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Day Hab Update
ADDP and The Arc are continuing to advocate with the Patrick Administration seeking the release of the completed and required rate review of Day Habilitation Programs.
Day Hab programs have not received a rate adjustment, or public hearing, in over five years. In the last ten years, rates have increased 20 cents per unit, while overall costs have dramatically increased.
Day Hab programs, as Mass Health programs, are exempt from POS Salary Reserve or Chapter 257 adjustments, thus Day Hab workers have tended to have the lowest salaries in the human service field.
To be released the rate study, completed weeks to months ago, must be signed by the Mass Health Director and the Secretary of EOHHS, then agreed to by the Administration and Finance Secretary. Many believe the state is sitting on the rate increase, which will be half funded by the federal government, in a unilateral effort to give the appearance of limiting state expenses.
Providers have been upset with these actions, noting that the state has promised a rate review and adjustment for over two years (late) and was funded by the FY 14 budget for the increase.
 ADDP members are urging the Governor and Secretaries Glen Shor and John Polanowicz to free the late rate.
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National Groups Publicize Disability Employment Plan While Advocates Await Governor's Endorsement
In the last two weeks since the release of the Massachusetts Blueprint for Employing Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities, a variety of national groups have hailed the Blueprint as a national trendsetter for cooperative planning between the states, providers and the advocacy community.
Ancor, the national association for disability service providers, based in Washington, D.C., with affiliates in all 50 states, cited the Blueprint,in its national report to states on November 11, 2013, as model that may of interest to other states also concerned about potential Olmstead litigation under consideration by the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Labor.
Many states, including Massachusetts are worried that the Department of Justice settlements in Rhode Island and Oregon may be an indication of similar pending settlements in other states. The Rhode Island settlement, if duplicated in Massachusetts, would likely see the state encounter hundreds of millions of dollars in increased service to people with disabilities in settings other than sheltered workshops for a total of 40 hours per week. The Massachusetts Blueprint, instead of relying upon litigation sets out a phased in plan to allow an orderly transition to Community Based Day Programs and Supported Employment, with the ability to help provider agencies prepare for transition.
Additionally the Massachusetts Blueprint has been featured in national reports by the National Association of State Directors of Developmental Disabilities Services, The Arc and the National Council on Disability.  While the Report is receiving strong national recognition, the Patrick Administration will not show its hand on its intention to fund the first year of the Blueprint or gamble by letting the Commonwealth be sued by DOJ or other public interest law firms. Many legal experts confirm that the Commonwealth may be in a similar legal exposure to the Rhode Island case; and may also be in contradiction to CMS edicts on employment programs. The Governor's intention will likely be reflected and revealed in his House Two FY 15 Budget expected to be released on January 29, 2014. To see a copy of the Blueprint click here.
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