A Note from the CEO…
You did it! Disability advocates throughout California worked strenuously the past few months to ensure that the state budget did not neglect the needs of disability service providers and, more importantly, people with disabilities, their families, and the critical direct support professional workforce.
While we did not get everything we fought for, the legislature did include an acceleration of the disability rate study as well as a provision to avoid a ten percent rate cut for intermediate care supports. These steps were critical for our community and give disability support providers additional resources during this period of rapid inflation.
A sincere thank you to everyone who contacted their legislators to ensure that people with disabilities were not left behind in this budget process. Your voice was heard!
Lori Anderson, President & CEO
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Advocacy Contacts
Governor Gavin Newsom
Phone: (916) 445-2841
Fax: (916) 558-3160
Internet Contact Form Access – Here
Twitter Accounts:
Facebook:
Find Your Representatives
Use the links below to identify your representatives and let your opinion be heard.
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California Legislature and Administration Agree to $308 Billion FY2022-23 Budget that Includes Significant Victories for People with Disabilities
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On June 30, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a $308 Billion FY2022-23 State Budget after weeks of negotiations with state legislative leadership.
Negotiations between the Legislature and the Administration centered on how to utilize a massive $97 billion budget surplus. The final FY2022-23 budget addresses several priorities for disability advocates including:
- Inclusion of a provision that ensures that the ten percent rate enhancement for intermediate care facilities, enacted as part of the COVID-19 relief package, will be made permanent. This enhancement was scheduled to end when the COVID-19 public health emergency ends.
- Delay the carve-in of people with disabilities living in ICFs to CalAIM, California’s managed care funding system, by six months, from January 1, 2023, to July 1, 2023.
- Acceleration of implementation of the disability rate study by one year. Under the existing implementation timeframe, the Department of Developmental Services (DDS) would be required to institute rate increases that equal one-half of the difference between FY2020-21 rates and recommended rates and fully implement the recommended rate by July 2025. The budget now calls for DDS to set rates at one-half of recommended rates by January 1, 2023, and fully implement the recommended rates by July 1, 2024, which is one year ahead of schedule.
- Extension of the “hold harmless” provision, which prohibits DDS from cutting rates recommended in the rate study, until June 30, 2026.
Momentum advocated for acceleration, by one year, of the rate study, as well as a continuation of the ten percent ICF rate enhancement, and considers it a critical legislative victory for Californians with developmental disabilities.
Momentum also advocated for a delay of at least one year of the carve-in of people residing in ICFs to managed care. Advocates and disability service providers will work to have an additional delay to the carve-in implemented through the FY2023-24 budget process but will work with the Department of Health Care Financing to ensure a smooth transition for people who are impacted by this decision.
To learn more about the impact of the approved FY2022-23 State Budget, advocates are encouraged to attend the virtual California Disability Services Task Force and Community Stakeholder Budget Briefing on July 14 from 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm. The meeting, held via Zoom, will be presented in English with Spanish & ASL interpretation.
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email with your personalized link to join the webinar. Explore DDS’ “How to Use Zoom” for tips on using Zoom meetings.
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California State Auditor Report Finds Regional Centers Lack the Necessary Resources to Effectively Serve Californians with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
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On June 28, the California State Auditor released a report on the state Department of Developmental Services (DDS) and three Regional Centers that found the centers did not have sufficient funding or staff to effectively serve people with disabilities. It also found that, although DDS has been aware of many of these issues, it has not always taken prompt and adequate actions to address them.
In 2021, the Joint Legislative Audit Committee of the California Legislature directed the California State Auditor to conduct an audit of the DDS oversight of regional centers. Specifically, the Joint Legislative Audit Committee requested that the California State Auditor review the DDS’s and regional centers’ processes for ensuring that individuals with developmental disabilities receive quality services promptly, including maintaining appropriate regional center staffing, monitoring vendors as required, and making the complaint process accessible.
The audit found that:
- As a result of DDS’s inaction, regional centers have struggled with insufficient staffing. DDS has not ensured that the regional centers receive adequate funding for critical staff positions.
- Regional centers have not checked vendors in accordance with state law. Proper monitoring of vendors is critical to ensuring the quality of the services they provide and the well-being of the consumers in their care.
- DDS and regional centers have not monitored whether consumers have convenient access to services. Even though best practices call for tracking customer service metrics, DDS had not considered capturing data that would allow regional centers to assess consumers’ convenience of access.
- DDS has not provided adequate oversight of how regional centers respond to consumer complaints about their rights. All three of the regional centers we reviewed often did not complete investigations within the required 20-workday time frame.
To better serve Californians with intellectual and developmental disabilities, the report outlined several recommendations including:
- Work with regional centers as necessary to update the core staffing formula so that it aligns with actual regional center staffing costs.
- Provide vendor monitoring training so regional centers understand the statutory requirements for vendor monitoring.
- Establish standards for measuring how convenient it is for consumers to access services.
- Ensure that regional centers provide statutorily required information to consumers about how to file a consumer rights complaint.
- Issue guidance to regional centers and develop best practices to ensure that regional centers complete complaint investigations within statutory deadlines.
The California State Auditor said in its report that the Department of Developmental Services (DDS) “generally agreed with our recommendations and indicated that it will take action to implement them. However, it disagreed with our recommendation that it annually review and update as necessary the core staffing formula to ensure adequacy of regional center staff’s salaries.”
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Momentum Joins More than 400 Providers and Provider Associations in Urging Senate Leadership to Support HCBS Funding
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On June 15, Momentum joined 462 disability service providers and associations representing disability service providers to request that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell support two funding requests: the inclusion of an investment to support expanded access to Medicaid Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) and recruitment and retention of direct care workers that support people who rely on HCBS as part of the budget reconciliation legislation.
The $150 billion investment included in the House-passed version of the budget reconciliation legislation, and the temporary ten percent increase in the Federal Match Assistance Percentage (FMAP) that was included in the American Rescue Plan Act, are critical steps to strengthen and expand access to Medicaid HCBS. Service providers continue to grapple with the harsh reality that one year of funding cannot address the roots of a crisis that, although significantly exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, has existed for decades: the systemic under-resourcing of the direct care workforce. The effects of underinvestment in the direct care workforce can be seen in turnover rates among direct support professionals that hover near 50 percent nationally.
The investment included in the House’s reconciliation bill is essential for building a sustainable HCBS infrastructure that can finally begin addressing the magnitude of unmet needs in communities. This funding would not only strengthen the ability of people with disabilities to live a life with dignity in their communities, but it would also strengthen the direct care workforce.
All advocates are encouraged to add their voice to this call to action. You can do this by clicking here to visit Momentum’s advocacy center where you can contact your legislator to encourage inclusion of HCBS funding in the Senate reconciliation package.
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CMS Launches Portal to Provide Resources for Restoration of Medicaid Eligibility and Redeterminations
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The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has launched a new web page to serve as a central repository for resources related to the end of the continuous Medicaid coverage requirement authorized by the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA).
The page, headed “Unwinding and Returning to Regular Operations after COVID-19,” contains CMS guidance, state reporting, tools and templates, and other resources related to the resumption of normal eligibility and enrollment operations and the transition away from temporary authorities adopted by states during the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE), including Section 1135 waivers and disaster relief state plan amendments (SPAs), that will expire at the end of the PHE.
On May 17, 2022, the California Department of Health Care Services released their unwinding plan, “Medi-Cal COVID-19 Public Health Emergency Operational Unwinding Plan.” You can access that plan by clicking here.
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Senators Call for Government Study Regarding Barriers People with Disabilities Face Accessing Healthcare
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U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Patty Murray (D-WA), Chris Murray (D-CT), Bob Casey (D-PA), Kristen Gillibrand (D-NY), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) sent a letter to the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), the investigative arm of Congress, to request that the GAO conduct a comprehensive study into the barriers that people with disabilities experience in accessing healthcare, including access to medical treatment, services, equipment and more.
In their request, they note that despite anti-discrimination laws “the lack of accessible healthcare contributes to and exacerbates health disparities experienced by people with disabilities.” In addition, the letter notes that while current research about health disparities indicates “significant” racial and gender gaps, it fails to fully explore the issue’s severity. The letter includes a request to answer specific research questions related to healthcare facility accessibility, federal data collection about accessibility issues, and financial barriers to accessing healthcare.
In the letter, the Senators also request an investigation about potential remediation efforts, such as healthcare provider training, the prevalence of people with disabilities in the healthcare workforce, and federal technical assistance about healthcare provider legal compliance requirements.
To learn more about healthcare discrimination faced by people with disabilities, visit the National Council on Disability by clicking here.
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California Developmental Disabilities Public Policy Conference
The ARC of California has posted more than thirty-five advocacy and public policy sessions from the 15th Annual IDD Public Policy Conference. The sessions covered a large variety of topics, including a special message from Governor Gavin Newsom, legislative awards, special appearances by talented and nationally known advocates with disabilities, and relevant conversations to educate, empower and inspire disability advocates.
To access these sessions, visit the ARCs YouTube channel by clicking here.
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President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities, Thursday, July 28, 9:00 – 1:00 pm PT
The President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities (PCPID) will host a virtual meeting for its members to identify emerging topics to examine in the Committee’s Report to the President. All the PCPID meetings, in any format, are open to the public. This virtual meeting will be conducted in a presentation and discussion format.
Stakeholder input is particularly important to the PCPID. Comments and suggestions, especially from people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, are welcome at any time. If there are comments or feedback you would like to share with the PCPID as it begins to prioritize its work, please share them through this form on ACL.gov. Comments received by June 30 will be shared with the PCPID at the July meeting. (Comments received after June 30 will be compiled and shared with the PCPID quarterly.)
Webinar: Reflecting Upon the ADA: Soaring to Employment, Tuesday, July 12, 12:00 – 1:30 pm PT
Join the Disability Employment Technical Assistance Center (DETAC) as they celebrate the impact of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and learn how the ADA has supported the goal of competitive, integrated employment (CIE) for persons with disabilities. Pre-recorded remarks will be provided by Acting ACL Administrator Alison Barkoff that will include highlights describing how ACL has made strategic investments to advance CIE in communities. Additionally, a panel made up of five self-advocates from across the country will jointly reflect on how the ADA has impacted and empowered them to achieve employment.
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