DDD COMMUNICATION | September 12, 2024
GOVERNOR DECLARES THIS WEEK DIRECT SUPPORT PROFESSIONALS WEEK
DDD joins the Governor in our appreciation for Direct Support Professional across Illinois who ensure that people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families have the support they need to the lives of their choosing. Every day, as the backbone of support, DSPs help people work, live, learn and play in neighborhoods across the state and across the country. A caregiver comes in a variety of forms and at a variety of locations and all deserve thanks for the work they do. You work long hours in a demanding job providing care and supports to others while away from your own family. Your hard work and dedication do not go unnoticed. We value and appreciate the work you do for the people we are all here to serve. The following Proclamation was signed by the Governor on September 6, 2024:
WHEREAS, direct support professionals, including direct care workers, personal assistants, personal attendants, in-home support workers, and paraprofessionals, are essential to providing publicly funded, long-term support and services for thousands of children and adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities; and,
WHEREAS, direct support professionals ensure that individuals with intellectual/developmental disabilities thrive through connections to their families, friends, and communities, thereby avoiding more costly and segregating institutional care; and,
WHEREAS, many direct support professionals are the primary financial providers for their families and are hardworking, taxpaying citizens who provide a critical service in Illinois, a service that is historically undervalued due to low wages and inadequate benefits, which has resulted in high turnover and vacancy rates that adversely affect the quality of support, safety, and health of individuals with intellectual/developmental disabilities; and,
WHEREAS, the Illinois Department of Human Services, individuals with intellectual/developmental disabilities, their families, organized labor, and service provider stakeholders recognize the importance of direct support professionals and have worked to increase their wages and benefits through increased rates for services and support; and,
WHEREAS, Illinoisans recognize and celebrate the contributions of direct support professionals who help strengthen our communities by fostering greater inclusion of individuals with intellectual/developmental disabilities;
THEREFORE, I, JB Pritzker, Governor of the State of Illinois, do hereby proclaim September 8-14, 2024, as Direct Support Professionals Week in Illinois to recognize the dedication and vital role of direct support professionals in enhancing the lives of individuals of all ages with disabilities.
60D PAYMENT ISSUE
For those that may have missed the notice on Monday September 9 a message was sent out to providers from DoIT indicating that there may be billings issues for those billing 60D services. This issue should now be resolved. For those that billed 60D services from July to present whose billing was zeroed out in recent months without payment, those billings should now be able to receive payment, however, you will need to follow these steps to bill successfully. If you have not yet completed these steps you should have your payment processed next week.
If you look at your Fee for Services/Bill List screen you will see the zero balance. The issue has been identified and corrected on our side. You will need to resubmit your 60D bills with zero balance for processing again this week.
The steps needed to be completed are as follows:
1st - Process through the bills - make a small change like changing the 1st day from P to A so that the ROCS thinks that an adjustment to the bill is being made. This will cause ROCS to update the bill with an actual dollar amount.
2nd - Open the bill backup and undo the change - changing the A back to P as it should be. This will get the dollar amount to what it should be. Do this for all bills.
3rd - Once all bills have the correct dollar amount, submit them back in for processing.
If you have any further issues or questions please reach out to DoIT.ROCS@illinois.gov.
HEALTH RISK SCREENING TOOL (HRST) INFORMATION BULLETIN POSTED
The Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD) has posted a new Information Bulletin regarding the Health Risk Screening Tool. Questions regarding this IB should be sent to DHS.DDDComments@illinois.gov.
Here is the link for the webpage for all DDD Information Bulletins.
The information contained herein should not be considered a substitute for the appropriate official statutes, rules, regulations, or the advice of legal counsel.
To request to be added to our email database, or to update your contact and service information, please complete our Contact Survey.
Information provided will help us to better tailor communications to you in the future.
