CFS Self Directed Support December Newsletter

Greetings CFS SDS Families!

Wishing you a warm and joyful holiday season. May the new year ahead be a prosperous one for all.

Thank you for your trust in us and the opportunity to collaborate and work with you in truly leading meaningful and person-centered lives.

Warm wishes to all this Winter and Holiday Season.

Please review our CFS SDS Family & Individual Newsletter for important news and updates.

Highlights!

Celebrating Achievements and New Beginnings

The SD team took some time to celebrate Breast Cancer month, a successful audit completion and baby shower for one of our FI Managers, Lauren, who has since given birth to a beautiful baby boy.

Congratulations Lauren and family!

Check out the November edition of The CFS Loop for all things CFS! The CFS Loop

We want to share with the world a variety of stories that showcases the wonderful individuals we support along with their employees and families. You can click the link below to share your ideas with the communications team so we can work with you to tell your story.

See how to share your story>>>

Workforce Team Updates

Please take note of some very important announcements from our Workforce Team.

1. Important!: Annual Refreshers Self-Hired Employees: Please ensure all employees have completed the OPWDD mandated annual refresher series of trainings. Employees who have not completed the mandated refresher have already been notified of their suspension and will be formally removed from payroll December 31st. Please ensure with your self-hired employees that they are UpToDate with their required trainings. Please contact your FI Program Manager and the Workforce team if you have any questions. More importantly, please encourage your self-hired employees, to complete their trainings and contact Workforce if they have any questions._DL-SDSWorkforce@cfsny.org

2. Future News: Stay tuned for more information regarding our License Event Notification Service (LENS) which will supply important information about the driving qualifications of drivers that you employ or regulate.

3. Self-Hired Staff YouTube Videos/Trainings: Watch Now >>

Maximizing Budget Lines

Self-Direction budgets can include Self-Hired staffing or not. If they do include Self-Hired staffing (community habilitation, respite or SEMP), we do request that you work with your Broker and Team to utilize these services.

If you do not wish to utilize the service, please work with your Support Broker to amend the budget to remove Self-Hired Community Habilitation and/or Self-Hired Respite and SEMP. Please note that if your needs change, the budget can be amended to include the service in the future. The budget should be an accurate representation of your current needs/interests and is able to be amended as your needs/interests change.

As your FI, we have a variety of trainings that can help to address any barriers you are experiencing to identify, hire, and manage self-hired staff.

Topics welcome! Please email jsolis@cfsny.org

Sustainability Project

Dr. Laurie Yankowitz hosts a series of video conference sessions geared toward Self-Direction Connection and guided instruction to support relatives and friends of self-directing individuals interested in stepping up when parents are ill or have passed on. This project is designed to ease supporters into more active roles that allows parents to see that others can gradually take the reins.

Funding via IDGS Coaching/ education for parent(s), spouse and advocates involved in the person’s self-directed services is possible.

Click Here if Interested in Learning More>>

Policies/Procedures (Reminders)

Our policy and procedure manual has been completed and published. We have shared via various platforms with families and brokers (webpage, lifeplan meetings, broker meeting).

Click for a copy of the policy and procedure manual >>

Housing Recertifications

For individuals/designees that receive an OPWDD housing subsidy please work with your broker and FI Program Manager on the timely submission due this month of your OPWDD housing subsidy annual recertification by November 15th. Please note that if the recertification involves changes to the budget your FI team needs all submitted budget changes and recertification documentation prior to November 15th.

Please refer to the guidance below on pages 15-16 for annual recertification requirements.

OPWDD Housing Subsidy

Any questions regarding the process contact your Support Broker and FI Program Manager.

Individual/Families Friendly Reminders to:

Review self-hired employee rosters daily

Please utilize the capability of "raise issue" in your employees rosters if there is an issue so as to not process incorrect sessions. Please contact Workforce for more information on navigating this function.

Review self-hired staff activity fees and mileage requests daily, check for accuracy

Review support broker invoices

Review all areas of FI reviews when distributed and follow up with the respective circle of support members needed for FI requested documentation. FI and QA team can enforce the SDS Compliance Protocol.

Ensure that if applicable, monthly summary notes are completed by the 10th of the following month. Monthly summary notes must be completed for the self-hired community habilitation service regardless if the service did not occur or if there is no staff.

If you received a request to complete staff's evaluation please click on the evero link in that email request to complete.

Please attach all justification forms to applicable invoice requests (this includes out of state transportation requests).

eVero

Please click here for:

eVero software release notifications >>

eVero software webinar/trainings >>

eVero Ed Videos >>

eVero App >>

eVero Budget Summary Actions >>

They give users the ability to view, export, and download associated budget details with one simple click. Maximize efficiency and spend less time in the system completing budget reviews with these instant Budget Summary Actions.

Resources & Upcoming Events

CFS SDS Webpage >>

CFS Advocacy and Events >>

Join us for Bingo Friday nights, or our Book Club, our Creative Learning Dance project and many other opportunities to connect at CFS!

Eighth Annual Coat Drive

Please donate new or gently used coats to help someone stay warm this winter. Any questions, please reach out to Innovativeteam@cfsny.org.

8th Annual Coat Drive Drop Off Locations

OPWDD OMBUDS PROGRAM

The new Ombuds program, which will operate independently of the Office for People With Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD), was developed to provide education and help people better understand their rights, to provide advocacy and support for people navigating the OPWDD service delivery system, and to assist people with developmental disabilities and their families to resolve concerns related to service access and quality.

Click Here to Learn More

OPWDD Self-Direction Evaluation

Click Here to Learn More

Stay informed! The below is from the OPWDD website.

In order to deliver a more consistent and sustainable self-direction service model, OPWDD has selected Guidehouse to conduct the Self-Direction Program Evaluation. Throughout 2024, Guidehouse will analyze similar successful self-direction models used by other states, identify service gaps, with a particular focus on the needs of children who are using OPWDD’s self-direction model, and identify potential efficiencies and areas of inconsistency in Fiscal Intermediary practices and geographic regions. The project will also examine how OPWDD can improve access to self-direction for historically under-represented populations and ways the program can assist people to self-direct their services when their parents can no longer help them to navigate the program model.

Click the link below to learn more and to stay informed.

OPWDD Self-Direction Evaluation

Self-Direction Town Halls for People and Families

January 6, 2025 at 10AM

https://guidehouse.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZclfu6rrDwjH9Z6JRI9PADcNYx2ci0mzGOv

January 6, 2025 at 6PM

https://guidehouse.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIocuirqDwsHNfHlVhe_i8il2JsTcxb1sgB

SIDDC

The Staten Island Developmental Disabilities Council (SIDDC) was established in 1969 to assist in the planning, promotion, and development of supports and services for individuals with developmental disabilities and their families throughout their lifespan.

Visit https://siddc.org/about/ to learn more.