For referral partners · Oregon I/DD support
Refer someone to Empowered Services for authorized I/DD support across Oregon. Start with Customer Intake, or contact us first to ask about service fit, county capacity, or a specific situation. We do not determine I/DD eligibility or authorize service hours.
Is Empowered a good fit?
Referral partners do not need to solve the entire pathway before reaching out. These are common reasons a referral may fit Empowered Services.
The person’s approved plan may include one or more services that Empowered can provide. Staffing level, setting, activities, and service type depend on authorization and the plan.
View I/DD Services →Empowered Choice may allow a trusted person to be considered for employment as the person’s DSP when relationship, program, authorization, and employment requirements are met.
Explore Empowered Choice →If the person does not already have a caregiver, Empowered can use its matching process to consider communication, routines, goals, location, support style, availability, and relationship fit.
Explore the Empowered Match Method →Regional and county care roles support communication, DSP oversight, documentation, required reporting, changes, caregiver support, and practical follow-through after services begin.
Explore the Regional Care Model →Services a referral may involve
Empowered Services supports people with I/DD in Oregon. The person’s approved plan determines which services, staffing level, setting, and activities are authorized.
Authorized help with daily living, personal routines, household tasks, communication, community access, and other plan-based needs.
When an approved Behavior Support Plan is in place, trained DSPs follow the plan during authorized support. Empowered implements the approved plan; it does not create the plan or provide independent behavior-professional services.
Authorized support from a different worker when the person’s usual caregiver needs time away or is unavailable.
Attendant-care support while the person is working when authorized in the plan. This is distinct from job coaching.
For adults: scheduled support focused on community participation, communication, social skills, and other approved outcomes.
For adults: transportation support when it is authorized and fits the person’s approved service plan and applicable transportation rules.
Empowered Services does not determine eligibility or authorize services or hours. The referral and intake process helps clarify whether Empowered can provide the authorized support.
What happens next
The order can change depending on what is already authorized, whether a caregiver is already known, and what onboarding steps remain.
Share the person’s county, contact information, service situation, and the people they want involved. Use the secure intake pathway for private information.
Empowered reviews the inquiry, confirms what information is still needed, and explains the service and caregiver pathway without promising authorization or a start date.
We coordinate with the person and their Services Coordinator or Personal Agent so the authorized service, outcomes, setting, and agency responsibilities are clear.
A known caregiver may follow Empowered Choice. If matching is needed, Empowered may use caregiver profiles and the Match Method to explore possible fit.
Required screening, background checks, training, employment steps, service-specific preparation, and documentation must be complete before paid services begin.
Once the required pieces are in place, the DSP provides authorized support and the care team stays involved with oversight, communication, reporting, changes, and follow-through.
Clear roles. Better teamwork.
The person remains at the center. Different roles carry different responsibilities around planning, authorization, employment, service delivery, supervision, and communication.
Provides case management, helps the person plan and manage authorized services, and coordinates the broader support system.
Connects regional care strategy, community partnerships, customer and caregiver experience, and local relationship-building.
Holds county-level care accountability and DSP workforce responsibility, including formal supervisory accountability.
Provides frontline coordination, delegated DSP oversight, documentation, communication, and practical follow-through around assigned care relationships.
The DSP provides authorized support. HR, compliance, billing, recruiting, and other specialists support the employment and agency systems behind dependable care.
Trusted-caregiver pathways
Empowered Choice and Oregon’s Children’s Extraordinary Needs Program are different pathways. Referral partners should route them distinctly.
For a person who already knows a trusted family member, friend, neighbor, or longtime supporter they want considered as their DSP. The person receiving support starts Customer Intake while the chosen caregiver follows the separate Empowered Choice employment pathway.
Authorization, relationship, program, screening, training, and employment requirements apply.
For eligible children under 18 with very high medical or behavioral support needs. Parents or guardians of enrolled children may be paid to provide up to 20 hours of care per week.
If a child is enrolled in or joining CEN, coordinate with the child’s Services Coordinator and contact Empowered Services about the parent-caregiver hiring and onboarding pathway.
Empowered Match Method
When a person needs help finding a caregiver, matching considers readiness, relationship, and real-life fit. The person can meet possible caregivers, ask questions, consider the connection, and decide whether to continue.
Explore. Meet. Connect. Decide.
What partners can expect
A team member reviews the inquiry or intake, confirms receipt, and explains what needs to happen next.
Private information belongs in secure intake and authorized systems. Updates are shared with the appropriate partners when permitted.
Service documentation, progress information, and required reports are provided to the Services Coordinator, Personal Agent, or case-management team as required.
Regional teams can help connect people and partners with local resources, events, activities, and community relationships that fit real life.
Community partnerships
Regional Care Managers build relationships with CDDPs, brokerages, schools, health teams, family groups, and community organizations. We can explain the service model in plain language, share referral pathways, and connect people with useful resources.
Support behind the service
DSPs and caregivers receive required onboarding and training, clear communication, oversight, check-ins, and a team they can turn to. Empowered also supports caregiver wellbeing, self-care, and community care so people are not carrying demanding work alone.
Ready when you are
Use Customer Intake for a new service inquiry. If you want to talk through service fit, county capacity, a community partnership, or a complex situation first, use the referral-partner route on Contact Us or call us.
Referral questions
Six clear answers about statewide referrals, service fit, caregiver pathways, eligibility, follow-through, and timing.
The person, a family member, a Services Coordinator, a Personal Agent, a health provider, a school, or a community partner may contact Empowered Services. Customer Intake is the clearest way to begin. We welcome service inquiries from all 36 Oregon counties; service availability and timing depend on authorization, fit, caregiver availability, and local capacity.
Empowered Services provides statewide support for people with I/DD in Oregon. Services may include Attendant Care, Relief Care, Behavior Support Plan Implementation, and On-the-Job Attendant Care. For adults, services may also include Day Support Activities and Community Transportation. The approved plan and authorization determine what services apply.
Our team reviews the information, confirms receipt, and explains the next step—typically within 1–2 business days. A service start may take longer because authorization, caregiver availability, screening, onboarding, training, and service fit must be in place.
No. Community Developmental Disabilities Programs determine I/DD eligibility, and a Services Coordinator or Personal Agent helps the person plan and manage authorized services. Empowered Services explains what we can provide within the approved plan and authorization.
Yes, in some situations. Empowered Choice allows a trusted person to be considered for employment as the person’s DSP when program and employment requirements are met. For eligible children enrolled in Oregon’s Children’s Extraordinary Needs Program, a parent or guardian may follow the separate parent-caregiver pathway with the child’s Services Coordinator.
Empowered’s regional and county care teams coordinate services and DSP oversight after services begin. We confirm receipt and explain next steps. With the person’s consent, appropriate status updates may be shared with authorized partners, and required service information is provided to the case-management team.
