March 2008 News

Announcements

Save the Date for the first ever Disabilities Gubernatorial Forum:  DelARF has joined with a coalition of organizations of and for people with disabilities throughout the state to offer the “first-ever” gubernatorial forum for all declared candidates for governor.  The event will be held on July 17 from 5:00 to 7:00 pm at Delaware Technical & Community College, Terry Campus, in Dover.  To date, both John Carney and Jack Markell have confirmed their attendance.  Information about the forum can be found on the DelARF website.  To learn more and to download the Save-the-Date to share with your constituents go to our Calendar. Information about how to register for the event will be posted on our website as it become available.  Please put it on your calendar NOW!

Legislative Tracking:  DelARF is tracking all legislation introduced this year and those items held over from last year.  If you need information on a specific bill, call Connie or Tina at 302-622-9177 and we will be happy update you.  This information is regularly discussed at our Government Relations Commission meetings. 

Commission Update:  As a membership organization, much of our work and value comes from participation by members in our commission meetings.  By attending, you will gain valuable information in a timely fashion AND will have an opportunity to share strategies with your colleagues.  Now more than ever, this is important. For information about the role of each of our commissions here. Our meeting schedule for April can be downloaded from our Calendar page.   We update this monthly on our website so feel free to check in often.

Know YOUR Legislator:  For the past several years we have matched member program sites with our State Legislators’ districts.  As programs expand or move to different locations, it is important to advise us in the office.  If you have NOT updated your listing for this year, PLEASE call our office and we will email you our current listing for your organization.  Thanks for your help with this!!!

News from Dover

The last few months, I do not need to tell you, have been difficult.  We at DelARF are working for you to communicate your needs to our legislators, our state officials, and advocates and families within the disability network.  I will summarize what has been happening and what some of our initial plans are going forward.

JFC Hearings:  The Joint Finance Committee held their annual public hearings on the Governor’s Recommended Budget (GRB) for FY 09 during February.  DelARF staff and Commission Chairs testified at 5 different hearings:  Vocational Services Commission (VSC) testified at the Department of Labor Hearing; DelARF’s overall testimony was given at the DHSS Hearing after Secretary Meconi's testimony;  Developmental Disabilities Commission testified during the DDDS Hearing, Physical Disabilities Commission testified at the DSAAPD Hearing; and Behavioral Health Commission testified at the DSAMH Hearing. It was clear that the legislators were not receptive to requests for increases, given the economic situation.  Nevertheless, we needed to let them know that quality of care and service would be compromised if funding was eroded further.  Our testimonies all focused on these issues as well as our desire to be able to pay a living wage to our staff.  We also noted that we needed an increase to maintain the level of care that families, constituents, consumers, and citizens of Delaware expect. Copies of our testimony are available in the Publications section for Position Papers.

State Budget Update:  If you have been reading the News Journal, other local newspapers, listening to talk radio, or commiserating with your friends, then you are painfully aware of the budget crisis. The March 18 DEFAC (Delaware Economic and Financial Advisory Council) Report showed a dramatic decrease in revenue for the state since their last estimate in December 2007. The result of this projection is that the state is looking at a potential gap of $126 million in the current year’s budget.  This gap must be filled by June 30th.  Revenue for FY 09 is expected to fall another $200 million from the December 2007 estimates. (These were the estimates used by the Governor in preparing her budget for FY 09.)  Departments within state government are being asked NOW to submit revised budgets to reduce spending for FY 08 and FY 09.  Cuts I have learned about range from 8% to 15%.  The Governor has also instituted a hiring freeze.  I have posted two articles from the News Journal on our website for your review.

News Journal Articles about the state's budget cuts are available here:

State faces '08 budget shortfall: $126 million may be needed by June 30
Budget cuts could squeeze state agencies: Governor calls for additional 5% cuts in '09 spending

What DelARF is Doing During This Crisis:  First and foremost, we understand that our members have not had adequate increases for sometime and that this budget crisis may further erode your ability to meet our common missions:  to serve the people with disabilities and provide them with quality care and supports.   To that end, we have launched the following initiatives to date:

• I have contacted the division directors of each of the major divisions we work with to ask them to share their plans with us, to work with us in making any changes, and to tell us as soon as possible what we might expect in the way of changes in service delivery for our clients;
• I have created a “Speaking Points” document for all members to use when talking to policy makers about the valuable role that our members play in the system of care in Delaware.  Download the document for talking about the role of providers.
• We have begun to map out a “grassroots legislative campaign” that will ask each member agency to meet with specific legislators so that they can SEE and understand the importance of our work.  I will be updating you on this effort as it unfolds.

News from Washington

Medicaid Update:  Previous updates to our members have told you about the various changes that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) are trying to push through.  All of these initiatives will shift costs to the states and some will disenfranchise significant numbers of individuals and families. Since 42% of all Medicaid funding supports people with disabilities, this is a funding source we will monitor for our members.  (The Kaiser Family Foundation has just come out with “Medicaid’s Role for People with Disabilities”.  This is an excellent source of background information and current data.)  Right now we are watching two regulations:  the Medicaid Rehab Services Option proposed regulation and the Targeted Case Management final regulation (in effect since March 3, 2008.)  I met this week with our friends at DMMA (Division of Medicaid and Medical Assistance) and learned the following:

• Rehab Option:  This regulation has been delayed until June.  For the DDDS population, the approval of the new Self Directed Service Program waiver should cover those that would be disenfranchised if this regulation were to be final.  However, it will take about a year for that waiver to be approved and in place.  For the DSAHM population, this regulation is more problematic and no clear solutions have been found to date.  This regulation does not impact DSAAPD programs since does not apply to services under waivers.
• Targeted Case Management:  Technically this regulation has gone into effect.  The state has not received clear directives on its implementation from their regional office.  There will be a meeting on May 16 at the regional level to discuss the implementation.  DMMA officials did tell me that the TCM regulations will NOT apply to waivers until March of 2010 so we do  have some time to make changes in those programs.
• Confused Yet?  If you have not been following all of this with bated breath and don’t know what I am talking about or how these changes might impact you, you can call me (Connie at 622-9177) or you can read this excellent description of all of these changes done by the Kaiser Family Foundation. Follow this link for your copy.
• New Legislation Introduced to Stop CMS from Making These Changes: New legislation has been introduced to stop all of these regulation from going through. To view its content, follow this link and to see what Congress is doing about the regulations and how they impact states click here.

State Fiscal Crises: Delaware – 7th Most Stressed State:  If you are feeling the stress of all of these funding cuts, you are not alone.  According to a recent study by the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, Delaware is the 7th Most Stressed State in the country.  The study ranked states on three criteria:  changes in employment, the number of new food stamp applications and changes in the foreclosure rate.  To see the study follow this link.

How Other States are Dealing with Their Crises: To see what other states are doing to deal with their own fiscal crises go to this website from the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities.

  Success by Association