STATE BUDGET UPDATE: The Legislature passed the state budget bill, SB 154 on Monday afternoon, meeting their constitutional deadline to submit a state budget to the Governor’s desk by June 15. The bill sent to the Governor contained funding for our proposals to accelerate rate study implementation by one year and update the models, other Lanterman Coalition proposals such as updating the regional center core staffing formula, and the Department of Developmental Services (DDS) “workforce stability” initiative. You can read full details in the Assembly 2022-23 Budget Floor Report and skip to page 47 for the DDS provisions.

We are thrilled to have such a strong showing of support from the Legislature, but the budget is not finished! The Governor’s office and the Legislature will continue to negotiate the details. Until an agreement is reached, and an amended bill is passed and signed, our advocacy must continue! Make sure to share the Lanterman Coalition action alert at TheFutureIncludesUs.org, which can be used to send emails, tweets, or phone calls to Governor Newsom. As always, we will keep you informed as soon as we have important budget updates.

DISABILITY THRIVE INITIATIVE IS BACK: CDSA is excited to again be partnering with Easterseals Southern California on the Disability Thrive Initiative! We will also be working with some names you might recognize – Laurel Mildred is managing the project and Will Sanford is consulting on subject matter and community outreach.

If you missed our first webinar, you can still watch the recording or read the slides. DDS, the New York Alliance for Inclusion and Innovation, and PathPoint covered the DSP Workforce Survey and its value to both providers who participate and the whole disability community. Thank you to Harry Bruell and April Peterson from PathPoint for presenting in the webinar, and Jami Davis from Marin Ventures for speaking in the Lunch and Learn!

Our next webinar will be about Social Recreation and Camp services, scheduled for Wednesday, July 13 at 3:00 pm. The following Lunch and Learn will be Friday, July 15 at 12:00 noon. If you are currently providing (or establishing) social recreation or camp services that you might like to showcase for the community, contact Laurel Mildred. We would love to feature CDSA members if possible!

DSP WORKFORCE SURVEY: The submission period for the Direct Support Professional (DSP) Workforce Survey is still open until June 30! This data is incredibly important, not just to DDS, but for our advocacy as well. If your organization hasn’t already completed the survey, we hope you will get started on it in time to submit by the deadline. If no one in your agency received an email invitation to complete the survey, please email [email protected].

DDS will provide incentive payments of at least $8,000 to each organization who completes the survey by the deadline. To qualify for the incentive payment, providers must complete every question. If you aren’t sure about any of the questions, you should be able to select a “do not know” response. Incentives will be paid after the survey window closes and will come through regional centers.

For more information, visit the DDS DSP Workforce Survey webpage. Please contact [email protected] with any questions and be sure to include the requested information listed on the webpage for a quicker response.

Please help us promote the importance of this survey to your fellow service providers! We have a flyer you can share within other provider listservs and groups, as well as some great Tips for Completing the Direct Support Professional (DSP) Workforce Survey that came from last week’s webinar. If you want to promote on social media, you can share our Facebook post or tweet with the survey tips. 

CDSA-SUPPORTED LEGISLATION: At the recommendation of our Legislation Subcommittee, the Public Policy Committee has voted to support the following bills this legislative session.

If there’s a bill you think CDSA should support that isn’t on this list, you can contact LaNaya Blackwell, who can bring it to the attention of Legislation Subcommittee Chair Sarah Verity. 

We will always do our best to inform you about DDS stakeholder meetings through our Member Update Calls and the newsletter, but things are moving quickly. Stay up-to-date with meeting schedules and links on DDS Stakeholder Events, DS Task Force, EVV Meetings, and Rate Study Implementation pages.

FEDERAL FUNDING ADVOCACY: Negotiations on a federal budget reconciliation continue between Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV). Reports about the process indicate that the two parties are “closer than they’ve ever been” to reaching a deal and indicate that the Home- and Community-Based Services (HCBS) funding provision may still be included. Our national partners at ANCOR submitted a letter to Congressional leadership about the importance of this funding, which CDSA and several members signed onto in support. We will continue to keep members updated with any news or key advocacy opportunities.

STATE FLEXIBILITY FOR HCBS: The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released an update about the implementation process for the HCBS Settings Rule, along with a slide deck detailing the strategy. CMS had been hinting about flexibilities for a while, but in this presentation to state Medicaid directors was our first opportunity to see them in writing.

JULY 1 MINIMUM WAGE CHANGES: On July 1 several California localities are raising their minimum wage requirements and several are dropping their separate wage rate based on business size. Only West Hollywood will differentiate minimum wage based on number of employees.

SUPREME COURT SETS LIMITS ON PAGA: The Supreme Court has ruled that the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) cannot be used to circumvent binding arbitration agreements, finding that it is preempted by the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA). PAGA had been the legal basis for state courts to allow private suits despite parties’ prior agreement to arbitrate, including claims on behalf of groups of employees for multiple labor law infractions at once. While PAGA suits are now subject to binding arbitration, unions should still be able to arbitrate disputes on behalf of groups of workers.

CDSA BOARD ELECTIONS: CDSA Board of Directors Elections have concluded and we appreciate everyone who took the time to vote. Our newest Directors will be Cheryl White from Cedars of Marin and John Brauer from New Horizons. On July 1, they will officially take their positions upon the departure of Lindsey Dyba and Matt Rogina, who have both reached term limits. Please join us in giving a huge thank you to Lindsey and Matt for their years of service on the CDSA Board of Directors, and a warm welcome to Cheryl and John!

ANNUAL MEETING 2022: Save the date for the CDSA Annual Meeting on September 21-23 at The Westin San Diego Downtown! If your organization is trying out new ideas or has learned a lesson worth sharing, we hope you will consider sharing with your fellow members at the conference. It takes just a few minutes to submit a session proposal and we will follow up with you about further details. We look forward to seeing you in San Diego!

MITC DSP AWARDS: MITC is awarding $5,000 in September to Direct Support Professionals who stand out and go above and beyond to provide exemplary service. The deadline to nominate a DSP is August 1st, 2022. Nominate Your DSP Today!

MEMBER CALL DATES: CDSA holds member update calls on the second and fourth Thursdays of the month at 1:30 pm, unless rescheduled due to conflict. The next member call will be July 14 at 1:30 pm. The regularly scheduled call next Thursday, June 23 is canceled.

Please note that these dates are based on the regular meeting schedule and are subject to change. If you need information about a caucus or committee, including call information, please use our Leadership Directory to find and contact the chair.

CDSA BOARD: The CDSA Board held a retreat on April 28-29 to assess how CDSA is doing and plan for the future. Directors discussed CDSA operations, budgeting, strategy, events, crisis preparation, and all things membership. Board and staff alike left the meeting excited and ready to continue the next steps in a strategic planning process. Keep an eye out for updates – we look forward to sharing what’s in the works.

The next CDSA Board Meeting will be Tuesday, June 21 from 2:00 – 3:30 pm.

INSTITUTE BOARD: The Institute Board will meet on September 12 from 11:00 am - 12:00 noon.