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You are receiving this email because you are the authorized agent for a 245D day services facility or you are receiving it as a courtesy because you are a licensed 245D provider.
Dear Partner,
I’m pleased to be able to share that we are again turning the dial to further reopen day services for people with disabilities. Your hard work and success in implementing guidance to protect the health and safety of the people you serve has made this possible.
New changes: increase the maximum duration that a person can receive in-person, facility-based services in one day from three hours to four hours; allow day services to be provided in facility and community settings on the same day; and remove the 50-person maximum limit to allow greater flexibility for buildings with larger licensed capacity while maintaining the 50% cap on licensed capacity (including staff) of the facility.
Providers must continue to follow requirements regarding capacity, cohort size, duration of shifts, screening protocols and other measures to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.
We also continue to recognize that individuals served have a right to make an informed choice about whether to receive services in a licensed setting.
As before, day services facility license holders must adhere to Minnesota Department of Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines to establish and implement a COVID-19 Preparedness Plan as set forth in Emergency Executive Order 20-74, paragraph 7e.
Programs may resume operating after receiving the specific licensing guidance and completing the COVID-19 Preparedness Plan. As a reminder, if you plan to begin providing alternative day services, you must submit this notification form to DHS before providing services. Prior to resuming services in your facility, the Authorized Agent for the licensed program must complete, sign and submit to DHS Licensing Division the “Notification of Operation of Day Services Pursuant to DHS Waiver CV73”.
As you know, on May 30 we announced that day service facilities were allowed to only serve individuals who lived on their own or with their families. On July 13, we turned the dial to include individuals who live in congregate care settings, including group homes, to attend the facilities, but prohibited individuals from attending a day service facility if they live with any person with an active case of COVID-19 or have had COVID-19 exposure in the last 14 days.
The latest changes were effective Aug. 12, 2020, and may remain in effect for a 60-day transition period after the end of the COVID-19 peacetime emergency declared by the governor. More information about these changes can be found in this document: Amended licensing requirements for providers of day services for adults with disabilities.
Thank you for your partnership as we work together to reopen services safely.
Sincerely,
Jodi Harpstead
Commissioner, Minnesota Department of Human Services
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