CFS Self Directed Supports September Newsletter

Greetings CFS SDS Families!

Happy Pumpkin Spice Season and happy 2024-2025 School Year to all scholars!

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

Highlights!

Kudos to Jayden!

Since joining CFS Self-Directed Supports, Jayden has encountered many amazing experiences. He is able to explore his hobbies and improve his computer skills by taking classes which he loves. The classes widen his knowledge in technology, skills and socialization. His interest and intention in joining various classes have advanced his outcomes and goals. His engagement with self-hired community habilitation is helping him achieve his goals. Being that the community habilitation worker is close in age to him, gives him a sense of independence. He works closely with him to improve his navigation on public transportation and exploration in the communities.

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. 2024 Mandatory Annual Refresher Training for Self-Hired Employees

Please advise your self-hired employees to please check their CFS email for important and REQUIRED information regarding their paid 2024 mandatory OPWDD Annual Refresher training. They must complete the annual refresher training no later than 9/25/2024. Failure to complete the mandatory training may result in disciplinary action.

For questions or if you experience any challenges accessing your CFS email contact Workforce at _DL-SDSWorkforce@cfsny.org for timely assistance.

2. Overtime (OT) & Manual Visit Verification (MVV): For self-hired employees submitting excessive MVV forms and working more than 40 hours weekly, the corresponding members of the circles of support (individual, designees, support broker, FI team) along with the employee will receive a formal memorandum regarding the matter and a protocol will be implemented to minimize MVV and/or OT occurrences.

As a reminder, employees must log their time and services contemporaneously utilizing their eVero Digital Agency applications on their mobile devices. The intent of the MVV form is to capture those employees' times for justifiable and excused motives while still adhering to Electronic Visit Verification (EVV) protocols.

Overtime is not permissible and unsustainable. Employees are to work the weekly hours as indicated in the budget. The work week is Saturday-Friday and anything more than 40 hours in a work week is considered overtime. For information related to our MVV and OT protocols and any employee related matters, please contact the Workforce Team at:

_DL-SDSWorkforce@cfsny.org

3. 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.

Other future news: self-hired employees will receive information regarding OPWDD required annual refresher trainings.

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.

Individual and Family Meetings

Next Family Meeting Friday September 20, 2024. More information to follow please look out for evero alert and email regarding this.

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 >>

Self-Direction Policy for School Aged Individuals

For SD school-aged participants, our software system impedes the ability of self-hired employees to work and log in time via eVero and/or Workforce during school hours. Per OPWDD requirements individuals who are in K-12 cannot utilize community habilitation or respite hours during regular scheduled school hours, including sick or snow days or if they are using home instruction. This is due to the Federal rules stating Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) Waiver services (including Community Habilitation and Respite) cannot be provided to individuals enrolled in K-12 education during scheduled time for educational instruction.

A copy of the school policy has been sent to all families with school aged participants for review and signature, if you have not received a copy, please reach out to Grace Chirico Di Lisi, Project Manager at gdilisi@cfsny.org.

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 >>

CFS' 70^th Award Celebration!

Join the CFS community at the Museum of the City of New York to celebrate 70 years of innovating with individuals and families!

On October 24th, the entire CFS community of individuals, their families, staff, donors, board members, and business and community partners will join together at the Museum of the City of New York to celebrate CFS’ 70th Anniversary.

Get Your Tickets or Sponsor the Event>>

The Nuts and Bolts of Transition stipends webinar!

Transition Stipends are a service available through the NYS Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) for people who are seeking to live independently. They are a critical service to fund the basic and necessary costs for moving and establishing a home, such as furniture, linens, kitchenware, security deposits, and moving costs.

Join the Webinar>>