Next Meeting: 1/9/2013, 9:30am
at Life Adjustment Center
1430 Broadway Suite 503 not 501; Corner of 40th Street
VACANCY LIST:
AHRC:
See attached vacancy report for :
Day Services
Respite
Residential
Supportive Work
Etc
AHRC Fisher and Williams Street:
Fisher Street is full to capacity
2-3 openings are available at AHRC Williams Street
Individuals must be ambulatory for both programs
Esperanza:
Openings are available in the Day Habilitation Program
Openings are available in the Pre Vocations Program
GHO:
2 Immediate Openings in Day Hab
Bilingual Staff; Mandarin and Spanish
Lunch is provided
Transportation is provided
Life Adjustment Center:
Openings are available in the following programs
Lenox Day Habilitation Program:
Located in Northern Harlem for those who are Medically Frail & Low Functioning
Empire Day Habilitation Program:
Locate in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn for those that have Autism, are along the spectrum, or are overall low functioning
YAI LINK:
There are no available openings in SEMP or in Work Readiness
However, there are 4 openings in E SEMP
Manhattan Family Resource Fair:
Was held on November 29th and it was a huge success
Many thanks to Sateera and Shena from YAI for shopping & helping with the food etc.
Manhattan Adult Day Service Directory:
The recently revised Manhattan Adult Day Service Directory is available on the Manhattan DD Council’s website: www.ManhattanDDCouncil.org. and on it you can find the current Provider Directory, current Family Support Directory, up to date information about what is happening in the field etc
Student Information Exchange:
Is scheduled for January 23, 2013 9:30 – 1 pm at 75 Morton Street.
Since we will be having two meetings in January we decided that we will forgo the
Manhattan Transition Committee Meeting for the month of February.
The Student Information Exchange is the annual event coordinated by this committee where Adult Day Service Providers meet with students and
families about services and programs that are available after aging out of the Department of Education services.
It is important to keep in mind that this is not the primary process for those transitioning
out of the Dept. of Education as this is an ongoing process which takes a considerable
amount of time.
The student information exchange doesn’t need to be limited to this year’s graduates as
those who are graduating next year can attend as well as those individuals from last
year who are still actively seeking services
The packets should have a narrative of the individual which summarizes the student’s strengths and interests as well as any other helpful information such as the use of Assisstive Technology or alternative communication devices. This information should also be included in the IEP/ISP. See attached checklist for referral packages
In preparing for the transition Student Information Exchange event we reviewed some key areas that will be needed for students to enroll into OPWDD services including the need for Medicaid and OPWDD Eligibility:
Medicaid:
Medicaid is a Health Insurance for those who are poor and disabled. It is a needs based resource meaning that individuals must meet the income & resource limits to be eligible.
If students are going into an OPWDD service they will need to have Medicaid. It is important to know that an individual can have Medicaid and still maintain any other Third Party Health Insurance.
There are three different levels of Medicaid coverage and it is important for students/families to know so that they can apply for the most appropriate coverage.
1) Medicaid with no long term coverage
This level of coverage will pay for medical & clinical services as well as MSC. It will not cover any Long Term Care services including Waiver services. When applying for Medicaid coverage, no documentation needs to be submitted to support the income and resource information provided on the application.
2) Medicaid with Community Based Long Term Care
This level of coverage will pay for the above services as well as Long Term Care services including Waiver services. It will not cover Nursing Home or ICF services. Documentation is needed with the application to verify current income & resources.
3) Full Medicaid Coverage
This level of coverage will pay for the above services as well as ICF and/or Nursing Home services. Documentation is needed with the application to verify current income and resources as well as resource documentation going back several years.
Medicaid Managed Care –
When an individual is enrolled in Medicaid and is already eligible for OPWDD services he or she is exempt from mandatory Managed Care Enrollment.
An individual can receive Waiver Services and OPWDD services even if enrolled in Medicaid Managed Care.
Many students get Medicaid through SSI. Individuals who are disabled can apply for SSI benefits based on their own income and resources at the age of 18. Prior to age 18, benefits are determined including the parent’s income/resources. If one has SSI one is automatically enrolled in Medicaid. Both Social Security and Medicaid have citizenship requirements as part of the eligibility criteria.
Eligibility of OPWDD Services
In order to meet OPWDD eligibility the following three criteria need to be met:
1) A diagnosis of at least one of the following:
Intellectual Disability
Cerebal Palsy, Autism, Epilepsy, Neurological Familial Dysautonamia
2) The diagnosis has to have occurred prior to the age of 22
3) Substantial deficits in Life Skill Areas which are expected to continue indefinitely.
Evaluations are needed for the eligibility determination process, and minimally must include a Comprehensive Psychological Evaluation. In addition, for Waiver eligibility a current Psychosocial and Medical Evaluation are also needed. Evaluations must be no more than three years old and the Annual must be no more than a year old.
When preparing referral packages, include the most recent evaluations available as well as information on any pending evaluations in process.
If an individual is not approved for OPWDD services one can go through a set of appeals. In other words, this process is never fully closed even if an individuals is deemed not eligible for services.
Medicaid Service Coordination
MSC is a Medicaid funded service and one needs to show there is a need for this service in order to become eligible for it. An MSC should be assisting individuals who are 18 and older for all benefits that one is entitled to. However, you don’t need to enroll in MSC services in order to enroll in OPWDD Waiver services as there is an alternative service called Plan of Care Support Services (PCSS).
In order to be enrolled in PCSS you must also need another waiver service in addition to
PCSS. In other words, PCSS alone in not reason enough for Waiver enrollment,
one must also need another waiver service in addition to PCSS. PCSS allows for a minimum of two services per year up to a maximum of 4 PCSS services in any given year. Two of these 4 services are for ISP review, which one must have if in a Waiver Services. It is the responsibility of the PCSS to develop, implement, and maintain the ISP.
Hope you all had a wonderful holiday a season and nothing but the best for the upcoming New Year