HCBS Final Rule

NLACRC is thrilled to announce the launch of “HCBS: The Animated Series,” a projected developed by our sister-organization, Tri-Counties Regional Center. Aimed at promoting awareness of HCBS Federal Requirements in a creative and fun way, this series uses animation to provide accessibility to a wider audience. Viewers will gain a deeper understanding of HCBS regulations, relevant to both service providers, clients, and families. This video series has been made available with ASL translation.

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NLACRC is excited to announce the Request for Proposal (RFP) for Fiscal Year 23-24 Funding to Support Compliance with Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) Final Rule Submissions are due to hcbscompliance@nlacrc.org by Wednesday, May 5, 2024. An Applicants Conference will be held on Wednesday, April 10, 2024 at 1pm. For more information please visit out RFP link at “RFP Announcement – Fiscal Year 23-24 Funding to Support Compliance with Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) Final Rule”

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Home & Community Based Services Funding Project

North Los Angeles Regional Center (NLACRC) seeks to ascertain stakeholder input regarding the proposed Fiscal Year 2023-2024 Home & Community Based Services Funding Projects.

The Fiscal Year (FY) 2023-24 enacted budget includes $15 million to assist providers in complying with the HCBS Final Rule, and to support broader work in each community which promotes and sustains ongoing compliance.

The Department of Developmental Services has identified the projects below as priorities:

• Establishing or continuing teams to work with and monitor service providers in achieving or maintaining full compliance with all applicable federal requirements, and/or to work together on plans remediating areas not yet compliant, including addressing provider-specific remediation needs;

• Establishing or continuing peer-led teams to engage with individuals served and their families to receive feedback on service provider implementation of the HCBS rules, focusing on providers working to achieve compliance and who are at risk for not being able to maintain compliance;

• Developing training and informational tools for planning teams to use in service planning and in creating or amending the individual program plan to ensure appropriate documentation is included;

• Developing local communities-of-practice which increase knowledge and implementation of best practices and encourage collaborative groups to foster shared learning and solution-focused discussion;

• Engaging families and individuals served, including education and training for families, support professionals and providers on best practices for aligning services with the HCBS Final Rule; and,

For those stakeholders interested in providing input regarding the identified projects, please E-Mail HCBSCompliance@NLACRC.org , subject line “FY23-24 HCBS,” by January 11, 2024.

(Please Note: This is a request for input on the identified projects only. A Request for Proposals for DDS-approved projects will be posted at a future date and shared during January’s Vendor Advisory Committee.)

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Home and Community-Based Services – Self-Guided Learning Modules

NLACRC has partnered with Open Future Learning to bring you an extraordinary learning experience. As part of the HCBS (Home and Community-Based Services) funding we are thrilled to offer you self-guided learning modules that will provide you and your staff with new skills and knowledge. We understand the value of continuing education, which is why all modules will offer Continuing Education Units (CEUs) at Zero Cost. To take advantage of this opportunity, contact David Ramos at DRamos@nlacrc.org to register your staff.

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Enhancing Quality of Life Training

In this highly informative and inspiring Session Dr. Tom Pomeranz details the expectations of the Home and Community Based Waiver Final Rule. The Final Rule requires that all HCBS Providers meet the standards set there-in by March 2023.

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Person Centered Thinking Training

Person Centered Thinking (PCT®) focuses on empowering people to have positive control in their lives. PCT approaches  respectfully address issues of health and safety from a variety of perspectives.

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HCBS Final Rule And Person Centered Practices Training

The training will focus on the Final Rule Requirement(s), provide implementation and documentation examples. Introducing practical tools to utilize after the training.

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Home And Community-Based Services (HCBS) Final Rule: Action Required For Non-Compliant Service Providers

The Department of Developmental Services’ November 8, 2022 letter required regional centers to send the enclosed “Notice to Non-Compliant Regional Center Service Providers” to all providers of HCBS that had not submitted documentation validating compliant policies were in place and/or a plan for remediating current policies or program design revisions to be compliant. All documentation was to be submitted to the regional center no later than December 5, 2022.

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What is the CMS HCBS Final Rule?

On March 14, 2014, the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) set forth The Final Rule (requirements) for homes and programs where Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) are delivered.  Vendors must meet this criteria in order to qualify for federal funding under the Medicaid program (called “Medi-Cal” in California) ¹. NLACRC is devoted to assisting our vendors in meeting the rules. Our goal is to provide technical assistance to vendors in order to obtain compliance by 2022.

The California Department of Developmental Services has collaborated with Public Consulting Group (PCG) to offer training opportunities on the Home and Community Based Services settings Final Rule.

The Department of Developmental Services, Public Consulting Group and Support Development Associates worked in partnership to create a training series on the HCBS Final Rule. A recording of the first training can be viewed through the link below:

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NLACRC HCBS Final Rule Compliance Report (June 2022)

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HCBS Virtual Site Assessment Informational Webinars to be Held on April 6 and 7, 2021

Background
The Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) Final Rule ensures individuals have full access to the benefits of community living and the opportunity to receive services in the most integrated setting appropriate. The rule applies to services provided to individuals with developmental disabilities through California’s regional center system.

The California Statewide Transition Plan (Plan) outlines the state’s plan to be in compliance with the HCBS Final Rule. The provider self-assessment survey for residential and non-residential programs measured a provider’s current level of compliance with the HCBS Final Rule. Statewide compliance reporting data as of September 01, 2020, can be found on the HCBS Final Rule Assessment Information page. Despite hardships presented by multiple states of emergencies in California throughout the last year, the provider self-assessment survey reflected 80% completion rate through the efforts of providers and regional center staff.

Virtual Site Assessment
The next step outlined in the plan is on-site assessment. The Department of Developmental Services (DDS) contracted with Public Consulting Group (PCG) to conduct on-site assessments of a randomized, statistically valid sample of 1,200 HCBS providers among all 21 regional centers. Due to COVID-19 State of Emergency, on-site assessments will be conducted virtually to ensure the safety and well-being of everyone involved in the process.

DDS will hold two, one-hour webinars to review the virtual site assessment process and answer questions from regional centers and providers. The webinars will be held:

• Tuesday, April 6, 2021, from 3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
• Wednesday, April 7, 2021, from 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

To register for either of the webinars, follow the instructions found at https://www.dds.ca.gov/initiatives/cms-hcbs-regulations/assessment-information/.

For more information about the Virtual Site Assessment, please see the document links below:

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HCBS Provider Funding for Compliance Activities FY 2021-22

DDS has issued the HCBS Funding Letter and Funding Guidelines for FY 2021-22. 

Please see the links below for more information.

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DDS HCBS Final Rule Compliance Report

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HCBS Provider Self-Assessment List of Service Codes

A list of service codes that are required to adhere to the CMS HCBS Final Rule are available on the link below. In preparation, providers should fill out a self-assessment for each vendored program.

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HCBS Provider Compliance Funding Guidelines for FY 2019-2020

The Department of Developmental Services’ issued Fiscal Year 2019-20 HCBS Provider Compliance Funding Guidelines for service providers who wish to apply for funding.

The Department is still reviewing the submitted concepts. Vendors who submitted concepts for 2019/2020 HCBS funding will receive notification from NLACRC as soon as the Department provides names of the selected concepts.

We encourage service providers in need of taking steps towards modifying their services to come into compliance with the HCBS rules by March 2022, to apply.

Service providers, please note the following service codes are required to meet HCBS final rule:

Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) Rules SETTINGS/SERVICES IDENTIFIED IN THE STATEWIDE TRANSITION PLAN

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DDS Contact Information:

The Department welcomes comments or questions by e-mail to HCBSregs@dds.ca.gov, or by mail to:

Department of Developmental Services
Community Services Division
1600 9th Street, Room 320
Sacramento, CA 95814

Medicaid.gov (CMS/HCBS Website)

For any questions/concerns, please contact Arshalous Garlanian at agarlanian@nlacrc.org or 818-756-6362.