The QSI — Questionnaire for Situational Information (Version 4.0) is APD's approved needs assessment. A trained APD assessor administers it as a structured interview with the person and the people who know their daily life, and the resulting scores do two jobs: they inform the support plan, and specific items feed the iBudget algorithm that sets the person's individual budget — alongside age and living setting.
The three scored sections
Functional status
How the person manages daily living — mobility, eating, bathing, dressing, communication, and the supports each requires. These items carry directly into the budget algorithm's functional score.
Behavioral status
Behaviors that put the person or others at risk, and the intensity of support needed to keep everyone safe. Behavioral scores are among the strongest drivers of the algorithm's output.
Physical status
Medical and physical health needs — seizures, medication regimens, skin care, treatments — and the level of nursing or physical support they demand.
Why providers should care about an assessment they don't administer
The QSI is APD's to conduct — but its consequences land on providers. The scores shape the budget, the budget becomes the cost plan, and the cost plan becomes the service authorizations you bill against. And when a person's needs genuinely increase, the path to a reassessment runs through documentation: service logs and progress notes that record new behaviors, declining skills, or rising medical needs are the evidence a WSC uses to justify redoing the QSI early. An agency whose notes are vague can watch a consumer stay under-budgeted for years.
The three-year cycle, and the exception
The QSI is required at waiver eligibility and at least every three years after. The exception matters more than the rule: a significant change in circumstances — a health event, new high-risk behavior, loss of a family caregiver, a move — justifies an earlier reassessment, requested through the person's waiver support coordinator. Families preparing for a QSI interview should answer for the person's hardest days, not their best ones; the algorithm can only fund the needs the assessment captures. For what happens after the budget is set, see the iBudget services menu — or, for households considering self-direction, how CDC+ works.
Frequently asked questions
What is the QSI?
The Questionnaire for Situational Information (Version 4.0) — APD's approved functional needs assessment. A trained APD assessor interviews the person and people who know them well, scoring functional, behavioral, and physical status. It informs both service planning and the iBudget allocation.
How often is the QSI done?
At eligibility determination for waiver services, then at least once every three years — and again when a significant life change may have altered the person's support needs. Between assessments, the scores on file are the scores that count.
How does the QSI affect the iBudget amount?
The iBudget algorithm sets each person's budget from factors including age, living setting, and specific QSI item scores (the functional and behavioral items). A QSI that understates needs can produce a budget that won't cover them, which is why families are told to prepare for the interview honestly and thoroughly.
Can a QSI be redone if needs change?
Yes. A significant change in the person's situation — health decline, new behaviors, a change in living setting — is grounds to request a reassessment through the WSC rather than waiting out the three-year cycle. Provider documentation of the change is often what substantiates the request.