Creating a flexible, person-centered, family-oriented system of supports so people can have full lives. 

Waiver Amendment

On April 1, the Maryland Department of Health (MDH) submitted Amendment #1 for the Family Supports Waiver, Community Supports Waiver and Community Pathways Waiver. Changes made to the proposal based on input from various stakeholders including self-advocates, family members, advocacy groups, and providers are highlighted in yellow in the track change documents that may be found on the Developmental Disabilities Administration (DDA) website. The DDA is creating a new document to capture the various questions and answers shared during the public input process. For additional information regarding Amendment #1 please visit the DDA Waivers - Amendment #1 2019 .

The DDA is now working with stakeholders' feedback to develop another planned amendment to the Waivers. Amendment #2 will include:

Self-directed services delivery model framework stakeholder meetings are being planned for May 13 for Central and Southern regions, May 16 for Eastern Shore, and May 20 for the Western region. All meetings will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. Additional information regarding registration and location will be shared soon.

The DDA is pleased to announce that both Dr. Terah Tessier, director of Policy and Special Projects and NaToya Mitchell, statewide coordinator of Self-Directed Services, presented at the 2019 Applied Self Direction Conference on Monday, April 29. Both were joined by Matt Rice, public policy advocate.

 

During the "Quest for Quality” session, Dr. Tessier and Ms. Mitchell highlighted advanced efforts made with Self-Direction in the state of Maryland and quality of life for the people supported. Mr. Rice complimented the presentation by sharing insight of his experience with self-direction.  

 

Guests were invited to explore innovative practices and exemplary programs from around the country and to receive a plethora of information. 

 

If you have not done so, please continue to follow us on Facebook , sign up to receive DDA updates.  If you would like for us to highlight your Self-Direction success story, please share your Self-Direction story via Facebook and use #DDAMDSelfDirection. You may send an email to [email protected] .

 

For additional information regarding the conference, please click here: 

http://www.appliedselfdirection.com/self-direction-conference .

As the DDA continues to operationalize new or updated Meaningful Day services and systems, we are developing guidance documents that will take many forms.  

Through the link below, you will find a list of frequently asked questions (FAQ) related to Meaningful Day services and service alignment.

The DDA understands that there will be ongoing questions and a need for further clarifications. We are committed to providing ongoing support while also remaining focused Employment First:

Click here for the FAQ , which will also be made available on the DDA Employment First page. 

Five members of the Maryland Community of Practice (CoP), Mary Anne Kane Breschi, Nichole Drummond, Jamie Stoner, Sarah Thornton, and Kathleen Walker - are attending the The National Supporting Families Community of Practice 2019 Annual Meeting on April 30, in conjunction with the Charting the LifeCourse Showcase on May 1 and 2 in Kansas City, Missouri.

The Annual CoP Meeting is an opportunity for all CoP state teams to attend, network, learn, and share best practices on supporting families from around the nation. The Showcase is open to the public and is an opportunity for states to highlight their work using the Charting the LifeCourse (CtLC) to enhance person centered planning, education, transition and employment planning, self-advocate and family networks, and long term service and support providers and systems. 

The Maryland CoP has established a strong foundation for supporting families across the lifespan through its statewide leadership team and nine local CoP. Through the CoPs and informed by the principles and tools of CtLC framework, significant changes have occurred across Maryland related to policy, regulation, services and practices on state and local levels, within organizations and for families and their family members with developmental disabilities. For example, the DDA developed two new waivers – the Family Support, and the Community Support Waivers – aligned with the principles of CtLC framework to get people off the waiting list and into services and better support families. Provider organizations are utilizing the principles of CtLC framework to reframe its structures to become person and family centered. This allows people with developmental disabilities and their families to develop specific visions for their “Good Lives” and create them utilizing integrated supports and services. The Maryland Team is excited to share all of this and more including the work of The Arc of the Northern Chesapeake Region in partnership with the Arc Maryland at the National Meeting and Showcase. The Arc NCR has embedded CtLC throughout its programs to better support people with disabilities, their families and staff. Please check out the Arc’s website at https://arcncr.org/programs-services/family-support-services-home/ to see CtLC in action!

 

To learn more, please contact Mary Anne Kane Breschi at [email protected] or via phone at 410-767-8880.

Maryland’s local CoPs are meeting on the following dates in May:

The DDA LTSS Release 1.2 will go live July 1. This release will include updated functionality across parts of the system as well as some new functionality for detailed service authorization. Updated functionality will also incorporate the family supports and community supports waivers.  The DDA LTSS Release 1.2 will primarily impact Coordinator of Community Services (CCS) agencies and regional office functions. The DDA wants to ensure that all users are well equipped to utilize the system and upcoming updates

To this end, the DDA will be conducting training sessions for CCS agencies and regional offices. The training sessions are required for all CCS coordinators, supervisors and regional office staff. Sessions will take one-day and will be held in various locations across the state. The training sessions will include program-related training as well as system specific training. Training sessions will begin on May 13 and run through the end of June.  CCSs may register for training starting at the beginning of May via the DDA Training Calendar on the DDA website at DDA Training Calendar

Prior to considering services to request, it is important to first envision what the person's specific “Good Life” would look like. People can then start to consider their own unique trajectory and various services and supports to get to their “Good Life,” including informal supports, community programs, waiver and state plan services. Examples of a “Good Life” may include things such as being employed, becoming a more active member of the community, maintain and gaining independence, and living in a place of their choosing. 



Personal Supports services is one of the many waiver services the DDA offers that assists individuals as they progress towards their defined “Good Life”. Personal Supports services are designed to be habilitative in nature; meaning they should support people to learn, keep or improve skills and functional abilities. They can assists participants who live in their own or family homes with acquiring, building or maintaining skills to necessary to maximize their personal independence. Personal Supports includes in home skills development and community integration and engagement skills development. Examples of in home skills development include learning how to do household chores or maintain a room/house, learning how to get dressed without assistance, or preparing meals. Community integration and engagement skills development include activities such as learning how to go grocery shopping, learning how to volunteer in the community, or learning how to independently use public transportation.

There are instances where the assessed need does not align with the scope of personal supports services. In these cases, other services should be explored including Medicaid’s Community First Choice (CFC) “ Personal Assistance Services.”   For example, if a major focus of an individual’s needs involves personal care/ a need for assistance for activities of daily living such as bathing, toileting, and preparing meals for them, then CFC Personal Assistance Services is a more appropriate service. Personal Assistance Services are designed to assist individuals with services that are necessary for daily living. 

There are some individuals in which both the DDA’s Personal Supports and CFC’s Personal Assistance Services are necessary to obtain the “Good Life.” However, the services cannot be used at the same time. 

To determine which service is most appropriate, the DDA encourages individuals and their teams to consider what a “ day in the life ” looks like for the person including goals, supports needed, specific tasks being performed by the staff and the times services are being used. This daily schedule will help the person and their team to identify appropriate services to request to meet the unmet assessed need. It will also help the DDA to determine if an individual’s habilitative and health and safety needs are being met by the services and supports requested. If you have any questions about the appropriateness of DDA’s Personal Supports and/or CFC’s Personal Assistance Services, feel free to contact your regional office.

The electronic Provider Revalidation and Enrollment Portal ( ePREP) applications are currently being reviewed. The site based provider enrollment has been extended to May 31. Please be sure to check you ePREP account frequently for messages and notifications on your application.

DDA Licensed and DDA Certified renewal requirements

All providers will need to submit a renewal application for the DDA approval and relicensing.

Please download the provider application from the DDA website and contact your regional provider relations representative for instructions in which parts of the application you should complete. Once the DDA approves your renewal application, the DDA will forward to the Office of Health Care Quality (OHCQ) for re licensing, if needed. The OHCQ will contact you directly if they need any additional information. 

DDA Webinar Educational Series....Save the Dates!

The DDA will continue to conduct weekly webinars to inform and educate all stakeholders related to DDA's service delivery system. Webinars will include an overview of the topic with opportunities for questions and answers specific to the presentation topic.

All stakeholders (people in services, self-advocates, families, providers, advocacy organization, state staff, etc.) are encouraged to participate to be informed of current standards and practices.

The following topics will be shared on the following Tuesday's from 12noon to 1p.m.:

Registration Information will be available next week on the DDA website training calendar.

Capacity Building

The DDA is looking for qualified providers to support children and adults in the DDA waiver programs. This is a great opportunity to support children, adult and their families who need DDA supports. Providers who are interested should review the provider requirements, available here , and submit an application as directed. 

 If you are an individual or family seeking services but unable to find a provider to meet your needs, please contact your regional office.

If you are a provider who is currently certified or licensed and seeking to expand your services to new people, please contact your regional office.

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Maryland Department of Health

201 W. Preston St. | Baltimore MD, 21201

health.maryland.gov

The Maryland Department of Health promotes the health and safety of all Marylanders through disease prevention, access to care, quality management, and community engagement. The state of Maryland pledges to provide constituents, businesses, customers, and stakeholders with quality customer service. Take our Customer Satisfaction Survey.