Overview: A critical short-term wages and benefits strategy in the form of a direct service workforce investment grant opportunity.
A key and critical focus of the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration’s Home- and Community-Based Services Spend Plan is on supporting our direct service workforce. To that end, we are putting the final touches on a Direct Service Workforce State plan that will include short-, mid-, and long-term strategies around wages and benefits; training and pathways; and promotion and planning.
In advance of the DSW State Plan release, FSSA is excited to launch a critical short-term wages and benefits strategy in the form of a direct service workforce investment grant opportunity. Direct service workers are essential in providing the day-to-day, in-person HCBS supports necessary for people to live, work, and participate in their communities. FSSA is dedicating $130 million to this opportunity with a requirement that 95% of funding awarded flow through to direct service workers.
To receive funding, interested and eligible providers must submit an attestation form at this link by December 22, 2022.
Purpose: The purpose of the grant is to help HCBS providers invest in their direct service workforce through financial compensation, retention, and wraparound benefits. The majority of funding will be required to go directly to the direct service workers to recognize the extraordinary impact of their work.
Eligibility Criteria: To be eligible for the Direct Service Workforce Investment Grant, the provider must comply with the following:
- Active during State Fiscal Year 2022: Defined as having submitted claims for qualifying paid expenditures during State Fiscal Year 2022 (July 1, 2021 - June 30, 2022)
- Currently active: Defined as currently providing services to Medicaid beneficiaries
- Medicaid Provider that provides services to individuals in the home and community: As of the date of attestation, providers must be an actively enrolled IHCP provider and delivering the following types of services:
- Adult Day Services
- Adult Foster Care
- Assisted Living
- Attendant Care (including Self-Directed Attendant Care)
- Community/Day Habilitation
- Extended Services
- Facility Based Supports
- Facility Habilitation
- Home Health Services
- Homemaker
- Participant Assistance and Care
- Pre Vocational
- Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly
- Residential Habilitation and Support (Hourly & Daily)
- Respite Care
- Structured Family Caregiving
- Waiver Transportation
- Workplace Assistance
Grant Requirements: Awardees are required to do the following, which providers must attest to as part of the attestation form:
- Direct 95% of the grant funding to direct service workers
- Develop a plan for how they will direct grant funding to direct service workers. Completed plans must be posted to the provider’s public-facing website and submitted in the attestation no later than Dec. 22, 2022.
- Respond to a final grant impact survey that captures how the dollars were spent
- Obligate money from each round prior to receiving the next round of funding
- Comply fully with the HCBS Settings Rule: After the March 17, 2023 deadline, providers must be compliant in order to receive further rounds of funding. For further detail on the settings compliance, please see the FAQ to be posted on the HCBS website or the guidelines outlined by CMS.
Methodology: FSSA intends to distribute $130 million in total funding. Payments will be a flat percentage of qualifying SFY 2022 claims expenditures for each provider. The flat percentage applied to calculate grant amounts will be established based on provider participation.
Attestation Process and Payment Timing: The grant will be distributed in three equal payments, with the first payment round targeted for January 2023 and subsequent payment rounds expected to be in the spring and summer of 2023. Providers must complete the attestation form prior to the below stated deadline to qualify. After completing this attestation, eligible providers will receive an award notice with an estimate of their funding amount per payment round. Providers will be required to confirm they are still an active Medicaid provider before each payment round. Additional providers, or providers seeking to add additional service locations to their initial application, will not be allowed to apply after the Dec. 22, 2022 deadline.
How to Apply: Interested and eligible providers must submit an attestation form at this link by Dec. 22, 2022.
Providers are required to submit one complete Attestation Form for each Medicaid Provider ID. The Medicaid Provider ID is a nine-digit number. If you provide services in multiple locations, please include the letter at the end of your nine-digit Medicaid Provider ID.
Allowable Expenses: 95% of grant funds must be directed to the direct service workforce through financial compensation, wraparound benefits, or retention.
FSSA is planning to host a webinar on Dec. 1, 2022, at 1 P.M. ET to provide an overview of the grant. For more information on the grant or the webinar, please see FAQ and look out for further communication from FSSA. Please submit any questions to hcbs.spendplan@fssa.in.gov.