CFS Self Directed Supports August Newsletter

Greetings CFS SDS Families!

Happy Summer!

Please review our CFS SDS Family & Individual Newsletter for important news and updates.

Highlights!

CFS SDS is profoundly grateful to Crane Charitable Funds and the Salovaara Family for their generous donation.

We are honored and proud to continue in our mission to provide personalized support for a meaningful life! As such the grant will support our SDS Aging and Expanded Support Program. Please see more on our Sustainability Project in this newsletter.

Workforce Team Updates

Please take note of some very important announcements from our Workforce Team.

1. Overtime (OT) & Manual Visit Verification (MVV): For self-hired employees submitting excessive MVV forms and working more than 40 hours weekly, the corresponding members of the circles of support (individual, designees, support broker, FI team) along with the employee will receive a formal memorandum regarding the matter and a protocol will be implemented to minimize MVV and/or OT occurrences.

As a reminder, employees must log their time and services contemporaneously utilizing their eVero Digital Agency applications on their mobile devices. The intent of the MVV form is to capture those employees' times for justifiable and excused motives while still adhering to Electronic Visit Verification (EVV) protocols.

Overtime is not permissible and unsustainable. Employees are to work the weekly hours as indicated in the budget. The work week is Saturday-Friday and anything more than 40 hours in a work week is considered overtime. For information related to our MVV and OT protocols and any employee related matters, please contact the Workforce Team at: _DL-SDSWorkforce@cfsny.org

2. Future News: Stay tuned for more information regarding our License Event Notification Service (LENS) which will supply important information about the driving qualifications of drivers that you employ or regulate.

Other future news: self-hired employees will receive information regarding OPWDD required annual refresher trainings.

3. Self-Hired Staff YouTube Videos/Trainings: Watch Now >>

OPWDD Updates

2024 Self-Direction Budget Template

With the approval of the 2024-25 NYS Budget, a revised Self-Direction Budget Template is being prepared for release.

The adopted 2.84% Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) is applied to:

Personal Resource Allocation (PRA)
Hourly Brokerage Fee
Monthly FI Fee

*It is important to note that while the new budget template has been released and allows for increased rates those rates (i.e., brokerage fee, FI fee, self-hired services, direct provider fees) have not yet taken effect as the increased fees are pending NYS Department of Budget approval. Please discuss further with your circle members (support broker and FI Managers of work around options and alternatives in the interim).

Additional Updates Include:

Housing Subsidy payments increased to 2024 standards
Housing Subsidy administrative fee will auto-calculate

Maximizing Budget Lines

Self-Direction budgets can include Self-Hired staffing or not. If they do include Self-Hired staffing (community habilitation, respite or SEMP), we do request that you work with your Broker and Team to utilize these services.

If you do not wish to utilize the service, please work with your Support Broker to amend the budget to remove Self-Hired Community Habilitation and/or Self-Hired Respite and SEMP. Please note that if your needs change, the budget can be amended to include the service in the future. The budget should be an accurate representation of your current needs/interests and is able to be amended as your needs/interests change.

As your FI, we have a variety of trainings that can help to address any barriers you are experiencing to identify, hire, and manage self-hired staff.

Individual and Family Meetings

Next Family Meeting TBA

Topics welcome! Please email jsolis@cfsny.org

Sustainability Project

Dr. Laurie Yankowitz hosts a series of video conference sessions geared toward Self-Direction Connection and guided instruction to support relatives and friends of self-directing individuals interested in stepping up when parents are ill or have passed on. This project is designed to ease supporters into more active roles that allows parents to see that others can gradually take the reins.

Funding via IDGS Coaching/ education for parent(s), spouse and advocates involved in the person’s self-directed services is possible.

Click Here if Interested in Learning More >>

Policies/Procedures (Reminders)

Our policy and procedure manual has been completed and published. We have shared via various platforms with families and brokers (webpage, lifeplan meetings, broker meeting).

Click for a copy of the policy and procedure manual >>

School Survey

Effective September 5th, for SD school-aged participants, our software system will be impede the ability of self-hired employees to work and log in time via eVero and/or Workforce. Per OPWDD requirements individuals who are in K-12 cannot utilize community habilitation or respite hours during regular scheduled school hours, including sick or snow days or if they are using home instruction. This is due to the Federal rules stating Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) Waiver services (including Community Habilitation and Respite) cannot be provided to individuals enrolled in K-12 education during scheduled time for educational instruction.

Summer School Survey >>

Individual/Families Friendly Reminders to:

Review self-hired employee rosters daily

Please utilize the capability of "raise issue" in your employees rosters if there is an issue so as to not process incorrect sessions. Please contact Workforce for more information on navigating this function.

Review self-hired staff activity fees and mileage requests daily, check for accuracy

Review support broker invoices

Review all areas of FI reviews when distributed and follow up with the respective circle of support members needed for FI requested documentation. FI and QA team can enforce the SDS Compliance Protocol.

Ensure that if applicable, monthly summary notes are completed by the 10th of the following month. Monthly summary notes must be completed for the self-hired community habilitation service regardless if the service did not occur or if there is no staff.

If you received a request to complete staff's evaluation please click on the evero link in that email request to complete.

Please attach all justification forms to applicable invoice requests (this includes out of state transportation requests).

eVero

Please click here for:

eVero software release notifications >>

eVero software webinar/trainings >>

eVero Ed Videos >>

eVero App >>

eVero Budget Summary Actions >>

They give users the ability to view, export, and download associated budget details with one simple click. Maximize efficiency and spend less time in the system completing budget reviews with these instant Budget Summary Actions.