Illinois Department of Human Services Day Program: Recruitment and Retention Program FAQ's
DHS Day Program: Recruitment and Retention Program - March 18, 2024 (slide deck) PDF
DHS Day Program: Recruitment and Retention Program - March 18, 2024 (recording link)
Program Questions
1. Q: Can Day Program therapists be included in the Personnel expenditures on the Personnel tab of the budget?
A: Yes, the funding can be used for all front line/direct care staff, including Day Program therapists.
2. Q: When will I receive the funds tied to my award amount?
A: The Recruitment and Retention Program is a reimbursement-based grant program. Your organization will be reimbursed for allowable and approved expenses following the submission of periodic financial report (PFR).
3. Q: Do management staff who also are front line workers/Qualified Intellectual Disability Professionals (QIDP) qualify for reimbursement?
A: Only those individuals providing direct care services to the individuals in the eligible programs qualify.
4. Q: Do Self-Direction Assistance (SDA) and residential/Community Integrated Living Arrangement (CILA) workers qualify for reimbursement or only Community Day Services (CDS) staff?
A: Only direct care workers in eligible programs qualify. SDA and CILA/residential would not qualify.
5. Q: Are costs associated with obtaining accreditation or membership and participation in the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) reimbursable under the grant?
A: The purpose of the funding, per the legislation, is to provide reimbursement for recruitment and retention efforts of direct care workers, however, if you feel accreditation, membership, etc. helps with recruitment/retention, you can submit it in your budget with a detailed justification in your narrative. DHS will review and make a determination.
6. Q: Are costs associated with extra personal days to meet the requirements of the Paid Time Off Law allowable under the grant?
A: The purpose of the funding, per the legislation, is to provide reimbursement for recruitment and retention efforts of direct care workers, however, if you feel extra personal days helps with recruitment/retention, you can submit it in your budget with a detailed justification in your narrative. DHS will review and make a determination. Reminder, you still must meet the requirements of the Paid Leave for All Workers Act.
7. Q: What type of products can be reimbursed through the grant?
A: Any products that directly impact your organization's recruitment and retention efforts are appropriate to be submitted in your proposed budget.
8. Q: If we don't have a Supported Employment Program (SEP) yet, but have been planning one - can the reimbursements through the grant include the staff start-up costs and related to get this program up and running?
A: No, this grant is only available for the recruitment and retention efforts for current programs.
9. Q: We had FY23 bonuses that were paid out in FY24. What is the timeframe for the bonuses to be reimbursable under the grant?
A: Payments or bonuses that occurred anytime in FY24 (July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024) to direct care workers can be submitted for reimbursement. Enter the specifics into your budget and corresponding narrative.
10. Q: Are Christmas bonuses for direct care staff considered an allowable cost in the program?
A: Yes, these are considered an allowable cost.
11. Q: Do bonuses for administrative staff qualify for reimbursement if they are cross-trained and help Direct Support Persons (DSP) with their duties at some point of the day?
A: Per the legislative language of the grant, non-administrative staff, unless they are providing direct care, are not eligible for this program. This grant is specifically for direct care frontline staff.
12. Q: Are longevity awards and pay increases based on employee retention allowable?
A: Yes, please provide detailed information within your budget related to your retention plan.
13. Q: Can we be reimbursed for paying multiple bonuses moving forward? For example, one in April and again in June?
A: Yes, this is an allowable cost. Payments or bonuses that occurred anytime in FY24 (July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024) to direct care workers can be submitted for reimbursement in your budget and will be eligible for reimbursement.
14. Q: Are sign on bonuses included?
A: Yes, sign on bonuses are allowable. If your organization has open positions that you plan on distributing sign on bonuses as part of the hiring package, enter this information into your budget and provide detail in the narrative. You would receive reimbursement for the sign on bonuses following the bonuses being paid to the new employees.
15. Q: Are expenses for any staff working in waiver services allowed within the program?
A: Yes, it is reimbursable. The grant funding is specifically for day programs. Direct care staff in Community Day Services (CDS), Supported Employment Program (SEP), and for waiver services, specifically, would be allowable.
16. Q: Can the funding be used for raises?
A: No, the recruitment and retention grants are "one-time" payments related to bonuses and cannot be used to fund employee raises.
17. Q: Are advances allowed? If so, how do we apply for them?
A: No, this is reimbursement-based grant program. No advances will be occur.
18. Q: Are employment specialists, (those who work with and perform employment services for people with disabilities), considered direct care staff to qualify for the grant?
A: Yes, employment specialists are considered direct care staff.
19. Q: Is there an age requirement/restriction for this program?
A: An individual must meet any age, eligibility and qualification requirements to be a Direct Support Person (DSP) or Qualified Intellectual Disabilities Professional (QIDP) or any other direct care staff that are eligible to receive bonuses or funding for this program.
20. Q: Would staff providing At-Home Day Program (37U) qualify for reimbursement?
A: No, this is specifically for Community Day Services (CDS) and Supportive Employment Program (SEP) on the waiver side and developmental training on the Intermediate Care Facilities (ICF) side.
21. Q: In terms of the level of detail required for application, is this consistent with other grant agreements (i.e. DMH one time funding)?
A: Generally, yes, the expectations with the uniform grant requirements and budget submissions will be like other programs. However, unlike other programs, this program does not have an application process.
22. Q: If the grant request isn't completely approved, will there be an opportunity to resubmit it for approval?
A: Yes, items that were not initially approved in your budget submission can be resubmitted with additional information. DHS will provide feedback and answer questions on items that were not approved.
23. Q: If the day program is only for current programs, how will that help eliminate the direct providers deserts that exist because the direct providers discontinued services?
A: Our hope is that those programs that do still exist would focus, or would consider expansion, by being able to recruit new staff into those areas, or those that have discontinued services may consider going back into those areas.
24. Q: How will we know that the budget that is due on May 15 will have been approved in time to submit the expense report on May 15?
A: Following the submission of your budget, you will receive updates and notifications related to the status.
25. Q: If we are an agency that provides Community Day Services (CDS), Supported Employment Program (SEP) and residential support and already pay for advertising support as a whole agency, can we charge a percentage of that to the grant that would be applicable for CDS, SEP?
A: Yes, this is allowable as long as the costs to be reimbursed are tied to SEP or CDS programs. Provide detailed information in your budget and narrative to explain the methodology used to apply advertising costs to SEP or CDS programs.
26. Q: If there are employees who work both in the Community Day Services (CDS) programs and in our Community Integrated Living Arrangement (CILA) program, would they be eligible for bonuses?
A: Yes, as long as employees are working under Community Day Services (CDS) and they are direct care staff, they will be eligible for bonus reimbursement from the day program.
27. Q: Can you provide more detailed information on reimbursement for training? Is it only for new staff or can it be used for existing staff?
A: Training related to the program will be reimbursed for both new and existing staff.
28. Q: Will training already provided for onboarding staff, such as Direct Support Program (DSP) training, for new hires within the first expense window be eligible for reimbursement?
A: Training that was provided after July 1, 2023, would qualify. However, Direct Support Program training is already a part of the rate methodology for day programming specifically Community Day Services (CDS) and therefore, it would not qualify for reimbursement because it is already being reimbursed through the rate methodology.
29. Q: Are costs with job board sites with subscription fees, such as Indeed, eligible?
A: Yes, the cost with subscription fees for job board sites are eligible for reimbursement. These activities are considered recruitment and retention efforts.
Portal Questions:
30. Q: How do we access the portal to view information on the program and our award?
A: You should have received an email from the HFS.CARESappnotification@illinois.gov email address if you were the contact person for your organization for this award. In the email you received from them, you will click "forgot password". You will be prompted to reset your password. Once your password has been reset, you can login and view your award. If you have not received an email from HFS.CARESappnotification@illinois.gov, please email DDDRecruitmentandRetentionProgram@ey.com for assistance.
31. Q: If I already have a login to the Illinois Health and Family Services (HFS) portal from the COVID funding, do I need to receive an email and answer "forgot password" in order to see the funding?
A: If an existing account is already active from a previous program, then the user should have received an email requesting confirmation of correct contact information to the email address on file. If you confirmed that the email address on file is correct, your account was linked to the DHS award, and you will not have to reset the password. To see the award information, go to the "Manage Applications - DHS DD" section.
32. Q: Can multiple people have access to the portal?
A: No, only one authorized representative can have access to the portal.
Q: What do I do if I have successfully logged into the portal, but I do not see the DHS award?
A: Only the authorized representative per organization will have access to view the details of the award and access budget template, UGA, and expense report files. Contact DDDRecruitmentandRetentionProgram@ey.com to confirm that you are the authorized representative or to request a change of contact information.
Q: Why am I unable to log-in to the portal?
A: Please reach out to DDDRecruitmentandRetentionProgram@ey.com for assistance.
Miscellaneous Questions:
33. Q: Will the entire $12.5M in funding be distributed among the approved Day Program Recruitment & Retention Grant recipients?
A: Yes, all $12.5M will be distributed among the eligible day program providers.
34. Q: Do organizations already know how much they are being awarded in reimbursements?
A: The portal provides the award amount. If you need to request the information, you can email DHS.DDDComments@illinois.gov or DDDRecruitmentandRetentionProgram@ey.com.
35. Q: Grant amounts are pre-populated in the Portal. In the event that not all of the registered providers submit applications, what would be the plans for non-expended funds?
A: Funds will be dispersed evenly through other providers who did submit an application and receive grant funding until all funding is expensed.
36. Q: Where can we find the application to apply as a new provider/ facility?
A: There are no applications. This reimbursement program is specifically for recruitment and retention of direct care workers in the Community Day Services (CDS) and Supported Employment Program (SEP) through the wavier program and also for developmental training for Intermediate Care Facilities (ICF).
37. Q: Is 24-hour Community Integrated Living Arrangement (CILA) considered a waiver program?
A: CILA is considered a waiver program, however, it is not an eligible program for this grant. CILA funding is not a part of this program. This program is for recruitment and retention of direct care workers in day programing, specifically Community Day Services (CDS) and Supportive Employment Programs (SEP) through the waiver program and also for developmental training for Intermediate Care Facilities (ICF).
38. Q: Is the Home-Based Support program considered a waiver program?
A: Yes, Home Based Support programs are considered a waiver program. However, Home-Based Support it is not eligible for this grant program. This program is specifically for day programming across waiver and Intermediate Care Facilities (ICF).
