Dear Interested Stakeholder,
Last
week Governor Inslee released his proposed 2018 supplemental budget. We were pleased to see a budget that provides
additional resources for investigating complaints of abuse and neglect in homes
where supported living services are provided, additional staff to help the
Residential Habilitation Centers (RHC) meet federal standards of care, and new
community State Operated Living Alternative home options for people currently
living in an RHC who have expressed a desire to live in the community.
Listed
below are some of the significant budget items that are included in the
Governor’s budget:
-
Supported
Living Investigators: Additional
investigators will be added to the Residential Care Services division,
dedicated to ensure that complaints related to the safety and health of
clients in the supported living program are investigated in a timely
manner. In addition, complaint
investigators may identify deficient provider practices and thus address
problems related to certification before they become serious. An annual certification fee of $908 per
client paid by supported living providers will fund the additional
investigators and eliminate the current GF-State appropriation for supported
living investigations. ($3.7M Total
Funds)
-
Electronic
Visit Verification: To comply
with the federal “21st Century Cures Act,” the state will
identify and contract with a qualified vendor to provide a system that
electronically verifies that personal care services were provided by individual
providers and electronically reports information such as service type,
location, and the date and time of the beginning and end of the service
shift and integrates the data into the Individual Provider One payroll
system. Home care agencies will
also contract with vendors to provide electronic visit verification. ($549,000 GF-S; $1.3M Total Funds; 0.5
FTE)
-
RHC Medicaid
Compliance: Based on a number of failed surveys by
the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, higher staffing
levels are required in the RHCs.
Direct care staffing will begin increasing from the current 1:7
staff to client ratio ultimately to a 1:4 ratio in the next biennium. ($9.5M GF-S; $19.1M Total Funds; 130.9
FTE)
-
State Operated
Living Alternatives Community Options: There are 47 people living in RHCs who
have requested a community residential placement, but whose needs are not
able to be met by contracted residential providers. Additional State Operated Living Alternative
homes will be added, staffed by state employees. ($1.4M GF-S; $2.7M Total Funds; 11.1
FTE)
Please
remember that this is just the first step in the supplemental budget process. The budget can and will change over time, but
we are optimistic and appreciate the Governor’s support. The legislative session begins on January 8,
2018. During session, the House and
Senate will each release a budget and from there a final conference operating
budget will ultimately be passed by the Legislature. As we move through this process we will be
meeting with stakeholders and will keep you apprised of the budget status. In addition to DDA’s specific budget
information, complete DSHS Human Services Budget information can be found at: https://www.dshs.wa.gov/fsa/budget/central-budget-office-cbo.
Thank
you for the work you do each day to provide supports and foster partnerships
that empower people to live the lives they want. Have a safe and happy holiday season.
Sincerely,
Evelyn Perez
Assistant Secretary, Developmental Disabilities Administration
DSHS: Transforming
Lives
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