Transition Related Services
For many individuals leaving institutional care, the biggest barrier to community living is not clinical. It is practical. They need a security deposit to sign a lease. They need basic furniture so the apartment is livable. They need help covering utility setup, moving costs, or other one-time expenses that stand between them and a stable home. Without these supports, even the best transition plan can stall at the last mile.
Through Moving Home Minnesota, eligible individuals can access transition-related services that cover these practical, one-time costs. Care Crafters helps identify what is needed, coordinate the procurement or payment, and ensure that the individual's new living situation is ready and functional from day one.
Removing the financial and logistical barriers that block a successful move.
The specific supports available depend on the individual's eligibility, the MHM program guidelines, and what is needed to make the community placement viable. These are the most common categories of transition-related expenses.
Security deposits and lease costs
Many individuals leaving institutional settings have no savings for a security deposit. Transition-related services can help cover these upfront costs so that housing is not lost because of a financial gap that has nothing to do with readiness.
Essential household items
An empty apartment is not a home. Transition services can help with essential furnishings like a bed, basic kitchen supplies, linens, and other items needed for the individual to live safely and comfortably from the first day in their new space.
Setup and connection fees
Utility deposits and connection fees for electricity, gas, water, and phone service are often required before move-in. Transition services can cover these costs to ensure the home is functional and livable on arrival.
Transportation and moving costs
Getting from the facility to the new home requires planning and sometimes funding for transportation, moving assistance, or both. Transition services help ensure the physical move happens on schedule without last-minute obstacles.
Community integration supports
Some transition-related needs go beyond the apartment itself. Depending on eligibility, services may extend to supports that help the individual access community resources, establish transportation options, or connect with local services during the early post-move period.
Additional transition needs
Every transition is different. Depending on the individual's circumstances, there may be other one-time costs that are necessary for the move to succeed. Our team works with the individual and the MHM program to identify and address these needs within the allowable framework.
Small barriers cause big failures when there is no one to close the gap.
It is a common and frustrating pattern in transition work. A person spends months in a facility. A discharge plan is developed. Housing is identified. Waiver services are authorized. And then the move stalls because there is no money for a security deposit, or the apartment has no bed, or the electricity has not been turned on. These are not clinical problems. They are logistical and financial barriers that can derail an otherwise well-planned transition.
Transition-related services through MHM exist specifically to address this problem. They are designed to cover the one-time, practical costs that institutional residents typically cannot afford out of pocket. When these barriers are removed, the individual can move into a home that is actually ready for them, not an empty unit they are expected to figure out on their own.
At Care Crafters, we coordinate transition-related services alongside our broader transition coordination and case management work. This means the person who is organizing the relocation plan is also making sure the apartment has furniture, the utilities are connected, and the individual has what they need from day one. There is no handoff. There is no gap.
Transition related services work best when they follow the correct service pathway.
RSC-TCM is its own case management pathway
Relocation Service Coordination Targeted Case Management is a targeted case management service used to help a person move from an eligible institution to the community. It should be coordinated carefully because it cannot be billed in the same month as another targeted case management service, and it cannot be used at the same time as Moving Home Minnesota.
Waiver transitional services may still overlap
Minnesota DHS does allow waiver transitional services to be provided at the same time as RSC-TCM when the person meets the requirements and limitations for waiver transitional services. These supports cover reasonable move related items and expenses and do not replace the case management function of RSC-TCM.
MHM uses a separate transition track
If a person qualifies for Moving Home Minnesota and chooses that program, they cannot also receive RSC-TCM at the same time. The person, lead agency, and care team need to choose the transition pathway that best fits the person’s eligibility, timeline, and service needs.
The transition plan should follow the correct program structure
Transition related services should be coordinated through the appropriate program pathway based on the person’s eligibility, documented needs, and transition plan. The goal is to make sure financial and logistical supports are in place at the right time, while keeping the overall move organized, compliant, and centered on a successful community transition.
The move related financial supports may still be available, but the route matters. In some situations they are accessed alongside RSC-TCM as waiver transitional services, and in other situations they are accessed through Moving Home Minnesota. The service design should match the person’s actual eligibility and not assume every transition support can be bundled under one provider.
When practical obstacles are cleared, community living becomes possible.
If someone is ready to leave institutional care but faces financial or logistical barriers to the move, transition-related services through MHM may be the answer. Care Crafters can help assess eligibility, identify needs, and coordinate the supports that make the move happen.
