February 2024 Newsletter

Advocacy

ad·vo·ca·cy /ˈadvəkəsē/

noun

defined as the public support for or recommendation of a particular cause or policy.

As a citizen of the Commonwealth of Virginia, one of your greatest responsibilities is to help elect the legislators who represent all Virginians. But your role in the democratic process of government does not end at the polls. By sharing your opinions and ideas with your elected officials, you help them resolve issues and evaluate pending legislation. Senators or Delegates want to hear from their constituents, that includes YOU. Writing an effective letter or email is a way to correspond with them. Be sure to write the Senator or Delegate who represents you.

• Be sure to include your contact information. Even in an email, include your full name, home address, phone number and email address. You may not get a response from them if you do not include your contact information.
• The date you are writing the letter or email.
• Keep the letter or email brief, to the point, and no more than one page.
• Be courteous and do not use vulgar or profane language.
• Clearly state the purpose of your correspondence and provide an example of the situation you are trying to address.
• Thank the Senator or Delegate for taking the time to read the letter.
• If you are writing about a specific bill or resolution, include the bill or resolution number. (Senate Bill: “SB___”, House Bill: ”HB___”)

Below we are providing a template that you can use to reach out to your legislators. We have included the bills that we would like to have your support in advocating for, as you also advocate for others that we know many of you want to see passed as well. Follow us on social media to find out about other important bills that you may also not be aware of! It is imperative that we all put our VOICES IN MOTION to save consumer directed services and improve the system. Please use this template as an example, however it is very important to fill in all the personalized parts in order for it to be effective.

We are all in this together! Let's make CHANGES HAPPEN for our families!

Have you taken the steps needed to prepare for the changes for Legally Responsible Individuals in the role of the Attendant? It is imperative that we begin to process any changes needed ASAP as it generally takes a few weeks for things to get approved and set up with the MCO's and fiscal agents. We know many of you are advocating to see change, however we highly advise preparing for these changes to avoid the inevitable service interruptions that will come March 1st for all who have not prepared.

REMEMBER Starting March 1st 2024:

• Employee (Attendant) and Employer (EOR) cannot both be Legally Responsible Individuals (LRIs) for the same Consumer (the child).
• Example: If Mom is the attendant and Dad (or Stepdad) is the EOR, one of those things must change by 3/1/2024. 
• In order for Mom as a LRI (in the example above) to continue to be the attendant, the following two things must happen:
• A new EOR must be identified, and they must:
• Live within a 50 mile radius of the child receiving services
• Your Service Facilitator will need to complete a DMAS-95B form on the new EOR and complete additional documentation
• Receive EOR training 
• Complete an Extraordinary Care Questionnaire, then Service Facilitator and Authorizing Entity must sign off on it.
• The attendant will need to fill out a new LRI packet
• Since the LRI (mom in the example above) has to be the attendant of last resort, the EOR must also fill out an Extraordinary Care Form and prove that there are no other options outside of the home to hire an attendant. Proof of the attempts made in the last 6 weeks may include:
• Copies of ads placed
• Notes from interviews of other attendants (besides the LRI)
• A documented history of other attendants that didn't work out, high turnover
• Medical/Behavioral Specialist documentation supporting special medical or behavioral needs, also documented in the plan of care.
• Documentation indicating that language is a factor in service delivery, meaning there are not others around that speak the child's language (or ASL) that could be the paid attendant.

**Reminder: The LRI Guardrails will impact those using Agency Directed & Consumer Directed Services.**

Your copy should address 3 key questions: Who am I writing for? (Audience) Why should they care? (Benefit) What do I want them to do here? (Call-to-Action)

Create a great offer by adding words like "free" "personalized" "complimentary" or "customized." A sense of urgency often helps readers take an action, so think about inserting phrases like "for a limited time only" or "only 7 remaining"!