Posts by Oregon Support Services Association
Reduction List: Proposed Eligibility Changes Would Put Oregonians At Risk
As we discussed earlier this week, Oregon’s Joint Ways and Means Committee Co-Chairs released a Targeted Reduction List at the end of April, which outlined a more detailed proposal for reducing costs to the 2017-2019 budget. Our legislative leaders have been warning us for months now that, without new sources of revenue, there will be cuts. The Targeted Reduction List proposes to change Oregon’s IDD Service Eligibility criteria in two significant ways. Please note that no substantial changes to eligibility can be undertaken quickly. Any changes, including those discussed below, must be negotiated with our federal contacts at the Centers for Medicaid and...
Read MoreCo-Chairs Release a Targeted Reduction List–What’s On It?
Oregon’s economy is healthy and growing, but so are its costs. In fact, the costs of current services and budgeted obligations have outpaced the amount of money coming into the state to pay for them. Our legislative leaders have been warning us for months now that, without new sources of revenue, there will be cuts. Now, for the first time, we are getting a clearer picture of what those cuts might look like, as the Joint Ways and Means Committee Co-Chairs, Senator Richard Devlin (D-Tualatin) and Representative Nancy Nathanson (D-Eugene) have released their 2017-19 Target Reduction Lists. For the IDD service system, the cuts are spread over several areas, as...
Read MoreThe State Budget Process: This Year’s Recommendations From the Governor
You may have seen headlines this month about the release of Governor Brown’s Recommended State Budget. As discussed in yesterday’s post, the Oregon state budget takes several months and three major steps from start to finish. We begin with data, reports, and recommendations from each governmental agency as to how services are currently operating, and what it would take to continue them (ARB). Next, the Governor synthesizes the disparate agency requests into a single budget, recommending it to the legislature, and to all Oregonians (GRB). The state legislature then takes those critical components, pairs them with months of gathered input and information from...
Read MoreThe State Budget Process: What Do I Need To Know?
For the IDD system, the budgeting process is often a roller-coaster of emotion and advocacy. Service levels, program funding, and provider rates are all determined by the biennial state budget. On December 1st, Governor Kate Brown released her Governor’s Recommended Budget (GRB), which is a detailed budget plan for the 2017-2019 biennium. To get a handle on where the GRB falls in the full budget process, let’s take a closer look at it from start to finish. First stop: The Agency Request Budget (ARB) An Agency Request Budget is a formal report submitted by each state agency detailing their funding priorities. The report includes an outline of how they would...
Read More5 Myths About Brokerages Services
Information can be hard to come by sometimes in the IDD service system. We’ve heard these five myths thrown around like facts over the years, and we’re here to set the record straight. 1. MYTH: Brokerage services are only for people who don’t need much help. FACT: Brokerages serve people with all levels of support needs, from those who are more independent to people who need frequent assistance. Support Services are meant to keep people out of Medicaid-funded residential placements and in their own or their family homes for as long as possible by supplementing the help they already receive with paid supports. This combination of family/community help...
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