For Colorado families caring for a loved one with a disability

Get help with your loved one’s disability services (and meet Colorado families who understand)

Navigating Disability Colorado helps families understand what support may be available, how family caregiver pay works, and what to ask their case manager. Whether you’re applying for a waiver or already receiving services, find practical guidance and a community to turn to as your loved one’s needs change.

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Upcoming Event

Join us September 9 at 7:00 PM MT for a free live Info Session. Maureen will walk you through an overview of disability services in Colorado, answer your questions live, and show you what's inside the new Navigating Disability Colorado membership. Can't make it? Register anyway and we'll send the recording.

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We are better together.

Meet other Colorado families you can learn from (and lean on).

You may be trying to understand a letter about your loved one’s services, prepare for a meeting with your case manager, or find someone you trust to provide a few hours of respite care.

It helps to talk with people who understand why those things matter so much.

At NDC, families share what they’ve learned, ask questions, and find encouragement alongside practical guidance from Maureen. You can arrive with years of experience or without knowing what a waiver is.

There’s a place for you here.

Start with the question that brought you here.

Which waiver might help my loved one?

Learn how Colorado’s waivers differ, which may fit your loved one’s needs, and where to begin with an application.

We already have a waiver. What can we do with it?

Understand the services and funding available through your loved one’s waiver, get more familiar with the support plan, and prepare to ask about help your family may not be using.

Could I be paid for the care I provide?

Learn about family caregiver pay options and the questions to ask about eligibility, so you have a clearer starting point for conversations with your case manager or provider agency.

Families Who Finally Got Answers

  • Without NDC's course, we’d still be floundering and trying to figure out how to use our son's services. The course enabled us to fully understand the very confusing way that services are procured, tracked and delivered. I’m honestly not sure how people navigate the system without a class like this!

    SB, Lakewood, CO

  • Navigating Disability Colorado helped me to understand how to access my son’s CES waiver benefits more efficiently. I now know the budget down to the penny and how to best access the resources available to him. I also understand how to navigate the appeals process. Disabled people deserve a good quality of life and Maureen has deep knowledge on how to make that happen.

    Colorado Parent

  • The Maximizing Your Existing Waiver course empowered me with an in-depth understanding of the CES waiver and the Medicaid system. I learned things essential to helping my child, like understanding what services are available, and how to find quality respite service providers. I learned how to communicate effectively with my case manager to get my needs met and handle any grievances. It’s unlikely I could have acquired such ‘insider’ knowledge on my own. Maureen is such a patient, knowledgeable and generous instructor! This course has been invaluable in supporting me to advocate successfully for my child's needs!

    TG, Colorado Springs, CO

  • NDC is a wealth of information. Having a child with IDD is overwhelming, and understanding the systems to support him are confusing at best. Knowing that I have Maureen, the content and course to keep me updated on the latest and greatest information is an insurance policy that I'm doing the best I can for my child.

    BM, Littleton, CO

  • Raising a special needs child as a single parent is an unimaginably difficult journey. We were fortunate enough to meet Maureen during an extremely trying period of this journey. She was actively involved and provided guidance through the entire process of applying for my son’s CHRP waiver. Maureen is not only extremely knowledgeable, she makes herself available, genuinely cares and advocates for us with unwavering support throughout the entire process. I still reach out to her for guidance and will continue to do so. Her advocacy for the special needs community is priceless.

    LK, Centennial, CO

  • Thank you for the information! I feel like a baby whose eyes are suddenly opening to a much greater world. You are a great teacher. I really appreciate all the little things you do!

    TG, Jefferson County, CO

  • I have a 12-year-old daughter with Down Syndrome. If it were not for NDC, my daughter would not have access to half of the resources that help her be a successful member of our community. Maureen not only knows about resources available for the intellectual disability community, but she also understands how they work, how they are funded and what is needed to apply. All of this can be overwhelming or even impossible without Maureen's amazing guidance. I am thankful for Maureen’s knowledge and willingness to share. I would recommend her services any day.

    OF, Arapahoe County CO

  • Thank you, thank you, thank you so much! This is going to be so great. I can already see how beneficial the course Apply for a Medicaid Waiver will be. I have now forgiven myself for not getting a CES waiver before now.

    Colorado Parent

  • Navigating Disability Colorado’s knowledge of our local case management agencies has helped our family navigate everything from the waiver application process to maximizing our funding requests. Maureen’s guidance has been vital to our success in securing appropriate disability services.

    Colorado Parent

  • I just watched the recording of the respite video. Thank you for the information; so helpful and needed for families! I will continue to share your website with families and hope they will jump into this valuable information. I appreciate what you are doing!

    GS, Colorado

  • NDC is an essential resource in our community. Maureen's knowledge, personal experience and tenacity are crucial to families trying to get their disabled loved one set up for success. NDC is a must-have in your corner if you want the most advantageous situation for your disabled family member. She understands the time and work required for facilitating in-home support, completing the daunting applications, and navigating the community-centered boards and Medicaid with the state. At any point in the process, NDC is the wealth of information and support you are looking for. I cannot recommend NDC enough.

    YA, Colorado

  • I just watched the Navigating Disability CO webinar on building the respite bench. You are brilliant and the information was fantastic. Just wanted to let you know that! I look forward to learning more.

    JC Colorado Springs, CO

  • I found it really helpful that the Maximize Your Waiver course offers instruction both in how to better communicate with case managers, as well as in how the waiver and the system works. As a result, we've developed a better working relationship with our case manager and have been able to secure a couple service plan revisions. We are also now getting more services than we had been, after learning more about the waiver and what it has to offer.

    Teri, Arapahoe County, CO

Hi, I’m Maureen. As a special education teacher, I helped young adults prepare for life after school while I was still discovering what services were available for my own son.

That experience led me to create Navigating Disability Colorado. Today, I share what I’ve learned as a parent, educator, and independent advocate, and bring families together so we can learn from one another.

My hope is that you leave with a clearer next step and someone to turn to when the next question comes up.

Meet Maureen Welch.

Keep learning with people who understand.

The NDC Membership brings community, step-by-step guidance, and ongoing support together for $49 per month.

Find your people. Ask questions, share experiences, and connect with other Colorado families, including members in your local area.

Learn what applies to your family. Follow step-by-step roadmaps covering all 9 Colorado Medicaid waivers, with videos and downloadable resources for applying and making better use of an existing waiver.

Get help with your next step. Bring your questions to monthly live Office Hours with Maureen, and stay informed with Colorado disability-policy updates.

Start with the lesson, resource, or conversation you need today. You don’t have to learn all 9 waivers to begin.

Get The FREE Downloadable PDF Guide and Companion Video!

FREE GUIDE: How to Find and Hire Respite Care Providers