The Arc of Florida Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief: Room and Board Litigation Update. On April 4, The Arc of Florida filed a complaint for declaratory and injunctive relief when it was learned that Disability Rights Florida, Inc. (DRF), in their role of auditing Representative Payee programs for the Social Security Administration, was placing group homes on corrective action plans and demanding that group homes reimburse residents for charging rates above those set in APD OP 3-001. The Arc of Florida believed this was unlawful and filed the complaint in circuit court. Although the Complaint is still pending, since the filing of the complaint DRF has written to at least two of our providers advising that it will no longer rely on APD OP 3-001 to limit the amount that providers may charge residents for room and board. In a letter to a provider DRF stated that the corrective action plan previously imposed is modified to remove references to reimbursing clients when they were "overcharged." Further, DRF has stated in writing that based on advice from APD, the OP is now being interpreted to govern only the amount that APD will reimburse providers when client funds are insufficient to cover the costs of room and board, and does not govern the amount providers may charge for room and board. This was an important issue since many group homes have closed their doors over the past few years. Not only did the room and board rate "caps" set in 2014 not meet the costs of housing our clients, but they also were likely the cause of many group homes closing because they could no longer afford to do business. Providers of group homes can apply a fair room and board rate to keep their homes in good working order, safe for everyday living and in the event of natural disasters. Some providers may even be able to update homes to allow individuals with disabilities to age in place, for example, remodeling a bathroom to accommodate shower chairs as the health of residents declines due to the aging process. The goal is to ensure that you can meet the needs of those we serve in relation to room and board. We will continue to update providers on this issue until it is resolved by the court.
Sine Die – No rate increase – What now? The budget was approved by the Legislature on Friday, May 5 and now goes to Governor DeSantis, who has the line-item veto power. The budget goes into effect July 1. In the end, the rate increase was not included in this year’s budget. With regarding to the iBudget waiver, the waiver support coordinators did receive a 10% increase. Also, the Legislature did remove last year’s proviso requiring providers to sign a document that each Direct Support Professional makes $15/hr. This means that this mandate will go away July 1. In addition, some providers received special projects that still need to survive a veto.

Some additional budget issues which occurred:
Agency for Persons with Disabilities:
  • $80 million to remove people from the iBudget Waiver Waiting List.
  • Language allowing transfer from Waiting List to enroll 600 people from Miami-Dade into a new pilot program to provide comprehensive managed care services to people on the Waiting List.
  • $30 million for local fixed capital outlay projects (appropriations project requests).
  • $21 million for fixed capital outlay for state-operated institutions.
  • $11.5 million to provide dental services for APD clients.
  • $6 million for a rate increase for Waiver Support Coordinators (estimated 10% increase).
  • $3 million and 35 new positions for APD regional offices.
  • $3.7 million to continue iConnect.
  • 5% across-the-board pay raise for all state employees.
  • $2.8 million for additional discretionary pay raises for APD personnel.
  • $0.5 million and 7 new positions for Adult Day Training licensure and monitoring.
  •  $1.3 million and 12.5 new positions for APD IT staff.
  • $1.1 million for group home medical reviews.
  • $17.7 million provided to increase personal needs allowance for people living in ICF/DD’s (both state and privately operated), nursing homes, and other residential facilities from $130 to $160 per month.
  • $4.9 million provided for private ICF/DD rate increase.
  • Department of Economic Opportunity/Housing Finance Corporation
  • $252 million for State Housing Initiatives Housing Partnership (SHIP) – state law requires 20% of funding to be used for special needs populations (funding provided in SB 102, already approved by Governor)
The cascading challenges we addressed with policymakers impacting client services will need to be addressed in other ways. The advocacy this past year was not effective. Although all legislators were informed of the desperate need, there wasn’t action taken by policymakers to address the need. As the minimum wage goes up, state employee salaries doing similar work increases, Appendix K goes away, American Rescue Plan Act money ends July 1, and inflation continues, we will need to find a better way to impact the legislative session. With so many lobbyists supporting our efforts for an increase in the rate for the iBudget and having met with those who could have impacted the budget, it is time to reconsider our advocacy. Speaking with one voice is still the primary goal, but there must be a change. If you have any suggestions, please let me know as we start preparing for next year’s legislative session. I have lots of ideas, but am eager to hear yours. Please let me know at alan@arcflorida.org
The Bike to the Beach Florida Ride is a wrap! On Saturday, May 6, Team Arc Riders, Gabriel Parra (Executive Director, The Arc of South Florida), Alan Abramowitz (CEO, The Arc of Florida) and Dustin Goodwyn (Operations Manager, The Arc of Florida) rode like the wind to raise money for autism and disABILITIES.

We surpassed our team goal and raised a total of $3,445.00 and Team Arc was ranked in 7th place. BIG THANKS all who donated and to our cheering section!

Thank you for your advocacy! If you want additional information regarding this issues, please contact our CEO Alan Abramowitz at alan@arcflorida.org or 850.241.3232.