Today the Department of Developmental Services issued a long-awaited directive to regional centers and the community about the Self-Determination Program. The highlights include:
- On May 1, DDS had a conference call with the federal government's Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) about the Waiver (matching funds) application for the Self-Determination Program. During the call, "CMS stated their conceptual agreement with the plan." This is very good news and we are hopefully moving closer to resubmitting the application and getting it approved. We are still at least several months away from approval, but there is still much planning to be done.
- Regional Centers and the State Council on Developmental Disabilities have agreed to appoint their members and hold their first meetings of their Self-Determination Local Advisory Committees no later than July 1, 2015. Please contact your regional center as soon as possible to find out the date of the meeting and plan to attend. It is important that the community is part of the planning process.
For more information:
http://www.dds.ca.gov/sdp/SDPUpdates.cfm
For enrollment:
http://www.dds.ca.gov/sdp/docs/selfDeterminationEnrollment.pdf
Judy is chair of Government Relations, Autism Society of Los Angeles, and serves on the Board of Directors, Disability Rights California