Developmental Disabilities Administration.
The Developmental Disabilities Administration (DDA) of the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) assists individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) and their families with obtaining services and support based on individual preference, capabilities, and needs. Clients of the DDA may live in their own home, in the community, in a residential habilitation center (RHC) or another institutional setting. The DDA caseload of community and RHC clients is approximately 48,000 individuals, including clients who are not receiving paid services, with the majority of DDA clients receiving services in their homes or in community settings.
Most but not all DDA services are Medicaid programs. Medicaid programs are administered by the state in compliance with federal laws and regulations, and financed jointly by the state and federal government. To be eligible for the DDA Medicaid services, a client must have a qualifying disability, have a functional need, and meet certain income and asset limits. Not all DDA-eligible clients receive paid services. As of March 1, 2021, the DDA paid caseload was 35,079 individuals and the unpaid caseload was 13,708 individuals.
Residential Habilitation Centers and Intermediate Care Facilities.
The DDA operates four RHCs for clients with I/DD that support long- and short-term residencies for clients who require services in an institutional setting. Approximately 516 DDA clients presently reside in an RHC.
Most RHCs contain an Intermediate Care Facility (ICF) that provides individualized habilitative services. An ICF is certified by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and must provide active treatment services. "Active treatment" is a continuous, aggressive, and consistently implemented program of specialized and generic treatment.
Certification by CMS enables the state to obtain federal matching funds for the program. In recent years, the RHCs have received multiple federal citations for failing to meet CMS level of care criteria. The DDA continues to work to resolve CMS audit findings for RHCs.
The four RHCs are:
Services in the Community.
Many DDA clients who are eligible for Medicaid services choose to receive services in their own homes or in other community settings. Such Medicaid services are provided through the Community First Choice Option (CFCO) of the Medicaid State Plan or through Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) waivers.
The CFCO is an uncapped entitlement that provides personal care and other services to those who qualify for institutional care but who prefer to be served in their home or in the community. Personal care services may be provided through individual or agency providers, adult family homes, or in adult residential care facilities.
The HCBS waivers allow DDA clients who live in community settings to receive optional services at the same level the individual would receive in an institutional setting. The DDA offers services under five Medicaid HCBS waivers to qualifying individuals. Unlike the CFCO, each waiver has a capacity limit on the number of people who can be served. The DDA has adopted priority considerations in rule to address capacity limits.
The five capped HCBS waivers are: CORE, Basic Plus, Community Protection Program, Individual and Family Services (IFS), and Children's Intensive In-Home Behavior Supports. Most of the clients on a HCBS waiver receive services through the Basic Plus or IFS waivers.
Basic Plus Waiver.
The Basic Plus waiver provides services to clients who are functionally eligible for an institutional level of care but who choose to remain in a community setting. Services are provided in four main categories: community services such as supported employment and transportation, professional services such as therapies and behavior support, caregiving services such as respite and skilled nursing, and goods and services such as specialized equipment and supplies. Approximately 9,543 clients are currently approved for the Basic Plus waiver.
Individual and Family Services Waiver.
The IFS waiver serves families caring for an eligible person over the age of 3 by providing an annual allocation between $1,200 and $3,600 based on assessed need. Intermediate Care Facility waivers may be used for various services including respite care, behavior support, assistive technology, therapies, equipment and supplies, transportation, skilled nursing, and others. Approximately 6,325 clients are currently approved for the IFS waiver.
Community Residential Services.
Community Residential Services are businesses certified by and contracted with DDA to serve DDA individuals in community settings. Supported living serves approximately 90 percent of community residential clients. Supported living is a waivered service that provides assistance with activities of daily living and habilitative supports to 1-4 clients per home. The clients or their legal representatives pay the cost of renting, leasing, or owning the home. Supported living providers are not collectively bargained.
State-Operated Living Alternatives.
State-Operated Living Alternatives (SOLAs) are equivalent to supported living but are staffed by state employees rather than contracted providers. State-Operated Living Alternatives homes are frequently an option for individuals with high-level service needs who do not wish to be served in an RHC.
Caseload Forecasting and Budgeting.
A biennial operating budget appropriates funding for the operation of state government and is adopted every two years. Supplemental budgets may also be enacted in the years following adoption of the biennial budget.
Budget decisions may be categorized as either a "maintenance level" or "policy level" decision. "Maintenance level" means the estimated appropriations necessary to maintain continuing program and service levels that were funded in the prior biennium or otherwise mandated by law. Maintenance level items may include adjustments for forecasted changes in entitlement caseloads or other mandatory expenses. All other budget decisions are generally categorized as "policy level" and may include decisions such as creating or eliminating programs, changing vendor or employee payment rates, or changing program eligibility.
The Caseload Forecast Council (CFC) prepares official state forecasts for entitlement programs and provides courtesy forecasts for other types of services. It forecasts the caseload of DDA clients receiving Medicaid personal care services through CFCO. It does not forecast the caseload of DDA clients receiving Medicaid waiver services or the RHC caseload. Pursuant to legislation enacted in the 2020 session, the CFC presents the number of individuals who are assessed as eligible for, and have requested a service through, the Basic Plus and IFS waivers as a courtesy.
Funding for DDA Medicaid personal care services is adjusted annually in the maintenance level of the budget based on the CFC caseload forecast and projected per-capita costs.
Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee.
The Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee (JLARC) consists of 16 legislative members and employs the legislative auditor. The JLARC conducts performance audits, program evaluations, special studies, and sunset reviews.
Developmental Disabilities Council.
The Developmental Disabilities Council (DDC) was established through Executive Order 16-10 in accordance with federal requirements for funding under the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act (P.L. 94-103). The DDC is composed of 27 members who are appointed by the Governor to plan comprehensive services for Washington residents with developmental disabilities.
Task Force Recommendations.
As directed by the 2019-21 operating budget, the DSHS contracted with the William D. Ruckelshaus Center (Center) to facilitate discussions about appropriate services for RHC residents. In November 2019, the Center published a report (Ruckelshaus report) containing recommendations by a workgroup that included legislators, members of the executive branch, and stakeholders.
In January 2021, the DSHS provided a preliminary implementation plan for the Ruckelshaus report recommendations. A final plan is required by September 1, 2021. The preliminary implementation plan recommends four items from the Ruckelshaus report for "prompt attention" by the Legislature:
Developmental Disabilities Administration.
Intermediate Care Facilities and Stabilization Services.
The DDA must develop procedures to ensure that:
Subject to available funds, the DSHS must expand the number of family mentors and establish peer mentors to connect ICF clients with a mentor to assist with transition planning. The DSHS must also make every effort to ensure an individual does not lose residential services while the person is receiving services in a state-operated ICF, including:
By November 1, 2021, the DSHS must report on efforts related to ICFs and stabilization services to the Governor and the Legislature. The report must include any necessary recommendations for fiscal or policy changes for consideration in the 2022 Legislative Session.
Community Respite and Stabilization Services.
Within the context of a stated legislative intent to expand community respite settings, the DSHS must examine the need for community respite beds and stabilization, assessment, and intervention beds for individuals with complex behavioral needs. By October 1, 2022, the DSHS must submit a preliminary report to the Governor and Legislature that estimates the number of beds needed in fiscal years 2023-25, recommend geographic locations, provide options for contracting with community providers, provide options for using existing ICFs to meet these needs, includes the average length of stay for clients residing in state-operated ICFs, and recommend whether to increase respite hours. A progress report is due by October 1, 2023 and a final report is due October 1, 2024.
Service Delivery by Intermediate Care Facility-Based Professionals.
The DSHS must work with the Health Care Authority and managed care organizations to establish agreements for I/DD clients who live in the community to receive access to ICF-based professionals for care covered under the state plan. The DSHS must consider methods to deliver these services at clinical settings in the community. The DSHS must report on these efforts and make any necessary recommendations for policy or fiscal changes to the Governor and the Legislature by October 1, 2022.
Community Residential Medicaid Rates.
The DSHS must contract with a private vendor to study Medicaid rates for contracted community residential service providers. The study must be submitted to the Governor and the Legislature by December 1, 2023, and must include:
Uniform Quality Assurance Metrics.
The DSHS must collaborate with stakeholders to develop uniform quality assurance metrics that are applied across community residential settings, ICFs, and state-operated nursing facilities. The DSHS must develop the metrics and submit a report of these activities to the Governor and the Legislature by June 30, 2023.
Five-Year Plan.
With consideration of a stated legislative intent to expand community residential settings, the DSHS must develop a five-year plan to phase in the appropriate level of funding and staffing to achieve maximum case management ratios of one case manager to 35 clients. The five-year plan must include:
Caseload Forecasting and Budgeting.
Beginning with the November 2022 official forecast and subject to available funds, the CFC must:
Expenditures for the IFS and the Basic Plus waivers must be considered by the Governor and the Legislature for inclusion in maintenance level budgets beginning with the Governor's December 2022 budget proposal. The DSHS must submit an annual budget request for these expenditures. Also beginning with the Governor's December 2022 budget proposal, the DSHS must annually submit a budget request for expenditures based on the number of individuals expected to reside in a SOLA.
Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee.
The JLARC must:
Developmental Disabilities Council.
The DSHS must work with the DDC to:
The DSHS must report on these efforts and make any necessary recommendations for policy or fiscal changes to the Governor and the Legislature by October 1, 2022.
The amended bill makes the following changes:
(In support) For the last four years legislators have worked with the Ruckelshaus workgroup (Workgroup) to mediate disputes between ICFs and clients and were able to come to agreement with the recommendations in this bill. The Workgroup process was very intensive and productive, and the resulting bill is a vision for a long-term plan. The only piece missing from the Workgroup process was the inclusion of individuals with disabilities. The report provides a community-based service model with a safety net that eliminates unnecessary hospitalizations unrelated to medical need. Caseload forecasting is an important part of this bill, as is further developing community-based living. The short-term crisis stabilization provided under the bill must not turn into long-term placement due to lack of community placement. Supported living providers appreciate the focus on stabilizing rates and the inclusion of supported living forecasting. The RHCs are at risk of forced closure due to federal audit findings, and this policy presents an opportunity for thoughtful closure and to transition clients into the community.
(Opposed) None.
(Other) Increasing community options will help people access the DDAs services. References to crisis stabilization services in sections 4 and 12 of the bill are concerning. Crisis stabilization may be needed for various reasons but in general individuals continue to be stuck in hospitals for non-medical reasons. The Developmental Disabilities Ombuds continues to receive complaints from people in hospitals and is concerned that individuals will stay in ICFs long-term because they are waiting for services in the community. Please consider a time limit for ICF stays and consider tracking data on length of stays in ICFs. Seventeen other states have learned to operate without congregate care options. Person-centered best practice care in the community is universally agreed upon and this bill moves toward that. The DDA does not have a housing program and housing is paid out of a client's Social Security funds; people should have a choice in where they live. The Roads to Community Living Program has a waiting list of 70 people who want to get out of institutions and more than half of those people have been waiting at least two years for community placement. The continued existence of institutions will continue the crisis of people who wish to live in the community and are prevented from doing so. There is no clear end date to when crisis stabilization in an ICF would end. Please consider adding self-advocates where possible in the bill to help with community placement. The mentorship components of the bill and the caseload forecasting are good elements. Institutionalization leads to trauma. If the Workgroup is continued, self-advocates should be represented in the group so their voices can be heard.