Heritage Christian Services Self-Direction
Winter 2025 Newsletter
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Welcome to our last Self-Direction Newsletter of 2025!
Happy Holidays from your HCS FI Team!
| | Heritage Christian Services FI Team Members, joined by two moms Amy Rhault and Linda Liener at our Caregivers Panel in October 2025. | | Self-Direction Updates & Reminders | | |
- We are pleased to share that thanks to an increase to reimbursement rates from OPWDD, effective January 1, 2026, the self-hired staff pay rate maxes will be increasing to:
- $21/hour for self-hired respite
- $32/hour for self-hired community hab
Please work with your circle of support to see what your self-directed budget can sustain.
- Keep your eye out for the 2026 mileage rate and new forms. We will send them out once they are finalized/ready.
- Please make sure you are regularly reviewing any self-hired staff's hours in eVero. Please immediately report any concerns to your FI or our Compliance Hotline at (585) 340-5797.
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Reminder: Self-hired staff cannot work during school hours. This includes when a child is home from school sick and snow days. OPWDD does allow families to use FRR for those days.
- Important: our compliance team has asked that we have copies of guardianship paperwork saved in your chart. If you have a guardian/are a guardian for someone we support, please email you guardianship paperwork to ARSD@heritagechristianservices.org.
- If you haven't yet, please follow our Facebook Page. It is just for families and participants who Self-Direct their services with Heritage Christian Services. The link is below!
- Don't miss our December staffing resource on Staff Activity Fees.
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It may be cold and snowy outside, but we know you are likely already looking to the future to plan for your loved ones. Camp registrations often open in late winter, so we wanted to pass along some important information about summer services for school age kids:
Reminder: Important Change Regarding Medicaid Services During ESY Hours:
OPWDD has recently provided clarification that children eligible for Extended School Year (ESY) services—regardless of whether they accept or decline them—are not permitted to use Medicaid-funded services during ESY school hours.
Families should be aware that this change may affect:
- Reimbursement for classes and camps, and
- Payments for self-hired staffing hours that occur during ESY hours.
Please keep this in mind when planning for next summer’s services and supports. This change does not impact state-funded services such as FRR and OTPS.
Camp Payments/Reimbursements:
- All camps covered by IDGS Camps must have a DOH certificate.
- If you are interested in a camp that does not have a DOH certificate and would like it considered for coverage as an IDGS class, please work with your FI contact to see if it is possible.
- Camp reimbursement can include the registration costs and actual camp costs.
- If the camp will allow you to delay payment in full until closer to the camp dates, please do so.
- If you have a budget roll-over date between now and the camp dates, you will not be able to enter the camp for payment/reimbursement in eVero until after the roll-over date.
- Camp is limited to $4000/budget year.
| | At Heritage Christian Services, we love to recognize our employees for their great work. You have the opportunity to do the same! Fill out the form below and we’ll pass it on to the employee that you’re recognizing and their supervisor. | | Self-Hire Staff Spotlight | |
Meet Brian (pictured in the middle, between Eric on the left and Tom on the right)! Brian is one of our dedicated self-hired team members. Here, he shares his experience of the role and how it has personally impacted him.
“My daughter said to me the other day, "Your job sounds like a lot of fun, Daddy." It was with great joy and appreciation that I could answer her in complete agreement that indeed my job was a lot of fun. Over the years, I've had the opportunity to go on several trips with some of the guys I support. We've visited Pittsburgh, Boston, Baltimore, and most recently, Philadelphia. We also visited one of the Heritage Houses in Inlet, where we had the most epic campfire!
While we've had so much fun together, the fulfillment from working self-hire does not simply rest in the fun we have together. It rests in the mutual enrichment of each other's lives. I get to help the guys I support reach their goals. While they have continued to teach me valuable life lessons that encourage me to live a life that resembles our Savior Jesus Christ.”
| | | | Self-Direction Participant Spotlight | | |
A Fun Tour of Libraries: How Mileage Reimbursements Helped Create Magical Memories
By Cheryl and Daniel Paine, Ontario County
I work at Gorham Free Library, so my son Daniel and I already love visiting libraries. When the OWWL Library System launched a 2025 challenge to visit all 42 libraries across four counties, we decided to give it a try—stickers and maps in hand!
By the time we visited just a few, we were hooked. Once August arrived, we planned days to travel while each library was open, starting with the farthest in Wyoming County and looping through Livingston, Wayne, and finally finishing in our home county of Ontario. Three to four libraries per trip made for the perfect adventure, and September was a great month for exploring.
At every stop we took photos, checked out books, and discovered what made each library unique. Staff members welcomed Daniel with play spaces, activities, and help finding books. He especially loved stairs, balconies, wildlife displays, and fun surprises like outdoor story walks and library mascots.
We completed the challenge with only one library closed when we arrived—so we snapped a photo by the sign! With all 42 stickers collected, we proudly earned special edition OWWL cards, and Daniel treasures his gold card.
Now we have wonderful memories (and photos!) of a summer spent exploring local libraries. Many thanks to HCS mileage support—and especially Kim G.—for helping make these adventures possible.
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Self-Direction offers many opportunities, and we want to help you make the most of them! In this space, we share updates and resources about the services available through Self-Direction. This quarter, we’re focusing on Staff Activity Fees (SAF).
What are Staff Activity Fees?
Staff Activity Fees are an “Other Than Personal Service” (OTPS) budget line that allows self-hired staff to be reimbursed for certain expenses they incur while providing community habilitation or respite services. These fees can be used for costs that are necessary to support a person in the community—such as staff admission to events, movies, concerts, meals, or other allowable expenses under Self-Direction guidelines.
What’s Changing?
Beginning January 1, 2026, our Fiscal Intermediary (FI) team will implement a more consistent review process for all SAF reimbursement requests. We will carefully check supporting documentation to ensure it meets the requirements outlined in our guide. As a result, some requests may be returned to self-hired staff for additional details or clarification.
We will also communicate this updated review process to all self-hired staff through eVero.
For full details on Staff Activity Fees and documentation requirements, be sure to check out our guide!
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A few reminders regarding OPWDD Housing Subsidies! If you experience any changes to housing (e.g. new roommate, moving, etc.), housing costs (e.g. rent or utilities), or income, be sure to inform your care team. These changes could impact your housing subsidy amount or payments.
We are now able to complete housing subsidy recertifications throughout the year and have already submitted nearly all of our 2025 recertifications! Remember that we are working to align recertifications with lease renewals. If your lease renews early in the new year we will be reaching out in the first few months to get started on the 2026 renewals.
2026 Social Security benefits letters should be arriving within the next month or so. Please be sure to send a copy to your FI or the housing contacts below. You can also download your letter here:
https://www.ssa.gov/manage-benefits/get-benefit-letter
One requirement of the OPWDD Housing Subsidy is that you apply for all other available benefits (such as SNAP and HEAP). If/when you receive any SNAP and/or HEAP benefits documents, please send a copy to your broker and FI to save on file.
Unfortunately, the application period for the regular 2025-2026 HEAP benefit is currently delayed until further notice. We are periodically checking for updates and will reach out when the application opens. See the link below for more information.
https://otda.ny.gov/programs/heap/
If you have any questions or concerns with your housing subsidy you can reach out to your care team, or contact our Housing Supports Coordinators listed below. Additionally, if you wish to learn more about what housing supports are available, please reach out!
Finger Lakes:
Joshua Bielemeier (he/him)
Email: jobielemier@heritagechristianservices.org
WNY:
Angela O'Mara (she/her)
Email: housingwny@heritagechristianservices.org
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Kathryn Zanghi (left) and Alex Palma (right) are our Self-Direction Coordinators and key members of our FI intake team. Together, they bring 29 years of experience with Heritage Christian Services, including backgrounds in direct support, service coordination, brokerage, FI, and intake. Since January 2020, Kathryn and Alex—along with Jessica Czaplicki in our WNY office—have helped welcome over 900 families to our FI services!
More Than FI Intake
Our intake team does far more than processing referrals. Kathryn and Alex also:
- Review Broker billing
- Maintain compliance with LCEDs
- Provide training and support to independent Brokers
- Offer FI training on the start-up process and Launch Meetings
- Provide FI coverage as needed
- Co-facilitate Launch Meetings with new FI Coordinators
- Support the FI team with Broker responsibilities when a Broker is unavailable
We are incredibly grateful for the dedication, expertise, and heart they bring to this work every day!
FI Intake Is Open!
If you know families who are looking for FI services, we would love to connect with them.
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Meet our new Associate Director in WNY:
Suzie Kania began her career with Heritage in 2002 as part of the team that opened our Stony Point IRA. Over the years, she has supported our traditional programs in numerous leadership roles, including serving as Residence Manager for several homes in WNY. After a brief hiatus, Suzie returned in 2022 as part of the Customized Supports Team, most recently serving as an FI Coordinator.
In her spare time, Suzie enjoys spending time with her husband Shane and their fur babies, Ripley and Valkyrie, at home. She also loves all things spooky, The Bills, true crime podcasts, documentaries, reading, and playing video games.
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In 2025 Heritage Christian Services Self-Direction:
- Welcomed 64 new people into our FI Services for a total of 1,662 people supported by our FI.
- Welcomed 10 new FI staff for a total of 59 FI team members.
- Promoted 2 FI Coordinators to Associate Director roles.
- Onboarded 532 self-hired staff for a total of 1,800 Self-hired Staff.
| | Your FI Team at Heritage Christian Services | | © Copyright 2024, Heritage Christian Services. All rights reserved. | | | | |
