Money Follows the
Person Rebalancing Initiative
WASHINGTON
Grant Information
Name of Grantee
Washington
State Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS)
Title of Grant
Money
Follows the Person Rebalancing Initiative
Type of Grant
Money
Follows the Person Rebalancing Initiative
Amount of Grant
$608,008
Year Original Funding
Received
2003
Expected Completion Date
September
2007
Contact Information
Bob Beckman, Project Director
360-725-2490
beckmrc@dshs.wa.gov
Leo Kapust, Project
Manager
360-725-2427
kapuslj@dshs.wa.gov
Janet Adams, Stakeholder Coordinator
PO Box 45600
Olympia, WA 98504-5600
360-725-3408
adamsje@dshs.wa.gov
Subcontractor(s)
Starling Consulting
Laxmi Group
Target Population(s)
Adults and children with
developmental disabilities.
Goals
- Develop accurate and
valid assessment tools that will provide information on needs and natural
and informal supports to help individuals make informed choices.
- Involve consumers,
stakeholders, and public-private partnerships in planning activities.
- Improve collaboration
with human services agencies and state agencies.
- Develop a quality
improvement system that is consistent with consumer-based services.
- Rebalance the distribution
of funding to give individuals choices about where they live.
Activities
- Involve stakeholders
in the planning process for project initiation activities.
- Define assessment and
service plan business requirements and program specifications for the new
system.
- Design and code the
assessment and related algorithms within the Comprehensive Assessment
Reporting Evaluation (CARE) framework.
- Develop the system and
unit test for the assessment and service plan.
- Pilot the system and
involve stakeholders in testing the system for usability.
- Provide training to
end users and implement the assessment and services plan system throughout
the State.
Abstract
Through development of an automated comprehensive
assessment and service planning tool, the Washington State Department of Social
and Health Services (DSHS) will begin rebalancing its long-term support systems
more evenly between institutional and community service options. This system
will build on CARE, recently completed by the Department's Aging and Disability
Services Administration (ADSA).
For this project, specific assessments will be
developed within CARE.
- An Adult
Assessment that will address the needs of adults with
developmental disabilities to receive services and supports that will help
individuals transition between institution and community settings.
- A Children's
Assessment that will address the needs of children with
developmental disabilities to receive ongoing services and supports to
live successfully in the least-restrictive setting.
- An Interactive
Service Plan System to be used with each assessment that will
promote maximum client participation in the detailed plan of resources and
services tailored to meet the individual's needs.
Without an effective assessment tool it is not
possible, in a systemic way, to give an individual with developmental
disabilities the freedom to choose where he or she wants to live and for the
funding to follow that choice. This Money Follows the Person Rebalancing
Initiative will set the stage for rebalancing the currently-available funding
and be linked with other major initiatives aimed at increasing options for
self-directed services. The assessment tool will also be tied to a quality
assurance process with automatic feedback, which is currently under development.