ARRM’s 2010 bill is mostly clean-up from last year with a few new provisions. Like last year, the authors are Rep. Paul Thissen in the House And Sen. Tony Lourey in the Senate. The bill numbers are H.F. 2938 and S.F. 2689. These and other bills of interest to disability providers appear on the “My Bills” link. The user name is ARRM Advocates and the password is reforms. See our Feb. 9th Dispatch to learn more about how this tool works.
In the meantime ARRM is meeting with other disability lobbyists and legislators regarding the 2.5% rate cut proposed by the governor (see Monday’s Alert). Stay tuned.
The link to ARRM’s bill is: H.F.2938, as introduced.
As the bill works through the stakeholder and committee process it will be amended. Here is ARRM’s summary of how the bill looks today:
ARRM’s 2010 Transformation Bill and Road Map for 2011 and 2012
H.F. 2938 (Thissen) and S.F. 2639 (Lourey)
Note: The Bill is subject to amendment and changes as we work it through with DHS, legislators and advocates.
This year’s bill focuses on clean-up items from our 2009 legislation with the intent to be budget neutral and thus go straight to the floor. We have taken out most items that may be controversial, but negotiations will be needed with our shelter needy and technology provisions.
Section 1: Foster care licensing moratorium. Adds an exception to the foster care development moratorium for the new alternative license that allows technology in lieu of human overnight supervision (the focus of our technology provisions last year). This is needed if the new alternative license doesn’t work out so the person/provider can go back to the original 245A license. (We will rewrite to open capacity more if we can do it without a fiscal note.)
Section 2: Alternative overnight supervision technology change. Makes choosing technology for overnight supervision the same as any other service – i.e. the provider doesn’t have to obtain consent from every consumer in the foster care setting. The unanimous consent requirement came in during conference committee and may be controversial with some advocates. (We will delete this section in an author’s amendment.)
Section 3: Alternative overnight supervision technology change. The new law limits the time video and audio recordings can be stored to five days. This provision would allow longer storage if the recording is pertinent to investigating a reported abuse or neglect incident or if requested by the recipient for a reported incident.
Section 4: Cashing out GRH money for Shelter Needy dollars to facilitate the utilization of less expensive services in alternative settings. The intent of last year’s provision was to address the main barrier – housing funding – in allowing high functioning consumers to access the services they need in alternative settings (e.g. assisted living), rather than some services they don’t need in their current foster care settings. The 2010 provisions would:
1. Make permanent to allowance for the housing and service provider to be the same entity,
2. Allow consumers’ relatives to own or control the housing,
3. Eliminate the requirement that the buildings be multi-family with six or more units and
4. Eliminate the requirement that no more than 50% of the units be used by recipients in this program.
Items 3 and 4 were added in conference committee in order to make the provision budget neutral. ARRM believes that fuller use of shelter needy will reduce service costs and result in a net savings to the state.
Section 5: ICF/MR plumbing inspections. Currently all ICFs/MR are required to undergo state plumbing inspections like larger institutions in new construction and when remodeling. This section eliminates that requirement for ICFs/MR with home-like settings that have seven or fewer residents.
Section 6: Renaming Single Set of Standards. The standards – to be brought to the legislature in 2012 – shall be called “Quality Outcome Standards.”
Section 7: Housing options study. The new language would require that the assumption of risk and issues pertaining to financial liability be added to the considerations covered in the preparation of the study. This housing options study was an amendment from Rep. Loeffler to our bill last year. These issues must be addressed in order to open up options for consumer owned and consumer controlled housing. (We are working with DHS and Rep. Loeffler on alternative language.)
Future road map
2011
- Report to the legislature on the combined Residential Support Service and Quality Outcome Standards with these specifics delayed from 2010
- Rule 40 behavior management
- ICF/MR – SLF rule and 245B
2012
- Legislation defining the new system as expansively as possible
-- Bruce Nelson