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March 26, 2021
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
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IARF & THE INSTITUTE MEMBER WEBINAR SERIES AND COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE
IARF and The Institute on Public Policy for Disabilities will host a member exclusive webinar series starting in April. The goal of our Building Meaningful Lives Webinar 2.0 series/Community of Practice component is to build the capacity of Illinois’s provider agencies to implement the person-centered planning methods presented in the 2020 webinar series and create a statewide Community of Practice (CoP) around inclusion and employment for people with disabilities. 
Registration is available to all IARF and Institute members. Agencies are encouraged to form teams and from April to August, Agency teams will participate in monthly webinars to discuss implementation strategies and tools, followed by a CoP zoom meeting two weeks later. Click here to read the full flyer and to learn more. Register your team today! (Contact: Maggie Henley)


IARF MEETING OF THE MEMBERSHIP FOCUSES ON ADVOCACY CAMPAIGN
Wednesday’s IARF Meeting of the Membership featured Supporting Member Mutual of America who shared with members a presentation on the 457b option.  The Association will work with Mutual to provide a more in-depth presentation in the future! Members also participated in breakout rooms to further discuss and take questions on our combined media, grasstops, and grassroots advocacy strategies in place for the remainder of March and April.

Our “We Must Do Better” advocacy campaign for combined member and network grasstops & grassroots advocacy, social media engagement, and earned media strategies for the months of March and April is well underway. Members can access the campaign at our Policy Action Center by clicking here. (Contact: All Staff)

 

IARF & THE ARC OF ILLINOIS PARTNERSHIP ON EARNED INCOME & STATE USE CLEARS HOUSE COMMITTEE
This past week, Representative Lindsey LaPointe (D-19) passed HB 292 (as amended) in the Illinois House of Representatives Human Services Committee. HB 292 is a joint initiative between IARF and the ARC of Illinois. The bill updates current law to address a long-standing inequity that prevented working residents in CILAs from keeping their earned income. The bill also clarifies I/DD representation to the Illinois State Use Committee. The bill passed on a unanimous and bi-partisan vote out of the committee, with many members of the committee requesting to be added as co-sponsors on the bill, showing significant support, thereby adding the bill to the House Unanimous Consent Calendar. The next step for the bill is to be passed on the Illinois House Floor, and then on for further consideration in the Illinois Senate. IARF will keep you updated on the bill’s progress. (Contact: Luis Andrade)
 

DMH CHANGES IN COLLABORATIVE REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS
In order to reduce administrative burden around the Consumer Registration process, DMH has instructed the Illinois Mental Health Collaborative to make changes to the process.  On March 20, 2021, Beacon implemented a software update which has now been tested, and is functional for provider entry of information.  The following changes affect the Batch Registration and ProviderConnect Direct Submission workflows:
 
The new default span is now one year for all registrations submitted after the 3/20/2021 software implementation.

The Columbia Scale, Ohio Scale, and Devereaux Scale fields are no longer required elements for registration.
 
As a reminder, here are the Batch Registration file positions for Columbia, Ohio, and Devereaux fields that are now optional:
File Position Field Name
862 to 863 Columbia Scale
864 to 866 Ohio Scale – Problem Severity
867 to 868 Ohio Scale – Functioning
901 to 903 Devereaux – Protective Factors Infants/Toddlers
904 to 906 Devereaux – Protective Factors Youths
907 to 909 Devereaux – Behavioral Concerns
 
Any questions re: DMH policy may be directed to DHS.DMHProviderAssist@illinois.gov
(Contact: Dan Frey)
 

BLACK CAUCUS HEALTHCARE PILLAR CLEARS ILLINOIS SENATE
The Senate signed off on the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus’ healthcare omnibus, sending it to the desk of Gov. JB Pritzker, who is expected to sign it.  The bill, passed along party lines, is the fourth and final of the caucus’ legislative goals unveiled last year. Pritzker signed the other three into law.  It would also create a $50 million annual funding pool for safety-net hospitals that maintain perinatal designation from the Department of Public Health. Those funds must be used to preserve or enhance OB-GYN services or other specialty services.
 
The plan would create two commissions at the Department of Healthcare and Family Services, one to evaluate the effectiveness of the state’s managed care program, which will have a representative of a trade association of intellectual/developmental disability providers, and another to develop a program to support and grow minority-owned and women-owned businesses.
 
Other provisions include the creation of a program to certify and train community health workers, the creation of a Behavioral Health Workforce Education Center of Illinois to address the shortage of workers in that industry and the creation of a Medicaid Technical Assistance Center, which would operate as a “cross-system educational resource to strengthen the business infrastructure” of the state’s healthcare providers to ultimately increase the capacity, access, health equity and quality of Illinois’ Medicaid program. (Contact: Dan Frey)
 

CONGRESS SENDS PPP APPLICATION EXTENSION TO THE PRESIDENT
As was widely expected, yesterday the U.S. Senate advanced a legislated extension of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) application process through the end of May 2021.  The American Rescue Plan expanded the program to larger NFP organizations and those with different tax status.  The Association is looking to have a guest speaker on the topic for our CFO Committee on April 15th. (Contact: Josh Evans)
 

CMS HOLDS LISTENING SESSION ON 10% HCBS FMAP BUMP IN THE ARP
Yesterday, federal CMS held a listening session for interested individuals to provide comment on how CMS should implement the 10% Medicaid match increase for state expenditures on HCBS services – which will minimally be in place from April 1, 2021 – March 31, 2022.  Association staff – along with several I/DD organization leaders (including ANCOR) participated and provided comments on the call.  For our part, the Association supported comments by ANCOR, and specifically noted the importance of the state/federal partnership in Medicaid, the importance of emphasizing investment in direct services, the need to move quickly to ensure resources are sent to states, and to ensure states have flexibility to invest in ongoing services and supports. (Contact: Josh Evans)

Products │ Services │ Solutions
ICDD SEEKS COMMENT ON STATE PLAN
The Illinois Council on Developmental Disabilities (ICDD) is seeking public comment on the draft goals and objectives for its 2022-2026 State Plan. This is an opportunity for the public to provide input on the activities and policy work that we will conduct over the next five years. Anyone interested in disability issues in Illinois — including self-advocates, family members of people with developmental disabilities (DD), service providers, and others — can participate and share their ideas. You can review the plan and submit comments HERE. The deadline to provide comments is March 29, 2021. (Contact:  Beth Owens)
 

DHS-DDD FINALIZES INFORMATIONAL BULLETINS: ENTERAL TUBE - CIRAS
This week the Division finalized and posted two Information Bulletins (IB).  The Enteral Tube Policy provides guidance on the process for returning an individual, with a newly placed enteral tube, to their CILA after discharge from the hospital. The Critical Incident Reporting Analysis System (CIRAS) addresses the requirement of providers and Independent Service Coordination agencies' use of the Critical Incident Reporting and Analysis System to report critical incidents and reflects a summary of the recent changes reflected in the revised CIRAS manual. (Contact:  Beth Owens)
 

NURSING CARE DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC SURVEY
DDNA is asking for provider assistance with a survey they are conducting about challenges faced by developmental disability (DD) nurses in meeting the needs of people with DD one year into the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey is entitled “Current Issues and Anticipated Challenges Providing Developmental Disability Nursing Care during the COVID-19 Epidemic: A Descriptive Study, Round 2”. This study is being led by Dr. Melissa Desroches, PhD, RN, College of Nursing and Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts.  The full survey can be found HERE. (Contact: Beth Owens)
 

DIVISION OF DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES COMMUNITY PROVIDER TRAININGS
The Division of Developmental Disabilities has announced additional webinar training topics for community-based, waiver funded providers. All webinars will be recorded and be posted upon completion and must be registered for individually.  CEU’s are available.
 
Behavioral Supports: What Providers Need to Know
April 8, 2021  1pm – 3pm  Link to register
 
Dietary and Safe Dining Practices
April 22, 2021  1pm – 3pm  Link to register
 
Abuse & Neglect: What you Need to Know
May 13, 2021  1pm – 3pm  Link to register
 
Individual Rights, Independence & Social Relationships
May 27, 2021  1pm – 3pm  Link to register
(Contact: Beth Owens)
 

THERAP SERVICES TO HOST FREE ONLINE CONFERENCE IN MAY
Therap Services is very happy to announce the Great Lakes Therap Conference for 2021. This year’s event will be an online conference, hosted by Therap. Join to learn and network with others in the Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Michigan Therap User Community.
 
The conference is going to be a 2-day event on May 19 & 20 from 09:00 AM – 1:30 PM (CST) on each day. You can attend this event from the comfort and safety of your home office, current workspace or from anywhere. Similar to Therap’s annual, in-person conferences, this will be your opportunity to learn about recent developments in the Therap system. Learn more and register here. (Contact: Maggie Henley)
 
 
IARF LEGISLATIVE TRACKER NOW AVAILABLE
The IARF Legislative Tracker is now available by clicking here, you can look at all the legislation filed in the Illinois statehouse for this session in which IARF is taking a position.  These bills include IARF initiatives as well as legislation that our organization simply supports or opposes but it not a main driver on. (Contact: IARF Staff)
 

IARF WEEKLY MEETINGS WITH LEGISLATORS AND STAFF
IARF met with the following legislators and Staff this week to discuss COVID-19, the DHS-DDD Rate Study, Behavioral Health priorities, and the Illinois FY 22 budget:
  • Representative Manley
  • House Democratic Budget Director Mark Jarmer
These meetings will continue as we pursue our 2021 Legislative Agenda. Please reach out if you have any questions. (Contact: Luis Andrade)
 
DDD Information Bulletins
DDD Communications
HFS Provider Notices
Thank you to our 2020 IARF Virtual Conference Sponsors! 
Josh Evans - President & CEO  - jevans@iarf.org
Beth Owens - Vice President for Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities Policy - bowens@iarf.org
Daniel M.O. Frey - Vice President for Behavioral Health Policy - dfrey@iarf.org  
Luis Andrade - Vice President of Health & Long-Term Care Policy - landrade@iarf.org
Maggie Henley - Director of Member Services - mhenley@iarf.org

(217) 801-9303 │ www.iarf.org
 







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