2023-24 Provider Funding Opportunities

Over February and March, OPWDD is working to finalize three distinct initiatives that support providers and people with developmental disabilities:    

• Incentivizing Community Transitions
• Supporting Compliance Costs of Certain HCBS Settings Standards - Locks
• Providing One-Time Bonuses for Staff Retention

For all three initiatives, OPWDD will require the submission of completed attestations from the participating providers.​ Deadlines are staggered to allow providers enough time to return attestations.​ OPWDD must make payments no later than mid-March. 

All attestations and inquiries on these initiatives should be submitted to: [email protected]. 

Attestations should be submitted as a signed PDF.

Please use the following reference lines, as appropriate:

• Community Transition
• Direct Service Retention Bonus
• HCBS Settings - Locks

Attestation Form Due Dates

OPWDD has the opportunity to offer a one-time community transition payment for people from qualified settings in Fiscal Year 2023-24. Residential providers must use an existing backfill opportunity/vacancy to support post-graduate students or people ready for discharge from intensive treatment options or hospitals. 

Payment is one-time in nature to provide transitional funding to stabilize the person in their initial year of community placement.​ It can be used to prepare the provider to support the person (examples include but are not limited to paying higher wages/one-time bonuses to staff, hiring additional clinical expertise, purchase technology aides).

Eligible Transitions

Post-Graduates

A one-time payment of $100,000 is available to providers willing and able to support people who have completed their educational program from an approved residential school. 

The person must be unmatched with a provider despite previously issued Letters of Intent (LOIs) and/or Certified Residential Opportunity Referrals and will be served in an existing vacant opportunity. 

Placement must occur by September 30, 2024. 

Coming from Intensive Treatment Options (ITO) or Hospitals 

A one-time payment of $200,000 is available to providers willing and able to: 

• Support people ready for discharge from Intensive Treatment Facilities who are on the Certified Residential Opportunity list and unmatched with a provider.
• Support people placed in a hospital since December 21, 2023, who have been deemed ready for discharge and are on the Certified Residential Opportunity list unmatched with a provider.

Placement must occur by June 30, 2024.

Additional Information

The appropriate Medicaid rate which could include High Needs funding; acuity levels 1, 2, 3 or 3 enhanced depending on eligibility.​ OPWDD will provide verification of a person’s qualification for high needs, including the acuity level, before a provider commits to serving them.

Providers may re-apply for funds if they were unable to place a person planned for in the 2022-23 initiative. Providers will not receive duplicate funding for the same person/previous opportunity. 

Provider Requirements

• Residential provider must commit to serving the person minimally for a period of at least one year from the date of placement.
• Residential Providers must submit attestations by February 29, 2024.
• Provider understands and accepts that these are one-time funds and shall manage service provision in subsequent periods within amounts provided by established reimbursement policies in effect.

Review Process

OPWDD Regional Office will review provider responses based on the attestation and appendix.​

In the event that responses exceed available funding, awards will be based on a first come first serve basis and the ability to specify people.​

If a provider identifies a person on the attestation and later determines there is another qualified person,  they are better able to serve, they can submit justification to the Regional Office for review and approval.

Payment Information

Payment is a flat, consistent amount regardless of what Medicaid rate the provider will receive. The transitional payment is the same regardless of where person will live (same payment for both downstate and upstate providers).​

Payment is one-time in nature to provide transitional funding to stabilize the person in their initial year of community placement.​

Payment gives OPWDD the ability to pilot possible future Value-Based Payment arrangement concept.

OPWDD wants to understand what these one-time funds were used for and reserves the right to conduct a post-payment survey on how the resources are budgeted.

One-time transitional payment will not be cost-reconciled.

The transitional payment will be recouped if the provider does not begin serving people by the established deadlines.​ Up to the full amount of the transitional payment will be recouped if the provider does not safely serve the person for a period of at least one year.

Key Dates

In 2014 the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released new federal requirements for Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) Settings. One of these requirements includes the use of locks or locking mechanisms in residential settings.  ​

In response to these federal requirements, a one-time payment will be made by OPWDD to qualifying providers to assist with the cost of complying.

Each provider will receive a one-time payment of $280.18 per lock for the estimated number of bedrooms to which these requirements apply.​ The cost per lock has been calculated based on the average cost to purchase locks for State-Operated residences plus installation costs.

Providers will receive the one-time payment of the $280.18 per lock times their maximum certified capacity which has been discounted by 25% to account for double occupancy.​

Payments to providers must be made no later than mid-March.

Each provider will be required to electronically submit signed PDF of the attestation by no later than 11:59 PM ET on February 15, 2024. Once the signed attestation has been received, a payment will be issued through State Financial System (SFS).

Key Dates

To further efforts to stabilize the workforce in the non-profit sector, OPWDD is able to offer a one-time Direct Service Retention Bonus in Fiscal Year 2023-24.​ This bonus will be based on the aggregated costs for eligible staff in OPWDD CFR reported programs.

A Provider may receive a payment targeted for the following staff:​

• Direct Care (CFR Title Code 200)​
• Support (CFR Title Code 100)​
• Clinical (CFR Title Code 300)​
• Production (CFR Title Code 400)

The bonus is calculated based on 2.75% of an agency’s aggregated staffing costs for all OPWDD CFR-reported programs for staff in title series 100-400 (Direct Care, Support, Clinical, and Production).​ The weighted average, agency-specific mandated fringe benefit rate will be applied to the bonus calculation to cover mandated fringe benefit costs.​ Bonus payments have been adjusted for all known partial and full mergers.

Provider Requirements

• A provider must have a CFR on file with OPWDD by December 8, 2023, for the 2021-22 or 2022 reporting period and reported costs for qualifying job position title codes in OPWDD-licensed programs/services.​
• Complete and submit the attestation no later than 11:59 PM ET, February 22, 2024.  Attestations should be submitted as a signed PDF.​
• Must develop a Distribution Plan and share that plan with all employees in accordance with the signed attestation, prior to distribution of funds.
• Must distribute payments to qualified employees no later than March 31, 2025, consistent with the Agency’s Distribution Plan.​

• Payments must be in the form of a salary increase, not enhancements to or payments for Fringe Benefits (with the exception of the mandated fringe).

   

Key Dates