DDD Communication
March 22, 2024
QUICK NOTES
Earlier this week, the Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD) hosted a webinar to discuss the recently announced DDD Day Program: Recruitment and Retention Program (pdf). The webinar presented information on the distribution of the grant funding to eligible providers, the process for receiving the funding, and the use of the portal for submission of all required documents. The slides and the recording are available on the DDD Recorded Webinars webpage; the recording will be linked on the same webpage as soon as it is available.
If you have program questions, please email DHS.DDDComments@illinois.gov. If you have questions about the portal, please email DDDRecruitmentandRetentionProgram@ey.com.
- DDD continues to host Transition Fairs at each of the State-Operated Developmental Centers (SODCs), with the next fair scheduled for tomorrow, Saturday, March 23, 2024, at Murray Developmental Center. Below is the list of upcoming Transition Fairs.
- Murray Developmental Center: March 23, 2024, 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
- Kiley Developmental Center: April 29, 2024, 10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
- Shapiro Developmental Center: May 10, 2024, 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
- Mabley Developmental Center: June 22, 2024, 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
- Fox Developmental Center: July 20, 2024, 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
59 ILLINOIS ADMINISTRATIVE CODE 120 (RULE 120) UPDATE
DDD is thrilled to announce that Rule 120 has been officially adopted by the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (JCAR) effective March 21, 2024. We anticipate the Rule to appear in the April 5, 2024, volume of the Illinois Register. DDD will schedule information and/or training sessions regarding the new Rule to educate stakeholders in the near future. Thank you to all stakeholders who have been involved in the process to update this Rule. We appreciate your participation!
INTERMEDIATE CARE FACILITY (ICF) JANUARY 1 WAGE INCREASES
The Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS) continues to await approval of the State Plan Amendment (SPA) that includes the following proposed wage increases for ICF direct care staff:
- $2.50/hour Direct Support Professional (DSP)/ICF Aide wage increase; and
- Wage increases for other direct care staff (Nurses, QIDPs) to the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics average wages for those positions.
HFS anticipates an approval soon that it will be retroactive to January 1, 2024. This will mean ICF providers will receive funding to provide wage increases retroactive to January 1, 2024, and the expectation from HFS and DDD is that all providers will do that. The DDD Information Bulletin on the January 1, 2024, wage/rate increases includes information on both the Waiver and the ICF wage increases and the expectations regarding how the wages are to be passed through to staff.
REPORTING OF COMMUNITY SERVICES (ROCS) UPDATES
DHS ROCS version 6.15
DDD and the Department of Innovation and Technology (DoIT) are still on track to release ROCS version 6.15 on Tuesday, March 26, 2024. Agencies using the DHS ROCS version can upload the ROCS 6.15 version on or after Tuesday, March 26, 2024, at ROCS Version 6.15 Download Instructions.
ROCS 6.15 will not be available for uploading before next Tuesday as the release of ROCS 6.15 has to be coordinated with programming changes being put into the production process of adjudicating billing for the bill codes listed below. As a reminder, ROCS version 6.15 will be required for all billing submitted on or after April 1, 2024, for the following day program bill codes: 31C, 31U, 31V, 32G, 33G, 34G, 34U, 36G, 36U, 37U, 38C, and 38U, as well as the following additional staff support bill codes: 53D, 53R, and 53S.
Third Party ROCS Developers and Users
At this time, DoIT has posted instructions for Third Party ROCS Developers to modify Third Party ROCS for ROCS billing changes going into effect retroactive to January 1, 2024. All ROCS billing submitted on or after April 1, 2024, for the bill codes listed below will be required to have the updated ROCS in order for billing to reflect the correct amount. New edits will be put into production to check for Site IDs for the following bill codes for service dates of January 1, 2024, and later. The Third Party ROCS instructions include three new bill codes (32G, 34G and 34U) and how ROCS now requires a DD Site ID to be specified in billing for nearly all day program bill codes (31C, 31U, 31V, 32G, 33G, 34G, 34U, 36G, 36U, 37U, 38C and 38U) and additional staff support bill codes (53D, 53R and 53S).
Third Party Software Users link is: IDHS: Third Party Software Users (state.il.us)
Third Party Software File Specifications link is: Manown_06192019.pdf (state.il.us)
Volume III - Fee For Service link is: IDHS: Volume III - Fee for Service Billing (state.il.us)
DDD LITERACY TESTING UPDATE
It was recently brought to DDD's attention that there is an error in the Testing of Functional Literacy Information Bulletin. The Bulletin incorrectly stated that the CASAS scaled score of 235-238 is 34/40. The correct scaled score is 31/40. The Information Bulletin has been updated to reflect this.
SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS & ILLINOIS ABLE ACCOUNTS WEBINAR
The Social Security Administration (SSA) and Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) experts are hosting a national webinar to educate and inform disability stakeholders on SSA benefits, ABLE accounts, the role of the representative payee, and more. Please see below for webinar information including date, time, and registration.
Date: Thursday, April 4, 2024
Time: 12:00 p.m. CST
Registration: Social Security Administration and Achieving a Better Life Experience Registration
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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