AB 845

This bill requires the Department of Health Services to establish for the

2019-21 fiscal biennium a community-based services grant program to distribute

awards to provider organizations offering facility-based prevocational and day

services who apply to initiate or increase and sustain their provision of

community-based services that create pathways to and increase competitive

integrated employment for people with disabilities. Under the bill, DHS must award

grants to providers who apply, develop a plan, and reach benchmarks they set that

are approved by DHS, providing grants to up to 30 providers that submit a proposal

to initiate or increase and sustain the organization's community-based employment

or community-based day services. DHS must give preference in awarding grant

funds to providers with the most aggressive and achievable benchmarks for

increasing competitive integrated employment and meaningful community

involvement for people with disabilities. The bill also requires DHS to distribute

performance-based awards to providers that achieve specific employment or

community-based day outcomes for individuals with intellectual or developmental

disabilities.

Under the bill, DHS must also distribute awards for subject matter experts,

including those with experience in Wisconsin's long-term care system, to assist

grant recipients with initiating or increasing and sustaining their provision of

community-based services consistent with the grant requirements and to assist with

necessary changes in business management practices to ensure financial viability in

the provision of community-based services. Finally, the bill allows DHS to transfer

the funds specified for the grants between fiscal years such that they can expend the

funds until they are gone, even beyond the 2019-21 fiscal biennium.