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ACTION ALERT

6/28/22

Good Afternoon Friends of the Arc CT:

The Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program provides critical support for millions of people with disabilities and their families. SSI enables them to afford necessities like food and rent. SSI also has many rules that make it hard for people to save money and get out of poverty. SSI has an asset limit that has not been updated since 1989. Assets include money in bank accounts, property, and savings. Right now, people who get SSI can only have $2,000 in assets. Married couples can only have $3,000.

We need your HELP to change these rules: Please click the link below to urge Senators Blumenthal and Murphy to support people with disabilities and their families by cosponsoring the bipartisan SSI Savings Penalty Elimination Act (S.4102).

Thank you for joining supporters of The Arc from around the country to help address this important issue.

Click the link below to log in and send your message:
https://www.votervoice.net/BroadcastLinks/-k1F94SCuPuAb2DZ1TUqwA

6/8/22

To: DDS Stakeholders From: Peter Mason, American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Coordinator

Date: June 6, 2022

Re: American Rescue Plan Act of 2021

It is with great excitement that the Department of Developmental Services (DDS) announces it has been awarded American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to implement a three-year systems transformation initiative. DDS would like to thank Governor Lamont, the Connecticut General Assembly, and the Department of Social Services for the opportunity to stabilize our Private Provider community, develop alternative residential and day options, enhance quality oversight and modernize our infrastructure to better support individuals and staff. Over the next few months, DDS will be sharing additional information to our stakeholders on the initiatives and progress towards the expected outcomes. DDS will be establishing an ARPA Advisory Committee comprised of various stakeholder representatives. The Advisory Committee will discuss the transformational intent of ARPA, gather input and feedback, and focus on effective, positive, consistent communication to all stakeholders. In addition, DDS will be convening four working groups to assist with developing incentives, implementing provider-specific transformational plans, and communicating, educating, and engaging with individuals and families on individualized residential and day options.

The workgroups are:

Residential Transformational Process DDS has established alternative options to the traditional group home setting. These include supportive housing, clustered apartment settings, individualized home supports, community companion homes, and remote supports. In addition, many individuals have been very successful in self-directing their residential supports. The advances in assistive technology have added a level of supplemental supports to these settings that empower individuals to live as independently as possible. This workgroup will assist the department in promoting the array of residential options for individuals who can become more independent in their community. The group will also discuss future options for group home placements. As part of the workgroup, the committee will assist in the development of financial incentives for providers to offer these alternative settings, the use of transformational plans, and educating individuals, guardians, and families on the various alternatives.

Day Transformational Process DDS is an Employment First agency. The department believes that all individuals should have the opportunity to work and experience full community engagement. This workgroup will assist the department in promoting employment and community involvement options. The group will also work collaboratively with the Reimagining Day Services Committee to ensure consistency in individualized, person-centered options within Day and Employment supports. As part of the workgroup, the committee will assist in the development of financial incentives for providers, the use of transformational plans, and educating individuals, guardians, and families of the various opportunities.

Individual and Family Engagement Individuals supported by DDS are using tools developed as part of Charting the Life Course. The Charting the Life Course framework was created to help individuals and families of all abilities, and at any age or stage of life develop a vision for a good life, think about what they need to know and do, identify how to find or develop supports, and discover what it takes to live the lives they want to live. This workgroup will assist the department in developing materials on how to inform individuals and their family members/sponsoring people of the benefits of alternative residential settings, assistive technology and self-determining one’s own supports. Other items to discuss include incentives to move into these alternative settings, the individual’s input into the provider’s transformational plan, ideas on how to make a move to an alternative setting successful, what happens if the chosen support option does not work out, and outreach and communication strategies.

DDS Engagement For this initiative to be successful, all DDS staff need to be informed of the ARPA funds awarded to DDS and the transformational changes that are expected. This work group will assist central office in developing consistent communication for DDS staff to discuss possible transformational changes to the private provider community, expected outcomes for individuals, education of alternative settings, provider transformational plans and what they mean for the individuals, issues with potential transfers, what happens if the chosen support option does not work out, and how to identify individuals who are unhappy where they currently live. The Department will be working with self-advocates, Self-Determination participants, DDS staff, family groups, the Ombudsperson, and provider trade associations to identify individuals who would like to participate on the advisory or working committees. Anyone interested in participating on one of these committee should send an email to Julie Bouchard at Julie.bouchard@ct.gov. As these will be working committees, membership will be limited, but will include representation from major stakeholder groups.

RECENT E-MAILS

1/10/22

Good morning:

This week, the Department of Developmental Services (DDS) under the leadership of Commissioner Jordan Scheff, released the agency’s draft five-year plan. The plan, which can be found here, encompasses the department’s goals for the next five years and charts a course for continued progress within the department. 

The goals outlined in the plan, were influenced and shaped by many stakeholders, and most recently, through the feedback gathered during the Commissioner Scheff’s “Seeds of Change” tour during mid-2021. This stakeholder engagement offered important insight from individuals, families, advocates, providers, staff, and others and helped the department to clearly identify challenges, gaps, and necessary improvements.  This new five-year plan puts focuses on the Charting the LifeCourse (CtLC) framework. 

The plan is the beginning of a living document that will shift and grow over the next five years. The key areas of focus outlined in the plan, include:

• Daily Life & Employment-DDS will Continue to work toward integrated day/employment opportunities; enhance with assistive technology; promote flexibility; educate community.

• Community Living- Ensure correct level of care; promote most effective and least restrictive; support innovative solutions for independence, including use of assistive technology; encourage flexibility.

• Healthy Living- CT tends to score high on general measures of physical health – focus on supporting access to mental/behavioral health services and specialty areas (e.g. diabetes).

• Safety and Security- Focus service development on filling gaps in specialty areas; integrate a diversity, equity and inclusion lens to correct systems inequities.

• Social and Spirituality- Develop capacity to facilitate networking for various affinity groups; improve communications with all stakeholders.

• Advocacy and Engagement- Support work of self-advocates in creating community, peer supports; develop more consistent opportunities to collect feedback from stakeholders.

• 
  

While the Arc Connecticut is pleased to have been a stakeholder in this process, we would like to see very real and specific changes in the plan in order to achieve the goals we believe are necessary to better the lives of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Our specific requests are included in our attached testimony, but center on:

·      More specific goals and objectives

·      Defined metrics to gauge progress on many levels

·      More defined use of American Rescue Act Funds will be applied

·      Operationalization of expanded supported living opportunities within the community

·      Initiatives to address the broadened spectrum of need in the community

·      Alleviation of roadblocks to independent living

·      Enhanced family resources

·      Improved employment opportunities

·      Formal collaboration with the community across key agencies

We urge members of the intellectually and developmentally disabled community to submit comments highlighting some of these concerns at either of the hearings that have been scheduled.

The dates and times are Wednesday, January 12th at 12:00 pm and Thursday, January 13th at 5:30 pm. You can sign-up to testify at one of the virtual hearings by  following this link or you may also submit written testimony to: Joseph.Carvalho@ct.gov.  

Below is a draft that you may use to personalize your comments. Please copy and paste in your email and personalize with your story. Please remember to copy Carol Scully on your submission. Her email address is cscully@thearcct.org.

My name is [insert name] and I am from [insert town]. Thank you for the opportunity to submit comments on the draft five-year plan developed by the Department of Developmental services. While I am pleased to know that the department has identified goals for the agency, it is more important than ever that DDS address the specific real-life needs of the individuals served by the department.

As a [insert relationship, caregiver, parent, sibling, etc.] this plan is critical to the future health and wellbeing of my [insert, child, sibling, etc.]. Ensuring that our loved ones live in a supported and inclusive community environment is essential and the programs and services developed by the DDS must reflect this approach. 

Our voices provide important feedback and highlight the need for additional resources. No longer do we live in a one-size fits all world. In fact, we can learn from the approach of other states and create new, supported living environments and options.  Specifically, this plan should be revised to include: More individualized, supported living options, Resources to support person-centered planning, employment progression and affordable community-based housing options, Increased training for families and Support personnel, Improved medical and behavioral emergency support, and Increased collaboration opportunities with DDS for supported individuals and their families.

Thank you for the opportunity to comment. I look forward to your feedback, seeing the revised plan and the opportunity to work together in this process.