Enrollments to Open Soon in Key DDA Programs: Part Two

Click here for a printable fact sheet of Part Two

The 6 Steps of Transitioning to New Programs

The Developmental Disabilities Administration (DDA) is beginning the process of transitioning to two new programs: Individual & Family Services (IFS) waiver and Community First Choice (CFC). Before the new programs take effect and enrollments begin for thousands who have been waiting for services, a few things have to happen first:

1. Federal Approval
The federal government must approve our state’s application for an Individual & Family Services (IFS) waiver, as well as the Community First Choice (CFC). If this happens (and it looks like it will), the transition will begin in May of this year for IFS and July for CFC.

2. DDA Transitions to New Programs
IFS: Existing IFS recipients will be transitioned at their annual assessment or earlier if they are already eligible for SSI. New enrollments will be added beginning May 2015.
CFC: Transitioning from personal care to CFC will happen automatically on July 1st. 

3. DDA Goes Through Service Request List
Individuals who have requested IFS services, but who are not receiving it (aka, on the wait list), will be contacted by DDA. Individuals who have not yet requested IFS or other waiver services can contact DDA to request services. 

4. Assessment for Services & Service Planning
An assessment will determine the amount of service. During the person-centered services planning assessment meeting, case managers will discuss available supports and work with individuals to identify which available programs and services will best meet her/his needs (such as respite, personal care, assistive devices, behavior support, skills acquisition, specialized medical equipment, skilled nursing services, etc.)

5. Waiver Eligibility Determination
A determination of functional and financial eligibility for the waiver will take place. DDA will send waiver eligibility paperwork to individuals who are approved for Basic Plus or IFS Waivers.  It typically takes about 60 days for a client to be active on a waiver after submitting this paperwork. NOTE: Because it’s a waiver program, the parent’s income for minors is waived. Only the individual’s income is considered. 

6. Services are Approved
Once an individual is approved for either the IFS waiver or the state CFC personal care plan, case managers will work with individuals and families to identify providers and/or services needed as quickly as possible.

What are you waiting for?

Close to 14,000 individuals are waiting for services from the Developmental Disabilities Administration (DDA)—a group so large, it's been given its own name: the No Paid Services (NPS) Caseload.

As a result of legislative action and upcoming changes to key state programs, DDA anticipates being able to provide services to as many as 5,000 individuals who are currently on the NPS caseload, beginning mid-2015 (and beyond). Most will be enrolled in the Individual & Family Services (IFS) program, which is for children and adults who live in the family home. IFS includes services such as respite, therapies, behavior support, and other interventions that help the individual continue to live at home.

Because DDA will identify individuals from a list of those who have been assessed to need services, it's important to make sure you're on the Service Request List. (Note: This is a new term to learn for those who are used to hearing wait list or enrollment database.)

If you or someone you know is on the NPS caseload, consider this a friendly reminder to contact your local DDA office and leave a message, asking to be assessed for IFS (or confirming that you are on the Service Request List if your son/daughter has already been assessed).

Here are the numbers:

Region 1: (Spokane) 800-319-7116; (Yakima) 866-715-3646

Region 2 (Seattle) 800-974-4428; (Everett) 800-567-5582

Region 3: (Tacoma) 800-735-6740; (Olympia) 888-707-1202

Attention: Changes Ahead

Three significant changes are on the horizon that will impact almost all individuals receiving services from the Developmental Disabilities Administration (DDA).

Although the changes do not go begin to go into effect until next spring and continue on through 2017, we want everyone to have a good understanding of what they mean and why they're happening.

The changes will affect the following services and programs:

• Individual & Family Services
• Home & Community Based Services (HCBS)
• Personal Care 

If your son or daughter receives services (or is waiting to receive services) through any of these pathways, be sure to read Changes Ahead at the Informing Families, Building Trust website.

Recruiting Family Stories

As a follow up to “The Waiting Game” and the “No Paid Services Caseload” campaigns, we are planning to publish a booklet of stories that show people who have received services from DDA as a result of improved funding and policies in recent years.

We want to show the Legislature that the money they have appropriated for the unserved (in the 2013 and 2014 legislative sessions) is actually helping many people in a very real way all over the state.

An additional benefit will be to show the variety of routes that were used to gain services, such as:

• Calls to the DDA hotline;
• Help from a peer support network or organization (Arc, Parent/Family Coalition, Parent to Parent, Self-Advocacy group etc.);
• Connection to a case resource manager.

This will give us valuable information about those successful processes and routes that we can use to educate and help more people.  If they now receive MPC, but still need respite or another DD-specific service, hopefully that will be information we can also use.
If you or someone you know has moved from the No Paid Services caseload to paid services within the past few years, and you would like to share your story for this campaing, please contact Betsy McAlister at: dbmcharger(at)frontier(dot)com. Parents can remain anonymous, but we would hope to be able to have representative stories from as many parts of the state as possible.

This should be an exciting opportunity to showcase our advocacy and continue to support families and individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Community of Practice: Family Matters

It should come as no surprise that the majority of individuals with Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities (I/DD) live with and receive daily care and support from their families; and yet, despite the vital role that families play in supporting their sons and daughters with I/DD, states have fallen short in building systems or assisting families in developing community connections that recognize and support their commitment.

Our state’s No Paid Services Caseload is filled with thousands of such families who are trying to avert crisis and keep the family intact. Many have made community connections that meet their needs but others are holding on in the hope that one day funding for services will reach them.

Addressing the lack of community connections and funding is essential, and our state has been working hard on that front; but to reach a long-term solution, we need a comprehensive system that reflects the values and realities of today’s families.

In an effort to focus on the needs of families, the Developmental Disabilities Council and the Washington State Developmental Disabilities Administration, applied for and received a five-year Community of Practice grant to explore different ways of supporting families across the lifespan of the individual.

Community of Practice Goals:

• to create a model framework for supporting families;
• to develop and sustain exemplary family  support practices;
• to build capacity within states and the nation to create policies, practices, and systems that assist and support families;
• to capture and share lessons learned and products to develop, implement and sustain exemplary practices to support  families and systems.

A kick-off event was held for the Washington State Community of Practice last fall. Almost 100 individuals (including self-advocates, family members, community organization representatives and more) from across the state came together to begin the discussion of how Washington will work to improve systems of support for people with developmental disabilities and their families.

Community of Practice Wants to Hear From YOU

The DD Council is planning to host listening sessions throughout the state on topics of important to Community of Practice. If you are interested in participating in a listening session, or would like to join the Community of Practice listserve, email Ed Holen at: ed(dot)holen(at)ddc(dot)wa(dot)gov.