News

The full details of the two reports are not yet available – the Board will meet later this week to develop a strategy.

Details are available at http://leg2.state.va.us/MoneyWeb.NSF/sb2012

The Senate did not recommend any additional slots nor any rate increase.

Further analysis will be done later this evening and will be posted.

Funding for Health Human Resources included: restoring the safety net services, using the $30M recommended by the Governor to fund the DOJ settlement (slots, crisis, family support, etc.), restoring some funding for LTESS, restoring inflation adjustments for nursing homes and hospitals.

New funding included: $500,000 for mobile crisis teams for children, 200 ID & 50 DD slots over the biennium & a 1.6% rate increase for congregate residential in the ID Waiver

As we move closer to the first committee reports on what recommendations they will make to change the Governor’s Budget, the time for advocacy is becoming shorter. 

• There is virtually no activity on the behavioral health side — everything seems to be on hold waiting for a decision on which bidder will be awarded the contact for the BHSA — do not expect any activity there until mid-March.  There may be budget language which states the intent of the Assembly that the contract “be conducted in a manner that ensure system integrity and engages private providers in the independent assessment process . . .”
• On the ID/DD side there is a great deal of activity because of DOJ and the implications of the implementation of that aggreement.  The basic advocacy points are included on the “One Pager” which was released yesterday.

The tag line we have crafted applies equally to both groups!

If this is the time, and our best opportunity, to change the way Virginia supports individuals with developmental disabilities and/or youth with behavioral health needs, we owe it to them and their families to do it right!

The story this week is all about the DOJ settlement and the impact it will have on the system as a whole over the next ten years:

• The most dramatic element of the settlement is the plan for closing four of the five state training centers (all but SEVTC) by FY20;
• The target population includes all individuals with ID/DD who live at any of the Training Centers; meet the criteria for the Waiting Lists for the ID or DD Waivers; currently reside in a nursing home or ICF;
• There will be individual and family supports for individuals not receiving Waiver Services – a minimum of 700 individuals (FY13) and 1000 in subsequent years. 
• 805 slots for transition from Training Centers; 2,915 slots for persons on the Urgent ID Waiver Waiting List including 100 for children under 22 residing in nursing homes and the largest ICFs; 450 slots for persons on the DD Waiting List including  150 for children under 22 residing in nursing homes and the largest ICFs.
• An expanded role for Case Managers in monitoring; implementation of the START Crisis Program; implementation of the Employment First policy; emphasis on integrated housing and $800,000 for rental assistance; establishment of a clear preference heirarchy for placements with carefully monitored allowance for the individual’s choice or needs. 
• An expanded role for the Community Resource Consultants and creations of several layers of support/monitoring for the discharge planning and decision making process.  Expanded emphasis on risk management, incident reporting, mortality review,and collection of data on many aspect of service provision – eg community inclusion, staff training, turnover, etc.

This settlement (with the single exception mentioned above) contains no funding; the only funding requested, to date, by the administration is the one-time money included in the Trust Fund.  VNPP and other partners have requested restoration of the Waiver rates to the July 2008 levels, differential funding for the smaller (and preferred) residential settings and slots to begin to eliminate the Waiting Lists.  The significant news about the Settlment is what it does not include!

We have not had much time to analyze the agreement; more information will be forthcoming.

The DOJ settlement will be announced at 10:30am this morning; full details will be available later today.

The weekly Update for this week is available now!

Each week we will post an Update on Legislative activity.

The DMAS report on the Evaluation of Appropriateness and Effectiveness of Audit Methodology required by the General Assembly last year has been released.  While it does not address all of the areas of concern, it does leave the way open for further dialog on the process issues which are so important.