IDD & TBI Case Management
Case Management in North Carolina
One dedicated care partner to plan, connect, and monitor every support your loved one receives, so your family stops carrying the whole system alone.
Start Here
What is case management for IDD and TBI?
Case management is a Medicaid-funded service that gives your family one professional to plan, coordinate, and monitor every support your loved one receives.
When someone lives with an intellectual or developmental disability or a traumatic brain injury, the services that help are often spread across separate agencies, plans, and providers. Therapies sit in one place. Benefits sit in another. The school or day program follows its own track. A case manager, sometimes called a support coordinator or care manager, pulls those threads into a single plan and keeps it moving as life changes.
In one sentence: A care partner is the person who holds the whole picture, so your family does not have to become a full-time coordinator of appointments, paperwork, and providers.
At Covenant, that role is personal. We are CARF-accredited and NC DHHS-certified, and we have served families across North Carolina since 2010. Every family works with a dedicated care partner who learns your loved one as a person first, not a file number.
The Role
What does a care partner do day to day?
A care partner turns a scattered set of services into one plan that works. Day to day, that means:
- Assess needs and goals. Your care partner starts by understanding your loved one's strengths, needs, and what a good life looks like for them.
- Build the Individual Support Plan. The plan documents goals, the services that support them, and who delivers each one.
- Connect the services. Your care partner arranges therapies, community living support, employment support, respite, and more, and makes sure they fit together.
- Monitor and adjust. As progress happens or needs change, the plan changes with it. Nothing is set and forgotten.
- Advocate and communicate. Your care partner speaks with providers and the managed care plan, and keeps your family informed with clear next steps.
The Plan
What is an Individual Support Plan (ISP)?
An Individual Support Plan is the written, person-centered plan that guides your loved one's services. It records their goals, the supports that help reach those goals, the providers involved, and how progress is measured. In North Carolina, the plan is reviewed at least once a year and updated whenever needs change.
Your care partner builds the ISP with you, not for you. The point is a plan that reflects the actual person: what they want to do, where they want to live and work, and how they want to spend their days. Once the plan is in place, your care partner coordinates every service in it and keeps it current.
Good to knowYou can bring your own priorities to the ISP meeting. A strong plan starts with your family's goals, then maps services to them, not the other way around.
IDD and TBI
How IDD and TBI support differ
Covenant coordinates care for both intellectual and developmental disabilities and traumatic brain injury. The coordinating role is the same, but the shape of the support often differs.
| Consideration | IDD support | TBI support |
|---|---|---|
| Typical onset | Present from birth or early development | Follows an injury, often later in life |
| Focus of the plan | Building skills and independence over time | Rebuilding routines and regaining function |
| Family experience | Long-term planning across life stages | Adjusting to sudden change, often mid-life |
| Where coordination helps | Connecting living, employment, and community support | Aligning rehabilitation with daily support and benefits |
In both cases, the value of a care partner is the same: therapy goals, benefits, and daily support stay aligned across the whole week, not just the appointment hour.
What We Coordinate
The services connected to your plan
Case management connects your loved one to a full continuum of support, delivered through the NC Innovations Waiver and 1915(i) where they qualify.
Living support
Community Living and Support, Alternative Family Living, and Supported Living, matched to the level each person needs.
See living services →Day & employment
Supported employment, community networking, and a day program built around each person's interests.
See day services →Respite & clinical
Respite that gives caregivers rest, plus specialized consultative and nursing support for complex needs.
See support services →Coordination
One care partner ties it all together and keeps the plan current as needs change.
How it works →Where We Serve
Case management across North Carolina
Covenant serves families in 56 North Carolina counties. Case management works alongside your local managed care plan (LME/MCO), and your care partner knows how services move in your area. Start with your county below.
For Families
How to start services
Beginning is simpler than most families expect. Here is the path.
Reach out
Call 704-780-4552 or request services online. Tell us about your loved one and what your family needs now.
Confirm eligibility
We help verify NC Medicaid, connect with your local plan, and identify whether the Innovations Waiver or 1915(i) fits.
Build the plan
Your care partner builds the Individual Support Plan around your goals, then coordinates and monitors every service in it.
For Referral Partners
Refer a client to Covenant
Physicians, hospital discharge teams, managed care organizations, and community partners can refer with confidence. Covenant confirms receipt, verifies eligibility, and reports back with clear next steps, so the handoff does not become a gap.
Common Questions
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between case management and support coordination?
They describe the same role. Case management, support coordination, and care coordination all mean one professional who plans, connects, and monitors the services a person receives. In North Carolina managed care, this role is often called a care manager or care coordinator, and the work is the same: hold the whole picture so nothing falls through the cracks.
Who pays for case management?
Case management for individuals with IDD or TBI is funded through NC Medicaid, including the NC Innovations Waiver, 1915(i) state plan services, and Tailored Care Management. Covenant helps families confirm eligibility and connect with their local plan. There is no cost to eligible families for the coordination itself.
How do referral partners send a client to Covenant?
Physicians, hospitals, MCOs, and community organizations can refer through the Covenant referral portal or by calling 704-780-4552. Covenant confirms receipt, verifies eligibility, and reports back to the referring team with clear next steps.
Go Deeper
Related guides
Understand your funding options
Each guide explains one path to services in plain language.
Related from Covenant
Our Promise
Thrive with Purpose
Good coordination is not paperwork. It is what lets a person live the life they picture, with the right support in the right place at the right time. That is the work we show up for every day, in all 56 counties we serve.
Start the Conversation
Ready to begin?
Whether you are a family exploring services or a partner making a referral, we are ready to help you take the next step.