SR0169 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0169 LRB102 17656 ECR 23486 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Illinois ranks 47th among states for spending commitment for community services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD), according to the 2017 State of the States in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities report published by the University of Colorado; and

WHEREAS, The reimbursement rates in Illinois, including rates for the Direct Support Professional (DSP) workforce, are inadequate, forcing many in the DSP workforce to rely on means-tested public assistance despite working full time; and

WHEREAS, As reported by the national direct care workforce research and advocacy group PHI, the DSP workforce is predominantly women at 86 percent and is racially and ethnically diverse; 59 percent of the DSP workforce consists of people of color, with 30 percent of workers identified as African American, 18 percent identified as Hispanic/Latino, and 7 percent identified as Asian or Pacific Islander; and

WHEREAS, According to the National Core Indicators Staff Stability Survey, the average turnover rate for the DSP workforce in Illinois is 54.5 percent with an average vacancy rate of 13.7 percent; this is well above the national average; and

WHEREAS, COVID-19 has made these challenges more substantial as providers risk their health to perform in-home visits and daily care for this vulnerable population; despite a pandemic, the daily support needs for persons with I/DD remain the same; and

WHEREAS, Since 2011, the State of Illinois has been subject to the Ligas Consent Decree, which mandates dramatic increases to funding for services and supports for persons with I/DD; and

WHEREAS, In 2015, the Federal Court Monitor found Illinois out of compliance with the Consent Decree, and a federal judge officially found the State out of compliance in 2017; as a result, the Illinois Department of Human Services (DHS) Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD) began to review existing rate methodologies around residential, employment, training, and support services rates; and

WHEREAS, In 2019, the State contracted with a rate consultant, Guidehouse (formerly Navigant Consulting), to develop potential new rates and rate methodologies using objective, publicly available data sources, standard administrative cost reporting, and provider-reported costs in order to determine the resources necessary to create and maintain access to quality services and supports for persons with I/DD in Illinois; and

WHEREAS, The recommendations from Guidehouse, detailed in their final report, are designed to identify rates that provide adequate reimbursement for residential and other supporting services in compliance with the State's Ligas consent decree and rates required to keep pace with new minimum and living wage levels being implemented over the next five years in Chicago and across the State; and

WHEREAS, Implementation of these recommendations requires financial investment that reflects the challenge of addressing historical underfunding of existing services and the need for new funding to respond to rapid growth in wage requirements over the next five years; and

WHEREAS, According to the Guidehouse Rate Study, Illinois requires a $329 million GRF investment in FY22, outlined in seven priority areas, to keep the system sustainable; and

WHEREAS, The Governor's FY22 Introduced Budget includes a $77 million dollar investment to partially fund four of seven priorities identified in the rate study that should continue to be funded in the manner in which the appropriation was intended; and

WHEREAS, The State's I/DD community is very grateful for investments made by the General Assembly in recent years; however, despite these investments, the State has not succeeded in satisfying the requirements of the Consent Decree or kept pace with state-mandated minimum wage increases; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge the State of Illinois to fully fund the Guidehouse final rate recommendations in FY 22 including the recommended changes to the rate and service structure allowing Illinois to make real progress toward the Division of Developmental Disabilities mission to design and deliver quality outcome-based, person-centered services and supports for individuals who have developmental disabilities and to implement the rate study in whole to maintain the integrity of the methodology behind the rate setting calculations to avoid creating an even more unbalanced system; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be presented to the Governor, all Illinois legislative leaders, and the Illinois Department of Human Services Department of Developmental Disabilities.