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SPONSOR: |
Taylor, JP |
DATE TYPED: |
3/3/03 |
HB |
773 |
||
SHORT TITLE: |
Respite Care for Developmentally Disabled |
SB |
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ANALYST: |
Dunbar |
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APPROPRIATION
Appropriation
Contained |
Estimated
Additional Impact |
Recurring or
Non-Rec |
Fund Affected |
||
FY03 |
FY04 |
FY03 |
FY04 |
|
|
|
$75.0 |
|
|
Recurring
|
GF |
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(Parenthesis
( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
Relates:
HM4, SM16, HJM10, HB309, SB361
Responses
Received From
Department
of Health (DOH)
Health
Policy Commission (HPC)
SUMMARY
Synopsis
of Bill
House
Bill 773 appropriates $75,000 to the Department of Health for expenditure in
fiscal year 2004 for the purpose of providing respite services to the families
of individuals with developmental disabilities
Significant
Issues
The
Long Term Services Division of the Department of Health, through State General
Fund contracts, provides respite services to the families of children and
adults with developmental disabilities with independent respite agencies around
the State. $1,554,728 was allocated for respite services in fiscal year
2003. Although funding for State match
for the DD Waiver has been increased by the State Legislature several times
over the past few years, there has not been a corresponding increase in the
appropriation for respite services to the families of those individuals who are
awaiting DD Waiver services.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
The appropriation of
$75.0 contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the general fund. Any
unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of FY 04 shall revert
to the general fund.
HB
773 would add $75.0 in new funds to the amount already allocated for
State-funded respite services for fiscal year 2004. Based on the current respite service rate of $13.25 per hour, and
the budget allocation formula of 200 hours per eligible recipient, this
additional $75.0 could serve at least 28 additional families of children and
adults with developmental disabilities across New Mexico. The Long Term Services Division can add
these additional funds to new and continuing respite service contracts based
upon each contractor’s historic expenditures and upon stated need.
ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS
There
are none for the Long Term Services Division or the Department of Health. Contracted providers of respite services may
need to recruit, hire and train additional respite care staff to meet the needs
of additional families to be served.
RELATIONSHIP
Relates to:
·
HM4,
SM16 and HJM10, which all express recognition and appreciation for Direct Care
Staff who provide Developmental Disability Community-Based Services.
·
HB309 – Medicaid Developmental Disabilities
Waiver – makes an appropriation of $3,264,656 to provide cost-of-living
increases to providers and to reduce the waiting list for the Medicaid
Developmental Disabilities Waiver program.
·
SB361 – Reduce Developmental Disabilities Wait
List – makes an appropriation of $15 million to reduce the waiting list for New Mexico’s Medicaid Developmental Disabilities
Waiver program
Respite
services are provided by the Long Term Services Division of the Department of
Health to the families of children and adults with developmental
disabilities. Respite services are defined
as a “flexible family support service that provides short term, temporary care
to individuals with developmental disabilities in order that their families can
take a break from the daily routine of care giving”. These State-funded respite services are available to the families
of individuals with developmental disabilities and to the families of children
with, or at risk for, developmental delays, who have not been allocated
to the DD Medicaid Waiver. In most
cases, the individuals for whom these respite services are being provided are
on the Long Term Services Division Central Registry and are awaiting allocation
to the DD Waiver. The State-funded
respite services that their families receive may be the only services available
to them.
State-funded
respite is a Long Term Services Division service that is always fully expended
each fiscal year. Contracted providers
of these respite services have long advocated for additional respite hours to
provide to their families.
·
The Olmstead decision (1999) determined
that unnecessary institutionalization of persons with disabilities is a form of
discrimination, and required the states to develop integration plans to
administer services and programs for the developmentally disabled in the most
integrated setting appropriate for each individual.
·
There
are an estimated 337,430 New Mexicans who have a disability of some sort, and
DOH estimates that more than 27,000 of these have mental retardation or other
developmental disabilities.
·
Many of these individuals have substantial
health issues and are on waiting lists for State funded programs. The Developmental Disability Waiver (DD
Waiver) program currently serves 2,710 people, but has a waiting list of
another 2,700 – and an average 4-year
waiting period. Average cost per person
is about $60,000 per year. (NM Governor’s Committee on the Concerns of the Handicapped,
10/16/02).
·
Respite care is generally defined as any of a
wide range of services that allow the primary caregiver “time off.” Respite
care may be in-home or in a day care setting, and is provided by trained
respite care providers.
·
DOH provides a wide array of services, but does
not directly provide respite care. Instead, the DOH Division of Long Term
Services contracts with local community agencies to provide respite care
services to the developmentally disabled throughout New Mexico.
·
The
State Agency on Aging and other groups also provide respite care throughout New
Mexico.
BD/sb