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Transitional Housing Program-Plus. Almost Everything You Ever Wanted to Know: Clarification and Answers to CDSS Policy Questions. WHY HAVE REGULATIONS?. Legislature passes law Law is incorporated into Statutes (Welfare and Institution’s Code) based on subject areas.
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Transitional Housing Program-Plus Almost Everything You Ever Wanted to Know: Clarification and Answers to CDSS Policy Questions
WHY HAVE REGULATIONS? • Legislature passes law • Law is incorporated into Statutes (Welfare and Institution’s Code) based on subject areas. • The CDSS has adopted regulations in the form of the Manual of Policies and Procedures (MPP) that provides program rules based upon the Governing Statutes • MPP’s are governing laws that are written in a way that is easy to read and understand. The MPP is reviewed by Departmental Legal and regulatory staff, and is subject to public hearings.
TRANSITIONAL HOUSING REGULATIONS • THP-Plus Statutes found in W&I Code 11403.2 and portions of 16522-16522.6 that are applicable. • MPP Sections 30-913 to 30-920. • TILP regulations found in MPP 31-236.
FOSTER CARE LAW and REGULATIONS • W&I Code 11400 Definitions • W&I Code 11401 – 11401.6 Aid Payment Eligibility • W&I Code 11402 Eligible Facility • MPP 45-101 Definitions
Transitional Housing Q&A • The CDSS, with input from the California Welfare Director’s Association, and the John Burton Foundation has produced a Question and Answer All County Letter to address the most frequently asked questions received from counties and their providers. Additional questions have been forwarded to the CDSS and will be discussed in this presentation. • Any other questions may be asked during this presentation.
What is the Role of the County in selecting a provider? Do counties have the final say on how a program will operate? • The CDSS Manual of Policies and Procedures (MPP) 30-915 states that a county will submit a plan to the CDSS for approval that includes a description of the oversight, evaluation and monitoring processes of their Provider’s program, and how it will certify a provider’s program plan which is a program requirement. Other plan requirements include: projected caseloads, estimated budget, a plan for providing reports. • MPP 30-920 also lists the minimum services a Provider must provide in order to be certified. • MPP 30-920 also requires counties to get a local fire clearance if required by fire code for homes where a THP-Plus participant will reside.
May Counties Act as their Own Providers • The CDSS has given counties the option to act as their own providers. However, there has been no formal instruction provided concerning how a county would develop a THP-Plus program. The following are suggested processes counties could follow who plan to act as their own providers: 1. A County should develop an average rate it will pay for each youth participating. This rate should be less or equal to the maximum rate counties have been approved for by the CDSS for the THP-Plus (70 percent of the average group home rate within the county). 2. The rate consists of both administrative and room and board costs required for the average participant. A simple Budget Worksheet can be found at www.thpplus.org website, listed under templates. It can be used to develop the rate a county will pay per participant. This Budget Worksheet can also be used to develop the Estimate a county submits to the CDSS each year.
Counties Acting as a Provider (Cont’d) • Counties should develop a provider plan and may use the provider plan template found at the thpplus.org website listed under Templates • The CDSS approves county plans for THP-Plus. If a county acts as it’s own provider, it would submit a provider plan to CDSS, who would certify the county’s THP-Plus program assuming it meets all program requirements. • Counties would be required to ensure that the apartment/host family units where THP-Plus participants are residing meet the local fire clearance codes and should have the fire clearance available for review by the CDSS.
Why is the THP-Plus Allocation Left Unspent by Counties and What Can be Done to Ensure the Funds are Spent. • The THP-Plus appropriation is provided yearly in the Governor’s Budget and goes away on June 30th. • The CDSS develops the THP-Plus Allocation based on the final Governor’s Budget. • The Allocation is reviewed by the CWDA and, after negotiation, a final budget is developed. • Counties have various internal processes that they must follow, including approval by their Boards of Supervisors, before they can implement their THP-Plus programs. These can be lengthy processes that eat up the time the program could be in operation.
Allocation (Cont’d) • The CDSS surveyed counties in April for the last two years to find out which counties were overspending, under spending or would spend all funds. • Funds were moved from under spending to over spending counties to ensure that all funds were spent.
How Can We Plan for Services if We Don’t Know What Our Allocation Is? • The CDSS reimburses counties for the money they have expended for THP-Plus. The County’s THP-Plus Budget should only be an estimate and can change if the yearly allocation is more/less than anticipated.
Can We Still Submit Claims for FY 08/09? • Counties have the ability to submit claims for reimbursement up to 18 months from the time the costs were incurred. However, If the claims are submitted after the beginning of the current fiscal year (example: 09/10), the reimbursement will come out of the current year’s allocation, not the previous year’s allocation.
How Does the Current Fiscal Crisis Affect Counties’ Ability to Pay Providers? • The CDSS Assistance Claim is called a cash-based claim. A County must first pay a provider with county funds to be able to claim for reimbursement from the CDSS. A county must follow its own rules for reimbursement to providers pending a final allocation from the CDSS each year.
What Can Counties/Providers do to advocate for the Program? • Provide positive program outcomes that shows the Legislature and the Governor that the program works. • Make sure that providers invoice timely so that the county can pay the invoice and be reimbursed by the CDSS. This reduces the appropriation. • County staff have the same prohibitions as State staff in lobbying issues. However, providers and THP-Plus advocacy groups have the ability to lobby the Legislature about the program.
