How to Become a Central Arkansas Development Council (CADC) Transportation Provider in 2027

Central Arkansas Development Council, or CADC, is a private nonprofit community action agency established in 1965. Its main office is at 321 Edison Avenue in Benton, and it runs programs in 19 Arkansas counties, from utility help and weatherization to food and tax assistance. Its transportation arm is South Central Arkansas Transit, or SCAT.

SCAT does two jobs. It sells public rides at a reduced rate to anyone, regardless of income, and it carries Arkansas Medicaid members to their appointments. As of September 2026, CADC is also the Medicaid ride broker for Region E of the state’s Non-Emergency Transportation program, or NET. That means CADC takes every Region E NET booking, decides who drives it, and pays whoever does.

What CADC runs in Region E

Arkansas gives each of its seven NET regions to a single broker, and members must ride with the broker for the county they live in. This table lists Region E’s counties, the SCAT office listed for each in SCAT’s passenger handbook, and each county’s NET trips in state fiscal year 2024 (July 2023 to June 2024) from DHS’s databook, which leaves out day treatment rides.

County	SCAT office in the handbook	NET trips, SFY 2024
Garland	None by county name; the Montgomery and Pike office is in Hot Springs	17,037
Miller	Texarkana	10,348
Union	El Dorado	8,743
Saline	Benton	5,856
Columbia	Magnolia	4,487
Hot Spring	Malvern	4,338
Ouachita	Camden	3,284
Hempstead	Hope	2,816
Little River	None listed	1,833
Howard	None listed	1,680
Clark	Arkadelphia	1,626
Dallas	Fordyce	1,521
Lafayette	None listed	1,369
Nevada	None listed	1,106
Pike	Montgomery and Pike office, Hot Springs	712
Calhoun	None listed	572
Sevier	None listed	365
Montgomery	Montgomery and Pike office, Hot Springs	308

The region’s 68,001 trips that year covered 130,127 legs and 2,898,767 miles, or about 43 miles a trip. Garland, Miller, and Union counties alone made up more than half the trips. SCAT’s handbook also lists an office in Lonoke, but Lonoke County’s Medicaid rides belong to Region G, which Modivcare has run since January 2, 2026.

Long trips are common. In its July 2025 bid, CADC said many trips go to major medical facilities in Little Rock, Hot Springs, and Texarkana, and that it coordinates 10 to 20 member trips a day to those cities. See rural NEMT for planning long days like these.

How CADC won Region E

DHS bid all seven regions in 2025 under solicitation 710-25-049. Bidders had to price within an actuarial range per member per month, $11.67 to $12.08 for Region E. CADC and MediTrans both bid $11.67. Under Arkansas procurement rule R8:19-11-229(3), the tie went to the Arkansas company without a coin flip, and DHS posted its intent to award Region E to CADC on July 21, 2025.

That monthly payment per member is a capitation rate. It funds every Region E ride and CADC’s costs as broker; it is not a trip rate. DHS’s actuary set the bid ranges for calendar year 2026 and folded day treatment rides into the new contracts. Each award runs one year and may be renewed for up to six more one-year terms, seven years in all. DHS rebid only Region G in June 2026, so Region E was not part of that bid.

Does CADC use subcontractors

The DHS contract lets a broker be the only provider in its region, or run a network of subcontractors, as long as service stays adequate. CADC’s 2025 bid describes a mix: its own fleet, plus subcontracted providers “when necessary” to cover higher demand or special needs. It says subcontracted drivers are trained alongside SCAT staff, observed in the field by SCAT’s site supervisors and safety team, and held to the same records and oversight. The bid’s subcontractor form named one company, First Step, Inc. of Hot Springs, which runs adult developmental day treatment programs.

Two more signs point the same way. DHS’s NET ownership and control disclosure, still posted in September 2026, lists CADC’s chief executive and a board member but no CADC subcontractors, while it lists one for the Southeast Arkansas agency and about 30 for Verida. And in September 2026, CADC was hiring its own SCAT drivers in Benton, El Dorado, Hope, Hot Springs, and Malvern. Its El Dorado driver posting, open in September 2026, paid $17.90 to $18.50 an hour depending on license class, for drivers 21 or older who meet DOT physical qualifications and obtain a “P” endorsement.

So expect CADC to carry most Region E trips itself, and pitch the gaps you can fill: a county with no SCAT office, early or late hours, wheelchair capacity, or long out-of-region runs. Call before you buy a vehicle, and read how to subcontract NEMT trips for how these deals usually work.

What a CADC subcontractor must have

CADC sets its own terms, but the DHS broker contract bid in 2025 sets a floor that reaches every subcontractor. The main items:

Authority, licenses, and insurance

• ArDOT intrastate authority. Every for-hire carrier of passengers wholly within Arkansas must apply to ArDOT’s Legal Division, and the contract has the broker collect proof of your ArDOT vehicle registration. The Arkansas state guide walks through the application, fees, and hearing.
• Licenses. Vehicle licenses, a driver’s license for each driver (a CDL where required), a business license, and DF&A registration for each vehicle.
• Insurance. $1,000,000 in liability coverage on each vehicle, from a company licensed in Arkansas, including contractual liability coverage that protects the State. The contract also has the broker make sure DHS is named as an additional insured on required liability policies. See NEMT insurance requirements.
• No excluded people. CADC cannot contract with a company convicted of Medicaid or Medicare fraud, terminated from either program, or excluded from any DHS program, and it screens staff against state and federal exclusion lists.

Vehicles

Requirement	What the DHS contract says
Camera	A working interior video system in every vehicle: HD 720p, at least 45 days of playback, GPS on the camera, and a view that records boarding. No camera, no rides
Child alarm	Any vehicle built for more than 7 passengers plus the driver needs an alarm the driver must walk to the back to switch off
Climate	Air conditioning to 68 degrees and heat to 74, measured at the rear
Child seats	Riders under 6 or under 60 pounds ride in a child seat
Step	A retractable step or four-legged step stool when the floor is over 12 inches high, with no step over 7 inches; never a milk crate
On board	Fire extinguisher, biohazard kit, first aid kit, reflective triangles, web cutter, flashlight, reflective vest
Tires	At least 4/32 inch of tread
Markings	Your company name and contact information, plus the DHS NET Helpline number, displayed prominently

CADC must inspect every one of your vehicles before it signs your agreement, then again at least every 30 days. A certified mechanic inspects each vehicle yearly at the broker’s cost, and the state’s NET monitor inspects each one at least once a year, with random checks. Our dash camera guide covers choosing a system that meets the camera rule.

Drivers and attendants

• 21 or older, with a valid license for the vehicle class, meeting state and federal motor carrier safety rules.
• Documented training in child passenger safety, defensive driving, lift operation, and wheelchair securement.
• Current First Aid and CPR, taught hands-on to American Heart Association or American Red Cross standards. Online-only certificates do not count.
• A clean driving record. Two moving violations or at-fault accidents in 12 months, in any vehicle, takes a driver off NET work, and so does a suspended or revoked license in the last five years.
• Federal and Arkansas State Police criminal history checks and a DHS Central Registry check before any work with riders. A drug misdemeanor or any felony in the last five years, or any sexual or violent offense, disqualifies a driver.
• Drug and alcohol testing before hire and at random, in a USDOT program or one that mirrors it. See NEMT driver drug testing.

CADC’s bid adds its own standards. All drivers, SCAT or subcontracted, get USDOT drug and alcohol testing and annual physicals, and both groups take recurring training (annual or biannual, in the bid’s words) in CPR, first aid, passenger safety, bloodborne pathogens, HIPAA compliance, and defensive driving. The bid also says every prospective driver’s motor vehicle record is checked before hire and every year.

How Region E trips run

Every service agreement must carry the contract’s scheduling rules, so these become your rules on CADC trips:

Rule	Standard
Pickup	No later than 15 minutes after the estimated pickup time; the broker calls the rider if you will be 15 minutes late
Drop-off	At least 15 minutes before the appointment, but not more than 1 hour early
Waiting	You need not wait more than 15 minutes after you arrive
Ride time	No more than 1 hour longer than the direct trip, each way
Day treatment	ADDT and EIDT riders travel on separate trips from other NET riders
Out of state	Trips to Arkansas Medicaid providers within 50 miles of the border are covered

SCAT’s passenger handbook describes its own service as curb to curb: its drivers do not go into homes, knock on doors, or phone riders to announce they have arrived. The DHS contract sets a different floor, and every service agreement must state it: your drivers or attendants help riders to and from the main door as needed, and announce themselves at the building entrance when the rider is not waiting at the curb.

Region E touches three states. Columbia, Lafayette, Miller, and Union counties border Louisiana, Miller and Little River border Texas, and Little River and Sevier border Oklahoma. CADC’s bid says it is registered with FMCSA, holds a USDOT number for out-of-state trips, and makes sure any subcontractor meets the same standards. Read when a NEMT company needs a USDOT number before you take a run to Texarkana, Texas, or into Louisiana.

Each driver keeps a daily log for every rider: pickup and drop-off addresses, scheduled and actual pickup and arrival times each way, the escort’s name, and the rider’s or escort’s signature when the rider cannot sign. Records must be kept for five years after the contract ends. Our trip documentation guide shows how to set that up.

In bad weather, the broker’s disaster recovery plan must include a way to get riders to dialysis, chemotherapy, and radiation. A broker that wants to stop service must ask DHS and keep running until DHS approves the stop. The contract counts extreme heat, extreme cold, flooding, tornado warnings, heavy snow, and icy roads as adverse weather, so build your own bad weather policy around those.

How pay and performance work with CADC

Arkansas does not set subcontractor rates. The DHS contract has the broker negotiate a service rate with each qualified subcontractor, write it into the agreement, and pay accurately and on time under that agreement. The negotiated rate never changes the capitation DHS pays CADC. Get the payment schedule, the rate for each type of ride, and how wait time, no-shows, and out-of-region miles are paid in writing before you sign. Our guide to negotiating broker rates covers what to ask for.

Every subcontract must be in writing, follow CADC’s model service agreement approved by DHS, and be approved by DHS before it is signed. The contract also asks that written subcontractor agreements reach DHS or its monitor at least 30 calendar days before services begin, so build that month into your start date.

If you miss a requirement, the contract lays out the steps:

1. CADC notifies you within 24 business hours of learning about it.
2. CADC puts you on a corrective action plan within 3 business days.
3. You finish the plan within 30 days of the notice, with more time only if you are making adequate progress.
4. If the problem is not corrected, CADC must end your service agreement. DHS can also direct it to end an agreement.

How to join CADC’s network

1. Form your company and get an EIN. The Arkansas state guide lists the Secretary of State filings and fees.
2. Apply for ArDOT intrastate authority through the Legal Division at 501-569-2160. The passenger carrier application costs $50, plus $5 per vehicle for the insurance filing. ArDOT sends a Notice of Filing, protests are due by the 10th day after the filing date, and you must appear in person at the hearing. If you will cross into Texas, Louisiana, or Oklahoma, check whether you also need FMCSA interstate authority and a USDOT number.
3. Buy insurance at $1,000,000 per vehicle with contractual liability coverage, and install the camera, alarm, and safety equipment the contract requires.
4. Build your driver files: licenses, training certificates, driving records, criminal history and central registry checks, and drug test results. The credentialing checklist keeps them together.
5. Call CADC at 501-315-1121. Ask whether it is adding subcontractors, and where. Be ready to say which counties, hours, and ride types you can cover.
6. Pass CADC’s review. CADC inspects every vehicle, reviews your files, and negotiates your rate. It then sends the agreement to DHS for approval before anyone signs.

Who to call

For	Contact
CADC main office, subcontract questions	501-315-1121, 321 Edison Avenue, Benton, AR 72015; mail to P.O. Box 580, Benton, AR 72018
Region E Medicaid ride line	1-800-385-9992
SCAT manager, rider policies	501-332-5426
SCAT offices	Arkadelphia 870-246-8747, Magnolia 870-234-6444, Fordyce 870-352-8894, Hope 870-724-5082, Malvern 501-332-6215, Texarkana 870-330-4965, Hot Springs (Montgomery and Pike) 501-623-2875, Camden 870-836-3200, Benton 501-315-0800, El Dorado 870-864-0067
NET Helpline, for rider problems	1-888-987-1200, option 1
ArDOT Legal Division, motor carrier authority	501-569-2160
DHS Division of Medical Services	501-682-8292

Neighboring regions use other brokers: Verida runs Regions A to D to the north and west, the Area Agency on Aging of Southeast Arkansas runs Region F to the east, and Modivcare runs Region G around Little Rock, covered in our Region G report.