With the fall colors slowly starting to make their appearance, office conversation often turns to what did you do this summer with your time off?

For ADDP members and our colleagues at DDS & EOHHS, the answer is simple.  What time off?

Action on the DD front has been intense all summer long.

Here are a few highlights of what to expect this fall and into the budget season:

 

ALTR RFR
Ahead 

 

ADDP has spoken with DDS regarding the impending Request for Responses for Adult Long Term Residential services, as well as the process for implementing the new Adult Long Term Residential (ALTR) rates once a provider has been judged to be "Qualified". The ADDP Acquired Brain Injury Committee has also spoken with MRC/SHIP about  the process for their programs. 

 

Preliminary information follows:

 

Regarding the Request for Responses (RFR):

 

DDS will collect FAQs and develop Answers for the RFR, which will be posted on Comm-PASS. More information on this will be forthcoming after issuance of the RFR. DDS will coordinate the posting of FAQ information relating to MRC and MCB as well.

 

Providers should be aware that the RFR is due to be published on September 25^th, with a target response date of 6 weeks (5 weeks following the October 1^st bidders' conference). However, since this is an open request for "Qualification", providers may submit at any time in the forseeable future.

 

DDS reports that providers will respond to approximately 14 questions in the RFR response, most of which require a maximum response of two pages. However, organizations which provide specialized services will be asked to supply answers to some supplemental questions in order to describe their capacity to provide their intended array of services (e.g., behavioral, medical, forensic, deaf-blind and

hard of hearing, etc.).

Regarding Implementation of the New ALTR Rates:

DDS has begun compiling a list of FAQ's and answers regarding implementing the new rates, and will inform ADDP and all providers of where these will be posted and how they will be updated and accessed. This will be done in communication with MRC.

ADDP will send alerts to providers regarding updated FAQs.

DDS is working to complete details of the worksheets by which providers will report on occupancy costs. The ADDP workgroup which worked on ALTR rates may be asked to review these for suggested edits prior to their being implemented. These could be circulated prior to Qualification decisions, in order to give providers time to begin working on them.

Matching existing residential programs to new ALTR rate models will occur at the Area level, after a provider has been Qualified through the RFR process. DDS is in process of educating field staff regarding this process.

One question which providers have raised concerns the treatment of relief staff in existing programs in the process of matching programs to new models. DDS  has indicated that an existing residential program will be matched to a new model using current direct staffing FTE's, excluding relief. For example, an existing DDS Basic Four Bed program with  5.5 FTEs of direct care and overnight staff would be assigned to Model B4A.  This model has embedded in it .85 of relief staff FTEs.

ADDP members with questions about implementing the new ALTR system are asked to send questions to Tara Zeltner, who will compile them and forward them to Dana Roszkiewicz at DDS on a weekly basis. If a member sends a question directly to DDS or MRC, please let Tara know. We intend to establish a similar process with SHIP/MRC.

ADDP, DDS and MRC are committed to identify questions and issues and to do whatever is needed to inform and educate providers as we move through this process.

Employment & Day Activity Reorientation