BDDS Director Updates INARF Membership on Changes to Waivers; Transition Plans

The final 2014 INARF Quarterly Professional Interest Section meeting took place on November 20th, with approximately 170 members in attendance. 

Following a full morning of concurrent sessions, the afternoon's General Session began with the Rubi Photo Contest Awards, where members were thanked for taking part in the campaign to increase awareness of INARF’s 40th Anniversary. After a brief industry update provided by Christiaan Campbell, Kim Opsahl introduced members to Katy Stafford-Cunningham, INARF’s VP of Public Policy. Finally, Julie Reynolds, Director of the Bureau of Developmental Disabilities Services (BDDS), was introduced to give a presentation concerning Indiana’s Waiver Transition Plan. 

According to Reynolds, the first step in Indiana’s Waiver Transition Plan, a National Core Indicators (NCI) Data Review has been completed. The results showed that Indiana consistently scored below the 85% threshold in most home and community-based services (HCBS) requirement areas. Reynolds emphasized that this was just the start of the assessment process to gauge compliance, and that there will be several stages of assessment through April of 2016. 

It was noted in the presentation that other states are surveying providers directly to determine if the HCBS standards were met. While Reynolds thought that is was fine to survey providers, she emphasized to the membership that it was important to get a sense of how the individuals served experienced their lives as related to the standards. 

“What we [Indiana Division of Disability and Rehabilitative Services(DDRS)] believe is in looking at Individuals’ experiences,” Reynolds stated, “…What is their experience out in the community, in the residential settings, and other day services?” 

Ms. Reynolds then outlined the major changes to the waivers, as released recently in drafts for public comment. These included updates to Participant-Center Planning (PCP) and service delivery requirements to reflect current practices and expectations. Additionally, the drafts include clarifications on the roles and responsibilities within Individualized Support Teams. Finally, two new service definitions were released in the Family Supports and Community Integration and Habilitation Waivers. The new services included Extended Services, which provide ongoing employment supports, and a residential service with a daily rate - for CIHW only - called Residential Habilitation Services – Daily (RHS Daily). 

Extended Services would replace Supported Employment Follow Along (SEFA) as a BDDS provided service. It would include a much broader range of interventions, allowing individuals to receive training on the skills they need to maintain their job and thrive in the community. As a standard, Extended Services would be provided in integrated community settings where persons without disabilities are also employed. Concurrent use with Pre-Vocational Services would not be an option. 

The proposed RHS Daily is designed to assist individuals in living successfully in their own homes, obtaining/improving natural supports, and becoming integrated in their community as a whole. RHS- Daily is meant for individuals living outside of their family home with roommates, having an ALGO score of three or above, based upon their Objective Budget Allocation (OBA). 

Reynolds noted that the public comment period is still open for: 

1. Family Supports Waiver (FSW) - through December 7, 2014
2. Community Integration and Habilitation Waiver (CIHW) Amendment - through December 17, 2014

“We want your comments. We want your feedback. Nothing is written in stone,” Reynolds told the membership, “This is not just us [the state]. This is everybody in this room; everybody in this system. It’s every single individual we serve and support in the system. It’s every provider.”