2009 Money Follows the Person Conference

This conference, scheduled for March 2-4, 2009 in Baltimore, MD, will address subjects such as community inclusion for persons living with disabilities, innovative ways to increase housing capacity, Medicaid rebalancing, self direction and quality management systems. The Money Follows the Person (MFP) program is designed to help states move individuals enrolled in Medicaid from institutions back to the community, where they will keep their Medicaid coverage.

For more information, go to CMS website on Money Follows the Person

A Message to Persons with Developmental Disabilities and their Families

Three years ago I came to Georgia as the first Director of the Georgia Office of Developmental Disabilities. I made some promises about improving the lives of people with disabilities and kept them. Georgia has moved from a national ranking of 44th in the nation in quality of services to 30th, and today about 3000 more Georgians with developmental disabilities receive services than three years ago. We got our new Medicaid Waivers approved by the federal government effective October 1, 2007, something that many thought impossible. These new Medicaid Waivers allow people with developmental disabilities and their families to fully self-direct the funding – putting the family in charge of where the money goes, not the provider, not the government. We are just waiting on the Department of Community Health billing system changes to be completed as soon as possible, and then we can begin actually using them, month by month, to help your son or daughter.

So while things are getting better, we are still a long way from finished. Too many citizens with developmental disabilities, who didn’t do anything wrong and who are not sick, remain in Georgia’s government-run hospitals and private nursing homes, about 3000 men, women, and yes even children. But, despite roadblocks to success, the federal government has approved our Money Follows The Person Initiative to move more than 600 people back to their communities at considerable taxpayer savings. Americans who haven’t done anything wrong should not live any place but the real community of their choosing. Because you have a developmental disability doesn’t mean you must exist in government institutions, nursing homes, day centers, sheltered workshops, or other disability-only residences, made only for people with disabilities. People with developmental disabilities deserve real homes, real jobs, and lives in the community alongside everyone else with all needed supports.

Over the next three years we plan to significantly improve the quality of services and the new Medicaid waivers will certainly help. If providers perform well, and most will, you can keep your money there, but when they don’t you will be able to leave, with your money, and get good services from another provider. We have many really good providers in Georgia, but this change will hold them accountable to those whose opinion matters most – yours. Although these changes will be very popular with people with disabilities, their families, and truly good providers of services, not everyone will be thrilled with this or any other change that puts the customer’s interest ahead of the provider, bureaucracy, or anyone else. For this reason, I am asking for your continued support for these changes that ensure the wise use of the taxpayer’s dollar with people with developmental disabilities and their families in charge.

During January, February, and March I will be coming to your area of the state to talk about all of these changes with the new waivers, along with other members of the Georgia Office of Developmental Disabilities and to answer as many questions as possible that you may have right there on the spot. Over 225 families have shown up at each of these information forums so far and I sure hope to see you there. Please come. Have a Merry Christmas or Happy Holiday season.

FROM: Stephen R. Hall, Ph.D., Director Office of Developmental Disabilities

TRAINING ANNOUNCEMENT: DD Direct Support Professional Online Learning System

DHR's Division of MHDDAD Office of Developmental Disabilities is very pleased to announce that DD providers and others can learn about new online training for direct support professionals that will be launched in Georgia in 2008.

On Jan. 23, 2008, two introductory informational sessions will be conducted in Atlanta to demonstate the innovative and nationally recognized College of Direct Support.

Click here for more information

Click here to register

STPL administrators and State service coordinators

Region 1
Planning List Administrators are:

Catherine Thonusee Lowe, Jennie Swirski, Sasha Schallock, Coyette Robinson, Patrick Lane, Nicole Jones, Inez Cannon, Linda Blackwell, Anita Bailey, Anna Lloyd.

State Service Coordinator:

Sayword Worley, Tiffany Keys, Keely Matthews, Joe Preston.

Region 2
Planning List Administrators are:

Cindy Itner, Tina Boswell. Madalyn Brown, Linda Ford, Stacey Heaser, Joy Mack , Stacy Wurst.

State Service Coordinator:

Sheria Phillips, Nancy Lineback, Aramide Pratt, Shlonda Smith.

Region 3
Planning List Administrators are:

Carla Jackson, Inell Jackson, Beverly Cox Avery, Sandra Rice, Kareem Morris, Nikkia Blackburn, D-quilla Brown-Huff, Averial Bryant, Amy Castaline, Darletha Charleston, Latoria Daniel, Chrsitine Daniels, Inglis Hunter, Arderia Johnson, Caryn Thompson-Jones, Teresa Romasco, Janet Powers, Develyn Stovall, Roaslyn Morris, Tamayah Mock.

State Service Coordinator:

Marilyn Holmes, Tonji Joiner, Kimberly King, Tori Pittman, Christel Thaxton, Jennifer Turner.

Region 4
Planning list administrators are:

Zandra Jordan, Kim Becka, Thomasine Johnson, Linda Smith , Dale Gurley, Frances Washington, Shanna Powell, Belinda Stephen, Theresa Conger.

State Service Coordinator:

Wyndy Edwards, Lakisha Tarver, Karen Fenton, Brenda Cherone

Region 5
Planning List Administrators are:

Nikki Garland, Chanel Jackson, Barbara Munroe, Paige Smith, TIsha Albury.

State Service Coordinator:

Patricia Davis; Charlene Grinstead; Alvin Martin; Augstin Morales and Jessica Young.

DD Advocate's Meeting TODAY!

The next Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Addictive Diseases DD Advocate's meeting will be held TODAY, December 11 from 2-4-pm at:
The Governor's Council on Developmental Disabilities
2 Peachtree Street, Atlanta
Large Conference room on the 26th Floor.

The public is encouraged to attend these meetings.

Feel free to forward this to any members of an advocacy organization of which you may be a part and be sure to come to the meeting with all of your questions !!! Please confirm your attendance by email reply to Julia Bowen

AGENDA
1. NOW AND COMP waiver

a. With the time frame being 12 months to implement a new waiver, is CMS going to give a waiver for the time frame needed to get the new waiver up and running with full capacity ?

b. Expectation that it will be implemented by October, 2008 statewide

c. Can money be added to an individual's budget for additional services throughout the year ? Use this example to clarify and describe process and expectations of time frames for responsiveness
An individual has $1000 budgeted for respite but their primary care giver needs surgery so another $3000 will be needed to meet the need. Will they have to give up $3000 worth of other services? If the answer is no then what is the mechanism that kicks in to override the budget created by the SIS?

2. Support Coordination

a. Will it be a part of an annual budget ? For whom ?

b. Clarify the problem this would create since funding for this service has always been counted separate from direct services.

c. Since Support Coordination is estimated to have less than 12 units on average per person served but facts say that the averages presented are 7 per year for people in the NOW waiver and 10 in the COMP. If a person only has
7 months of SC service budgeted and they utilize the service 12 month, explain how this will not force them to make cuts elsewhere in their budget

3. Residential services

a. Update on process for providers needing new numbers, PA issues, delayed payments

b. What is the mechanism the state has in place to assure families of continued and appropriate services if these processes fail / continue to create significant delays for providers ?

4. Transportation

a. What arrangements have been made with transportation providers to ensure that people with disabilities will not have to commit 50% of their budget just to cover the cost of transportation?

5. Supported Employment Providers

a. Address waiting lists and solutions

6. Set meeting schedule for 2008

Human Development Subcommittee Meeting - December 17, 2007

TO:MEMBERS OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT SUBCOMMITTEE
Senate Appropriations Committee
Senator Don Thomas, Vice Chair
Senator Nancy Schaefer
Senator Greg Goggans
Senator Valencia Seay
Senator Johnny Grant
Senator Cecil Staton
Senator Steve Henson
Senator Horacena Tate
Senator Eric Johnson

FROM: Senator Renee Unterman, Chair

DATE: Monday, December 17, 2007

TIME: 1:00 p.m.

PLACE:341 Capitol

AGENDA:

Review of FY08 Amended and FY09 General Budgets for the Department of Human Resources

cc:
Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle
Trey Childress, OPB
Senator Jack Hill, House Budget Office
Senator Tommie Williams
Jill Fike, Senate Research
Senator Tim Golden
Merri Brantley, Senate Information
Bob Ewing, Secretary of the Senate

Very important meeting families need to attend

The Division of MHDDAD Office of Developmental Disabilities will host the first in a series of Regional Evening Seminars for Persons with Developmental Disabilities, Families and Advocates in Metro Atlanta.

Georgia’s ‘New’ DD Waivers:
“NOW” and “COMP”

When:

Tuesday, December 4, 2007, 6:30 -- 8:30pm

Where:

Holiday Inn and Conference Center- Decatur, Mary Gay Room
130 Clairemont Avenue, Decatur, GA 30030
404-371-0204

Agenda:

The Seminar will provide an overview of the two new federal Medicaid waivers and plans for implementing the changes in 2008:

•NOW: New Options Waiver for persons who live with family members or in their own home, and
•COMP: Comprehensive Supports Waiver Program for persons who need a full range of out-of-home services or intensive, in-home services who do not otherwise quality for the NOW program

These new waivers are designed to offer persons more control over how their service dollars are spent, whether in-home and/or in the community.

Refreshments will be available for the participants.

Please Register by November 29!!

For more information or to register, click here.

Eligibility for College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007

This new legislation (signed by President Bush pm 10/11/07) may impact your employees' student loans...

The College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007 established a new public service loan forgiveness program. This program discharges any remaining debt after 10 years of full-time employment in public service. The borrower must have made 120 payments as part of the Direct Loan program in order to obtain this benefit. Only payments made on or after October 1, 2007 count toward the required 120 monthly payments. (Borrowers may consolidate into Direct Lending in order to qualify for this loan forgiveness program starting July 1, 2008.)
This contrasts with the loan forgiveness of the remaining balance after 25 years of repayment under the income-contingent and income-based repayment plans for borrowers who are not employed full time in public service jobs.

Eligibility

What is forgiven?

Employment: The borrower must be employed full-time in a public service job for each of the 120 monthly payments. Public service jobs include, among other positions, government, military service, public safety and law enforcement (police and fire), public health, public education, public early childhood education, public child care, social work in a public child or family service agency, public services for individuals with disabilities or the elderly, public interest legal services (including prosecutors, public defenders and legal advocacy in low-income communities), public librarians, school librarians and other school-based services, and employees of tax exempt 501(c)(3) organizations. Full-time faculty at tribal colleges and universities, as well as faculty teaching in high-need areas, also qualify.

Click here for the complete article.

NOW and COMP Waivers - Provider Enrollment

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has approved the New Options (NOW) and Comprehensive Supports (COMP) Waivers. As part of the transition to these waivers, the Office of Developmental Disabilities has reviewed current Mental Retardation Waiver Program (MRWP) and Community Habilitation and Support Services (CHSS) waiver services and determined corresponding NOW and COMP waiver services. The Office of Developmental Disabilities is working with the Division of MHDDAD’s Provider Network Management Section and the Department of Community Health (DCH) on the enrollment of existing MR/DD waiver providers for NOW and COMP waiver services. DCH is requiring Department of Human Resources, Division of MHDDAD approval documentation for the enrollment of existing MR/DD waiver providers for NOW and COMP waiver services. This required documentation is being generated by the Division based on previous approval by DHR, Division of MHDDAD of a provider for MR/DD waiver services under the MRWP and/or CHSS Waiver Programs.

Providers will be receiving letters from the Division of MHDDAD as enrollment for NOW and COMP waivers services proceeds. Providers may also receive a letter from ACS if a new provider number is generated. The Office of Developmental Disabilities is scheduling provider trainings across the state. A part of this training will describe the crosswalk to NOW and COMP services for existing providers and provide the opportunity for providers to ask questions about the provider enrollment process. Information will be forthcoming about the provider enrollment process for the new services offered in the NOW and COMP Waivers.

Thank you for your cooperation as we move forward with a significant transition in service delivery for the individuals with developmental disabilities in Georgia.

From:
Stephen Hall, Ph.D., Director
Office of Developmental Disabilities