NEWS AND UPDATES

Emergency Planning Now more than ever it is important to make sure that all those we serve have an emergency plan in place. When speaking to parents, most express the fear of what will happen when they are not around to care for their adult child with Special needs. We have carefully partnered with you to develop the Individualized Service Plan (ISP) and the Person Centered Planning Tool (PCPT), which should incorporate some of the information listed in this Emergency Planning document. However, many times families tell us they will give it thought and do not provide the information; we understand that it is a hard thing to think about. We want to make sure that we have the most up to date and comprehensive information. If there is a health care proxy or other advanced directive, please forward a copy to us at info@spectrumcmc.com or to our corporate address at 65 Ramapo Valley Road Ste.102 Mahwah, NJ 07430. Additionally, if you are uncertain about the information we do have please request a copy of the current ISP and PCPT and then let us know if information needs to be added or updated. You can also complete this form and return it to the same email or mailing address.

Please discuss this with your Support Coordinator so that the information can be added to the ISP and PCPT. There is also a link to a “Health Passport” that you can complete in case of an emergency. This information is similar to the information in the ISP and PCPT as well as the Emergency Planning document and should be kept at home on or near the refrigerator. Also, we previously provided the information to the NJ Special Needs Registry . NJ Register Ready was created to help people with a disability in times of emergency. NJ residents with special needs are encouraged to add their personal information to this special needs registry.

Frequently Asked Questions Q: How do I know when there is a change in my child’s plan? A: Before any changes occur, you should always have a conversation with your support coordinator. When the change occurs, you will get an email alert from the DDD irecord which will prompt you to log in to their secure system to view the revised ISP. If you get an alert, and have not discussed anything with your support coordinator, please reach out. For various reasons at times, you may get an alert and are unaware of the reason so you should always let your support coordinator know when this occurs. Q: How do I know how much of my daughter's budget is being used? A: Depending on which waiver program the individual is in (the Community Care Program or the Supports Program) there are different budget lines for different services. To find out more about budget lines you can speak to your support coordinator or review the budget lines in Section 17 of the CCP or Supports program manual . To find out about budget usage, you can speak to your support coordinator. The illustration below tells us how the budget is being allocated for each individual for the year. Those in the CCP get an additional budget line for residential services. Your support coordinator will review the budget with you during the monitoring call or visit.

If you are not sure if a service can be billed through the budget, have a discussion with your support coordinator. There are many things that can be covered if there is a specific need to help someone gain more independence. Things that are more rare but have been approved through the budget are a bidet, Rifton Tricycle, colorblind clip-on glasses, and a Dynavox to name a few. These all need an evaluation by a specialist and the need has to be identified but are examples of things that will help to increase independence or community integration. At this time, during COVID-19, evaluations are limited but please start having conversations with your support coordinator now so the need can be identified.

Update: DDD Electronic Device Request The Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD) has recently received an abundance of requests for electronic devices, ie: laptops, tablets, etc, related to Covid-19 restrictions. Upon administrative review, it has been determined that an individual's budget is not a funding source for these items. Individuals should explore using the benefits they currently receive such as SSI, SSDI etc. as this will in turn assist in resources remaining under the $2,000.00 Medicaid eligibility cap (Medicaid eligibility requirements - Income and Asset limits for Eligibility). If applicable, individuals can also utilize funding received from The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, also known as the CARES Act . This law was created to address the economic fallout of the 2020 Coronavirus pandemic in the United States.

Let’s Connect Find us on Facebook! We love getting helpful information out to you. Each month we strive to update you in different ways. We let you know what is happening with Spectrum and post articles of significance to you. Feel free to follow us on Facebook for the latest updates: Spectrum CMC Facebook Also, you can visit our website to learn more about us and read interesting stories about those we help: Spectrum CMC Website

Email Validation: Many of you have seen email validations emails come across your email. It is important to validate your email account so that the DDD, as well as Spectrum, has the correct contact information to reach you. Please see below for an example :