Dear Stakeholders,
This legislative session the Illinois General Assembly passed, and Governor Pritzker signed, a budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 that provides $209M in new funding towards I/DD services! This is after an investment of $170M in FY 2022. These are historic increases bringing the Division of Developmental Disabilities FY 2023 budget just shy of $2.4 billion.
With this funding, the Division of Developmental Disabilities will be able to invest additional resources into the service system, including implementing all promised deliverables for FY 2023 as outlined in the Guidehouse Study Implementation Plan.
Highlights include:
- The average waiver DSP wage reimbursement will increase from $16.00/hour to $17.00/hour across the State of Illinois. Changes will be effective January 1, 2023, pending Federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) approval.
- The average CILA DSP wage reimbursement will increase from $16.00/hour to $19.55/hour in Chicago, Cook and the collar counties (effective January 1, 2023 pending Federal CMS approval).
- 700 new adult PUNS pulls and 100 children's Home-Based Support PUNS pulls. This is the first time in 12 years we've been able to do a children's PUNS pull!
- Increasing visits by Independent Service Coordination (ISC) agencies to 4 visits per year (from 2). This reinstates the quarterly visit schedule that ended in FY 2018 and will ensure waiver funded residents have independent support and monitoring.
- Funding parity with DCFS for Children's Group Homes.
- A 2% COLA for all Division grant lines as well as services including Independent Service Coordination (ISC) agencies and Community Living Facilities (CLF) (effective January 1, 2023 pending Federal CMS approval).
- Funding to cover the increase in the Home-Based spending.
- Funding to maintain the FY 22 increases recommended by the Guidehouse Rate Study. Note: without this additional funding we would not be able to continue the current FY 22 Guidehouse recommended rate increases.
- Implementation of the Guidehouse recommended CILA Rate Calculator, effective January 1, 2023 (pending Federal CMS approval), which will provide a new methodology and updated rates to determine an individual's rate for services including:
- Using the Health Risk Screening Tool to refine rate setting
- Adjusting base nursing and medication administration hours by the individual waiver recipient's needs
- Implementing a regionalization factor that will provide an additional 15% on CILA residential wage rates for Chicago, Cook, and the collar counties (as noted above)
- Updating rates and/or percentages for room and board, transportation, employee related expenses, program, and administration
I am so very proud of these unprecedented investments in the service system and the impact it will make in the years ahead. When I started as the Director the DSP reimbursement was $11.96/hour and now we'll be moving to $17.00/hour across the state. The Division directly supports over 1600 individuals in our State Operated Developmental Centers and funds services and supports for close to 3800 in in ICF/DDs and over 22,000 (and growing!) in waiver funded community-based services. We partner with over 300 community-based providers that work hard each and every day to provide quality services and supports to individuals with I/DD and their families, despite staffing shortages and a range of daily challenges. They should be commended for their dedication and resiliency during these difficult times.
The Division is committed to working with all our stakeholders to continue the momentum and investment in the service system and work towards increasing access to services, the quality of services and increased funding to ensure the Illinois system is strong.
I am thankful to Governor Pritzker, to the Illinois General Assembly, and to all of the stakeholders who have advocated to invest and strengthen the DD system! Thank you for your partnership!
Sincerely,
Allison Stark
Director
Division of Developmental Disabilities
The information contained herein should not be considered a substitute for the appropriate official statutes, rules, regulations, or the advice of legal counsel.
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