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Informational guide

How to make a CLTC referral in South Carolina

What a CLTC referral is

Community Long Term Care (CLTC) is part of the South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (SCDHHS). It offers programs for people who want to live at home, need help with care, and are financially eligible for Medicaid. A referral is how a request for those services reaches SCDHHS. It starts the process. It doesn't mean the person is eligible or that services will begin.

CLTC runs four Medicaid waiver programs: Community Choices, HIV/AIDS, Mechanical Ventilator Dependent (Vent), and Medically Complex Children (MCC). SCDHHS lists the same Centralized Intake line, (888) 971-1637, and the same electronic referral form for all four. The Head and Spinal Cord Injury, Intellectual Disability/Related Disabilities, and Community Supports waivers use a different entry point: the BHDD Office of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (OIDD) Single Point of Entry at 1-800-289-7012.

Sources: CLTC Brochure (May 2023); Waiver Management/Field Management; HCBS Waiver Summary Chart (January 2026). Checked Oct. 20, 2026.

Who can make a referral

• The person who needs care, or a family member. SCDHHS says "an individual or their family member may make a referral for CLTC services" by phone or online.
• Anyone, through the online form. The SCDHHS electronic referral site says "Anyone can enter a referral using this site, but typical users include staff at hospitals, nursing facilities, and Community Residential Care Facilities."
• Who to list as the contact. The form asks for a contact person and that person's relationship to the applicant. The relationship options include "Self," family members, friend or neighbor, and caseworker.

If someone else is making the referral, talk with the person first. The form asks for their Social Security or Medicaid number and their home address.

Sources: CLTC Brochure (May 2023); SCDHHS Electronic Referrals. Checked Oct. 20, 2026.

Two ways to refer: phone or the online form

By phone (families and individuals)

Call the CLTC referral line, (888) 971-1637. SCDHHS lists this number as Area 17, Centralized Intake, serving every county statewide (1801 Main St., Columbia, SC 29201). You can also call the area office that serves the person's county. See "Find your regional CLTC office" below.

Online: the SCDHHS electronic referral form ("Phoenix")

The official form is at phoenix.scdhhs.gov/cltc_referrals/new. Choose "Create a new referral." No login is needed to submit a new referral. The same page lets you search for a referral you already sent by entering its confirmation number.

The form lists these required fields: the applicant's first and last name, Social Security number, phone number, residential address, and residential county; the contact person's name and relationship to the applicant; the reason for the referral; and the referral source's name and phone number. The form also says either a Social Security number or a Medicaid number must be entered. Date of birth is "preferred but not required." The form asks you to use normal capitalization, because typing everything in all capital letters "may cause a delay in your referral being processed."

"Community Choices" is one of the options under "Reason for Referral," along with HIV/AIDS Waiver, Ventilator Waiver, Medically Complex Children, and others.

Sources: SCDHHS CLTC Addresses (Area 17); SCDHHS Electronic Referrals. Checked Oct. 20, 2026.

For providers: Phoenix login

The Phoenix login at phoenix.scdhhs.gov/session/new is for people who already have a Phoenix account. SCDHHS's waiver documents describe a "Phoenix Provider Portal" that providers use to manage referrals. You don't need an account to submit a new referral. This site can't help with logins or passwords. For technical problems, the referral page lists the Phoenix helpdesk at 803-898-2760, and notes that "the help desk can not answer questions about the status of existing referrals."

Sources: SCDHHS Electronic Referrals; Community Choices Waiver Renewal Application (July 1, 2026). Checked Oct. 20, 2026.

What happens after a referral

SCDHHS publishes the general steps, but not a schedule:

1. Screening. In the Community Choices waiver application, SCDHHS says program staff apply intake criteria to every applicant. Applicants who meet them are assigned to a state nurse consultant or a state-licensed social worker for an initial assessment.
2. Level of care. The assessment uses a standardized tool and the South Carolina Nursing Home Level of Care Criteria. It's the same level of care needed to enter a nursing home.
3. Medicaid. The person must also be financially eligible for Medicaid. If they aren't enrolled yet, the Medicaid application is a separate step. See how to apply for CLTC.
4. Choice and a service plan. The person chooses between home and community services and institutional care. A service plan follows. When it's time to pick a provider, SCDHHS staff or the case manager presents a list of qualified providers, printed in random order "to ensure that choice is not related to name or position." The participant can ask to change providers later.

Official pages checked for this guide don't publish how soon SCDHHS calls back or schedules an assessment, so no timeline is given here. To check on a referral, call the number you used, or the area office for the person's county.

Sources: Community Choices Waiver Renewal Application (July 1, 2026), Appendices B-6, B-7, and D-1; CLTC Brochure (May 2023). Checked Oct. 20, 2026.

Find your regional CLTC office

SCDHHS has 11 CLTC area offices, two satellite offices (Aiken and Ridgeland), and statewide Centralized Intake (Area 17). The county-by-county list, with addresses and phone numbers, is on the official SCDHHS Community Long-Term Care Addresses page. This site's local office directory shows the same list. Greenville County residents can use the Greenville County CLTC office page.

Source: SCDHHS CLTC Addresses. Checked Oct. 20, 2026.

FAQ

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