~~“While the Agency’s mission of employment and independence for Georgian with Disabilities remains the same, the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), which was signed into law in July 2014, brought changes to the way GVRA serves clients with disabilities. WIOA’s implementing regulations went into effect on October 18, 2016. GVRA has been updating policies and procedures to adhere to the changes and improvements in services to individuals with disabilities. One major tenant in the Act relates to services to students with disabilities (age 14 to 22) where GVRA will provide pre-employment transition services (Pre-ETS) to groups of students in secondary education and identified as being served on an IEP or 504 and who are therefore potentially eligible to receive pre-ETS. Another major focus of the Act is to serve eligible youth with disabilities age 14 to 24 who are not in school or training and provide them with services that will lead to competitive employment. “
“Georgia begins process to address new regulations issued by CMS for Home and Community Based Services. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) have issued regulations that define the settings in which it is permissible for states to pay for Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS), otherwise known as waiver services. The purpose of these new regulations is to ensure that individuals receive Medicaid HCBS in settings that are integrated and that support full access to the greater community. This includes opportunities to seek employment and work in competitive and integrated settings, engage in community life, control personal resources, and receive services in the community to the same degree as individuals who do not receive HCBS.”
Georgia Medicaid Comprehensive Supports Waiver Program (COMP) Renewal Implementation FAQs
“On February 23, 2017, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) approved renewal of the Comprehensive Supports Waiver Program (COMP) through March 31, 2021. The renewal reflects collaborative work by the Georgia Departments of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD) and Community Health (DCH) over a two-year period involving an in-depth review of services requirements, a complex rate study, and a one-year needs analysis of all waiver participants served in community residential settings.”
Georgia: “Medicaid waiver renewal approved for Georgians with intellectual and developmental disabilities”
“The Georgia Departments of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD) and Community Health (DCH) are pleased to announce that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has approved renewal of the Comprehensive Supports Waiver Program (COMP) through March 31, 2021. This approval follows collaborative work by the departments over a two-year period involving a complex residential cost study, service rate adjustments, and a one-year needs analysis for all waiver participants served in community residential settings. New rates for community residential, community living support, and respite services will go into effect March 1, 2017.
The COMP waiver currently serves nearly 8,000 Georgians with intellectual and developmental disabilities. At the heart of the renewal request is Georgia’s desire to strengthen the provider network and support the delivery of high-quality and accountable care to vulnerable citizens. The renewal includes the following important improvements for waiver participants. It incorporates a tiered reimbursement rate for service providers that correlates to the level of residential services provided; expands respite services; restructures the rate for in-home community living support; and expands community living support to allow shared services among participants who wish to live independently as housemates but require supervision and some assistance.”
~~“Besides GCDD's Public Policy Team trolling the halls of the Gold Dome to speak with legislators about the need for more DD Waivers and more funding for Inclusive Post-Secondary Education, we have also hosted 2 advocacy days so far. On February 1st we spoke about the need for more DD Waiver funding and more funding for Inclusive Post-Secondary Education. …
~~“Any individual hired into subminimum wage employment after July 22, 2016, must receive CC&IR services once every six months the first year of employment and annually thereafter. All individuals employed at subminimum wage prior to July 22, 2016, require CC&IR services once by July 22, 2017, and annually thereafter. Employers should review any documents provided by the employee indicating that such counseling has been provided. The employer is required to verify the employee's completion of these services, and review and obtain any relevant documentation from the employee.
Under the WIOA amendments, employers are prohibited from compensating any individual with a disability who is 24 years of age or younger at subminimum wage, unless the individual has received documentation from GVRA upon completion of the following activities:
Pre-employment transition services or transition services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Applied for vocational rehabilitation services, and the individual was determined:
Ineligible for vocational rehabilitation services. Eligible for vocational rehabilitation services, has an approved Individualized Plan for Employment, and the individual was unable to achieve an employment outcome in competitive integrated employment.”
Justice Department Sues Georgia for Unnecessarily Segregating Students with Disabilities
The Lawsuit is the First Challenge to a State-Run School System for Segregating Students with Disabilities The Justice Department announced today that it has filed a lawsuit against the state of Georgia alleging that its treatment and segregation of students with disabilities in the Georgia Network for Educational and Therapeutic Support (GNETS) Program violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency (GVRA) “A New Focus on Transition: New Federal Regulations and New Initiatives Focus on Younger Clients”
“Georgia’s Career Pathways to Work: Explore, Engage and Employ (E3) initiative. Funded through a $4.7 million grant —stretched over five years — E3 is broken down into three components, and they follow the path of the student or young person as they prepare for a career. The first “Explore” phase encourages students and youth to begin exploring the world of work and possible career goals, learning about soft skills and how benefits work. The next phase, “Engage,” takes it a step further, allowing students to begin to participate in the world of work. In this phase, they’ll learn self-advocacy and the kind of skills that are required for different jobs. And the last phase, “Employ,” is broken down into two different phases in its own right. The first will focus on pre-employment services, preparing students to submit resumes and applications. The second looks at on-the-job accommodations, continuing education and the possibility of career advancement.”
Justice Department Reaches Extension Agreement to Improve Georgia’s Development Disability and Mental Health System
The extension agreement builds upon a 2010 settlement agreement resolving a lawsuit brought by the department under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Supreme Court’s Olmstead decision. The case involves Georgia’s provision of community services for individuals with mental illness and developmental disabilities. Under the agreement, Georgia will help people with developmental disabilities move from its state hospitals to integrated settings, consistent with their needs and preferences; will identify and address each individual’s needs in the community prior to discharge; and will monitor services and track outcomes for people after their discharge. For individuals who have moved from the state hospitals to the community, Georgia will monitor their health and wellbeing to ensure that emerging needs are met in a timely fashion. The extension agreement also calls for creation of at least 675 new Medicaid home- and community-based waiver slots as alternatives to placement in a facility.
“Georgia Career Pathways to Work, E3 Transition Services”
E3: Explore, Engage, Employ refers to Transition Services. There are two E3 initiatives in GVRA: -Georgia Career Pathways to Work – E3: Explore, Engage, Employ is a grant through which GVRA will initially work with 5 school districts to connect students and youth with disabilities to pathways that lead to careers. E3 services to these schools with begin 7/1/2016. -Statewide Services will be rolled out gradually to all school districts as information and data is gathered from the 5 districts served initially through the grant which is the pilot on which we will build statewide services.
