Do you have children eligible for Individual Family Services (IFS) / DDA services in WA state? Look in your mail for a letter soon from the STATE OF WASHINGTON DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL AND HEALTH SERVICES Developmental Disabilities Administration This is an excerpt of the letter being sent to families about Individual and family services program dollars. If you are on this program you should be getting a copy of this in the mail as well. Thank you to Darla at the Clark County Parent Coalition for sharing. Important Notice – Effective September 1, 2013 The Developmental Disabilities Administration (DDA) is adopting emergency rules to reduce the amount of the current annual awards for the Individual and Family Services (IFS) program. There are over 15,000 individuals who have been assessed as eligible for DDA services who are not receiving any paid services from the administration. Over 2,500 of these individuals have requested Individual and Family Services and have been put on a waitlist. Our records over the last four years indicate that on an average, families are spending only 60 percent of their current award amounts and each year we are returning money to the general budget unspent. On June 30, 2013, Governor Jay Inslee signed the state budget that was passed by the Legislature. In this budget, the Legislature directed the DDA to look at how “IFS” funds are currently used and to implement a plan so that funds, that have previously gone unspent, can now be used to support individuals and families who are waiting for services. Based on this direction, DDA is reducing annual award amounts for all individuals receiving “IFS” and “State Supplementary Payments (SSP) in lieu of IFS” to sixty percent (60%) of the current award amounts. These reductions will allow the DDA to approve services to an additional 1,500 individuals who are currently on the “IFS” waitlist and who are not currently receiving any paid supports. Award amounts for individuals, who currently receive “IFS” or “SSP in lieu of IFS,” will remain in effect until their current individual support plan ends. Any individual support plan completed on or after September 1, 2013, will use the new award amounts, (listed in a separate table), for individuals receiving “IFS” or “SSP in lieu of IFS” services. Please contact your case manager if you have any questions. Sincerely, Evelyn Perez, Assistant Secretary Developmental Disabilities Administration
Posted on: Fri, 02 Aug 2013 21:11:21 +0000
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