DIRECTOR'S NOTE - 2025 END OF YEAR RECOGNITION
Dear DDD Community,
As this year comes to a close, I want to reflect on the forward progress made this year in the continuum of Developmental Disabilities services that support individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities lead by the Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD) in partnership with individuals receiving services, families, service providers, case managers and advocates. Throughout the year, DDD has focused on engaging stakeholders with lived expertise and strengthening the structures, policies, and supports that allow providers to deliver services that are safe, high-quality, and responsive to individual needs and choices.
The following section outlines key efforts undertaken by DDD this year to support providers and improve service delivery statewide.
1. Grew investment and transparency in Residential and Meaningful Day waiver services through technology efforts and continued implementation of the Guidehouse Rate Study recommendations including:
- Completed an updated rate calculator available to all providers to utilize to better understand and project possible rates.
- Continued in the investment of frontline staff with the increase of $1/hour on January 1, 2025, for DSPs and ICF aides and the FY26 enacted budget including a $0.80/hour increase and increasing the homebased budget by 5%.
- Moved to final steps in transiting away from use of Lotus 132, the first and oldest part of the billing system. This project work will be completed in early 2026.
- Continued implementation of the 3-bed home incentive, which resulted in 17 new smaller homes opening.
- Funded a $2M grant to 15 agencies for funding, training and technical assistance related to building supported employment programs, increased funding for small group supported employment rate of 40% on the wage rate effective January 1, 2025 and increased in the Personal Needs Allowance for individuals living in CILA beginning January 1, 2025, from $60 to $100 monthly.
2. Expanded and strengthened HCBS waiver services, growing the waiver population, adding waiver services and capacity and continuing oversight through waiver operations and surveying and reviews.
- Met reasonable pace selection of individuals off the PUNS list, adding 731 individuals in the waiver in FY25 and selecting individual waiting between 45 and 60 months. Added smaller, more frequent selections from PUNS, during the year to address the individuals with the very highest wait times so they do not have to wait a full year to apply for services.
- Supported 39 DCFS youth to transition to adult waiver services.
- Received and processed more than 10,579 individual funding requests.
- Received approval from CMS for all 3 DDD waiver amendments with an effective date of 01/01/2026.
- Submitted Waiver Performance Measure data for FY23, FY24, and FY25 submitted to CMS for all 3 DDD Waivers
- Supported the IMPACT revalidation of 6,000 providers, and helped to ensure that there were minimal late revalidations.
- Completed the roll out of the Specialty Telehealth and Assessment Team (STAT) service. Almost 2000 people have taken up this service thus far and 857 calls were made between July and October 2025.
- Issued 19 provisional CILA licenses and 3 provisional CDS certificates to new providers and inspected and approved 121 new CILA sites and 13 new CDS sites by BALC.
3. Continue to respond to the needs of those individuals going into crisis needing community supports including:
- Supported 166 adults and 53 children entered waiver services via crisis so far in calendar year 2025.
- Served 919 individuals through Support Services Team (SST) and 74 people TIER 2, providing general services to more than 8,211 services since inception.
- Provided 9 diversions from SODC placement, 10 long term placements and 12 new placements through Stabilization Homes. Released a competitive bid process that is resulting in 32 new stabilization homes rolling out starting January 2026.
- Funded 118 providers to train staff on de-escalation methods to support individuals with high behavioral support needs.
4. State Operated Development Center (SODC) Operations and Transformation continued including:
- Continued implementation of the SODC Camera Project with 5 of 7 SODCs utilizing camera footage and the remaining 2 centers are expected to go live by the end of FY26.
- Completed 11 grand round trainings for clinical staff and the initial "train the trainer" for Safety Care, the evidenced based de-escalation model, with training for SODCs employees that began in July 2025.
- Continued partnerships with Southern Illinois University, Equip for Equality and the Illinois League of Advocates for the Developmentally Disabled (ILADD) among other stakeholders.
- Grew the community placement list move from 268 to 319. Managed 519 transition visits to community providers from January to October 2025.
- Transitioned/transferred 93 of the originally identified 123 Choate residents to desired environments.
- Implemented the Reintegration Funding Program, which has supported 16 individuals are currently using this program.
- Expanded recent SST contract to provide more support for individuals transitioning out of SODC's and assisted 54 people who are transiting from an SODC to community supports.
- Completed identification and hiring of Safety Officers at the SODCs and held a Safety Summit at Shapiro Center in September with Mabley Center preparing for their Safety Summit in the Spring of 2026.
- Supported numerous individuals living at Choate and Kiley Developmental Centers participated in Special Olympics Events and placed.
- Opened the Cozy Cafe at Shapiro Center for staff and individuals...great cheeseburgers!
5. Increased DDD transparency and engagement through communications and strategic planning with DD stakeholders.
- Sent 94 DD Communications and responded timely through the DD Comments email inbox, adding over 1,000 new subscribers to the DDD Communications weekly emails.
- Posted 23 Draft Information Bulletins for Public Comment and posted 18 Information Bulletins (IB) as Final including 6 clinically focused IBs.
- Collected data and feedback from more than 1000 stakeholders for the DDD Strategic Planning Process through 3 townhall meetings, a survey and focus groups with a goal of releasing the DDD Strategic Planning Roadmap in early 2026.
Thank you for your partnership and for all you do each day to support individuals and families across our state. I look forward to continuing this important work together in the year ahead.
Sincerely,
Tonya Piephoff - Director, IDHS Division of Developmental Disabilities
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