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IARF, ARC, & THE INSTITUTE STATEWIDE PROVIDER MEETING NEXT WEEK
Next Tuesday, November 24^th, IARF, The Arc,  and the Institute will host the next meeting in the bi-weekly series of statewide provider calls to continue the discussion with providers on topics of interest related to the delivery of day services to people in CILA, HBS, ICFDD and CDS-only settings. Procedures with staffing infected homes, holiday visit policies, and approaches to secure testing are on the agenda for the meeting on November 24^th. We will have several organizations sharing their strategies and experiences in resuming the delivery of day services.  All Illinois I/DD providers are welcome to attend. Click here to register. (Contact: All staff)

Excerpts from Illinois’ COVID-19 Mass Vaccination Plan
EXCERPTS FROM ILLLINOIS’ COVID-19 MASS VACCINATION PLAN
Earlier today we distributed some excerpts from Illinois’ vaccination plan.  We wanted to make sure subscribers had a copy of the summary document. (Contact: Josh Evans)

BLAZING NEW TRAILS FOR COMMUNITY BASED DIRECT SUPPORT PROFESSIONALS CHALLENGE
The Administration for Community Living (ACL), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is announcing a competition to strengthen the Direct Support Professional (DSP) workforce and overall stability of home and community based services (HCBS) for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD). To achieve this, the Blazing New Trails for Community Based Direct Support Professionals challenge seeks to engage providers to innovate, pilot, and expand innovations that will transform the DSP workforce. You can learn more about the challenge and the prize money available HERE.  Submissions are due by February 21, 2021.  (Contact: Beth Owens)

COMMON COVID-19 OSHA VIOLATIONS
In conducting COVID-19-related inspections, OSHA has frequently cited employers for violating certain standards. OSHA has created a one pager identifying these standards.  Employers can learn more about those frequently-cited standards and relevant resources in OSHA’s in-depth analysis of Common COVID-19 Citations. (Contact: Beth Owens)

MOUNTING EVIDENCE POINTS TO SERIOUS COVID-19 RISK FOR THOSE WITH I/DD
People with developmental disabilities who contract COVID-19 face a higher risk of dying from the virus than just about anyone else, new research indicates. The study, which was released this month as a white paper and is not yet published in a medical journal, comes from FAIR Health, a nonprofit with the nation’s largest private health care claims database, in conjunction with the West Health Institute and Marty Makary of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. This new review puts into context how the risk for individuals with developmental disabilities exceeds that of those with nearly every other condition, no matter their age. (Contact: Beth Owens)
 
DHS GATA TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
DHS announced this week a new tool to help organizations across Illinois successfully comply with the Grant Accountability and Transparency Act (GATA).
 
The IDHS Grant Accountability and Transparency Act (GATA) Technical Assistance (TA) Learning Management System (LMS) was developed to provide technical assistance and navigation of the Grant Accountability and Transparency Act and the grant application process.
 
The system is available for self-paced online learning, with an instructor in a physical classroom or in a virtual classroom online. It includes six modules and the estimated time to complete all modules is approximately 24 hours. 
 
The weblink for self-paced online learning is available at no cost on the IDHS website under the “Providers” tab, on the “Provider Information” section.
 
Links to the IDHS GATA TA LMS and Participants guide:

 (Contact: Dan Frey)
 
ILLINOIS GUARDIANSHIP ASSOCIATION HOSTING TWO WEBINARS IN DECEMBER
Sex Education for Persons with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities: Implementation of Public Act 101-0506

Williams & Colbert Consent Decree Update

More information and registration for these webinars can be found HERE. (Contact: Beth Owens)
 
DDD RELEASES UPDATED COVID-19 GUIDANCE
This week, COVID-19 guidance created and updated, by the Illinois Department of Human Services Division of Developmental Disabilities in partnership with the Illinois Department of Public Health was released to the Illinois provider community. The guidance is intended for small congregate settings, including Community Integrated Living Arrangements (CILA), of eight or less, unrelated individuals and can be found HERE. (Contact: Beth Owens)
 
RECENTLY RELEASED DHS-DDD INFORMATION BULLETINS
The Division has recently released updated Information Bulletins (IB) that identify many COVID-19 related changes.  A full list of DHS-DD IB’s can be found HERE and recently released IB’s are below. 
Planning Guidance and Documentation Requirements for Residential Providers with a Positive COVID-19 Case
UPDATED - V.2 - COVID-19 Community Day Services (CDS) & Residential Rates and Reimbursement - (Replaces DD.20.008)
UPDATED - V.2 - COVID-19 Home Based Support (HBS), Bogard Specialized Services & Fee-for-Service Billing, Agency and Consumer Guidance - (Replaces DD.20.009)
UPDATED - V.2.1 - COVID-19 DSP Training - (Replaces DD.20.010) (Updated 11/17/2020)
(Contact: Beth Owens)
 
COVID-19 UPDATE – TIER III MITIGATIONS BEGIN TODAY ACROSS THE STATE
Governor JB Pritzker's Tier 3 COVID-19 restrictions went into effect Friday across Illinois as cases continue to surge. The new Tier 3 restrictions aim to limit gatherings and encourage residents to stay home to stop the spread of coronavirus. The entire state entered Tier 3 mitigation Friday at 12:01 a.m. The new Tier 3 restrictions close gaming and casinos, theaters, banquet halls and event spaces, cultural institutions like museums, prohibit indoor fitness classes and group sporting activities, and call on all workplaces to have as many employees work from home as possible. "This is not a stay-at-home order, but the best way for us to avoid a stay at home order is to stay home," Pritzker said. IARF is on the record as supporting the Governor’s Tier III Mitigations. (Contact: Luis Andrade)
 
HFS UNVEILS HEALTHCARE TRANSFORMATION PROPOSAL
Earlier this week, HFS unveiled a new Healthcare Transformation Proposal. The purpose of the proposal is to address social and structural determinants of health. The department partnered with the University of Illinois at Chicago's School of Public Health and the Institute for Healthcare Delivery Design to conduct extensive statewide community listening and in-depth research to create the plan which presents a major shift in providing healthcare delivery. If implemented, the new HFS plan will fund pilot projects and planning grants to address both healthcare and social determinants of health, emphasize collaboration with community-based organizations plus one unrelated healthcare provider, and ensure that health equity is a measurable, primary focus of each project. HFS also plans on working with the General Assembly to aid in implementation. (Contact: Luis Andrade)
 
ILLINOIS DCFS AWARDS $866,000  IN CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT GRANTS TO PROVIDERS
The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services yesterday announced the award of $866,000 in Residential Capital Improvement Grants to six residential and group home service providers across the state. Projects funded by the grants will enable providers to increase their bed capacity and improve physical facilities to support medically complex youth and youth with severe mental health issues. The Residential Capital Improvement Grants were recently funded by Governor JB Pritzker and the General Assembly. The grants are designed to increase the bed capacity in Illinois, increase the capacity of youth with challenging health conditions to receive treatment and to help ensure programs continue to serve vulnerable youth. This initial investment creates 31 new or converted beds within Illinois, which are critical to ensuring DCFS has the capacity to treat vulnerable youth. (Contact: Dan Frey)
 
ILLINOIS TO PROVIDE $60 MILLION FOR COVID-19 NAVIGATORS
Yesterday, Gov. Pritzker announced that the state of Illinois is sending $60 million in funding out the door to our two Regional Coordinator organizations. They in turn will award grants to community based groups who do COVID-19 work on the ground. These grants will cover the entire state except Cook County and Chicago, both of which directly receive funds from the federal government to manage local programs. Illinois region one and the Illinois Public Health Association with a special focus on federally qualified health centers, will coordinate efforts in regions two through nine. Both organizations will be bringing on numerous local partners to support those who need assistance. They will also help us reach some of our most at risk groups in this pandemic. That includes rural communities, black and brown communities, elderly residents, people at or near the poverty line. Undocumented immigrants, people experiencing homelessness, LGBTQ individuals, people with disabilities, disconnected youth people with limited English proficiency. (Contact: Luis Andrade)
 

• Workshops: Engaging, hour-long presentations that include clear learning objectives and identifiable outcomes that are measurable and achievable.
• TED-style Talks and Ignite Sessions: Short, powerful sessions on riveting topics that let presenters share their passions and stories in memorable ways.
• iPoster Presentations: Interactive electronic poster displays of innovative practices and award‐winning programs, documents and ideas/questions, with a Q&A.

KENNEDY FORUM WEBINAR ON WIT V UNITED BEHAVIORAL HEALTH 11/23
On Monday, November 23 The Kennedy Forum is hosting a webinar on the implications of Wit v. United Behavioral Health for state and federal policy. A federal court recently ruled that United Behavioral Health (UBH), the largest managed behavioral health care company in the country, must reprocess nearly 67,000 originally denied mental health and substance use disorder benefit claims using medical necessity criteria developed by nonprofit clinical specialty associations—among other mandatory actions. Join three experts in this free webinar to unpack ramifications of the landmark ruling and explore what’s on the horizon. You can register for the webinar HERE. (Contact: Dan Frey)

HRS WEBINAR: ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS
Join HRS, Inc. for their webinar, Actional Speak Louder than Words: Behavioral Manifestations of Common Medical Conditions in People with I/DD, on December 3^rd at 10:00 am.  Many people with IDD communicate pain and other ailments through their behavior. To the unaware provider, this may result in treatment of a perceived behavioral issue rather than the underlying medical issue that may be the cause of the behavior. This presentation will provide participants with knowledge of common behaviors that should prompt a medical evaluation. Specific behaviors and the common medical conditions that they may indicate will be discussed in a case study format. This webinar will:

Click here to learn more and register today! For group registrations email webinars@hrstonline.com (Contact: Maggie Henley)

MITC WEBINAR: PAYROLL & FINANCIALS FOR AGENCIES
Most providers associate Agency Workforce Management with time and attendance, documentation, scheduling, HR, and EHR solutions. However, providers have also used MITC to provide payroll and financial solutions for many years. Some providers use MITC Payroll integrated with a General Ledger of their choice (QuickBooks). Some providers use both MITC Payroll and Financials. Join MITC for a webinar on Thursday, December 3rd at 2:00pm ET to check out Payroll and Financials. Click here to register. (Contact: Maggie Henley)