voluntary breaks to calm down are not time outs (Minn. Stat. 245D.02, subd. 34a).
The clocks hiding in these definitions
Several of these definitions carry deadlines that are easy to lose track of. The recurring ones:
- 72 hours — maltreatment orientation after first direct contact (Minn. Stat. 245D.09, subd. 4).
- 3 calendar days — written EUMR report to the designated coordinator (Minn. Stat. 245D.061, subd. 5).
- 5 working days — EUMR internal review, then team review, then submission to DHS and the Ombudsman, each after the prior step (Minn. Stat. 245D.061, subds. 6 to 8).
- 15 days — preliminary support plan addendum after service initiation, for intensive support services (Minn. Stat. 245D.071, subd. 3).
- 45 days of service or 60 calendar days, whichever is shorter — assessments and initial planning meeting, for intensive support services (Minn. Stat. 245D.071, subd. 3).
- 60 calendar days — full staff orientation after hire (Minn. Stat. 245D.09, subd. 4).
- Annually — training, assessments, and service plan reviews (Minn. Stat. 245D.09, subd. 5; 245D.071, subds. 3 and 5).
Common questions
What is the difference between basic and intensive support services?
Basic support services provide assistance, supervision, and care to ensure health and welfare, without training or habilitation. Intensive support services add services specifically directed toward training, habilitation, or rehabilitation — including residential supports, day services, and positive supports (Minn. Stat. 245D.03, subd. 1).
What counts as an incident I have to document?
Anything requiring a response outside ordinary services: serious injury or death, a medical or mental health emergency, a 911 call, unauthorized absence, severe conduct between persons served, any emergency use of manual restraint, or a maltreatment report (Minn. Stat. 245D.02, subd. 11).
What paperwork follows an emergency use of manual restraint?
A written report to the designated coordinator within three calendar days; an internal review within five working days; an expanded support team review within five working days of that; then submission of all three to DHS and the Ombudsman within five working days of the team review (Minn. Stat. 245D.061, subds. 5 to 8).
What has to happen before a new hire works alone with a client?
Before unsupervised direct contact, the staff person must review that person's support plan and, when applicable, their abuse prevention plan, plus any medication, equipment, or mental health response procedures that apply (Minn. Stat. 245D.09, subd. 4a). Maltreatment orientation is due within 72 hours of first direct contact; full orientation within 60 days of hire (subd. 4).
The vendor part, clearly labeled
ClientCentric is care-operations software for agencies living inside these definitions: incidents, progress notes, and EUMR documentation on their statutory clocks, EVV evidence tied to the scheduled visit, and an append-only audit history a reviewer can be walked through. The glossary is free either way — practice guidance, not legal advice.
Keep reading
Written and maintained by the ClientCentric team from the working product. Last reviewed . Statutory definitions paraphrased from Minn. Stat. 245D.02, 245D.03, 245D.061, 245D.071, and 245D.09 (2025 Minnesota Statutes); verify exact wording against the current statute. Operational entries reflect our linked guides. General information, not legal advice.