Legislature(2019 - 2020)CAPITOL 106
02/06/2020 03:00 PM House HEALTH & SOCIAL SERVICES
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Presentation: Advocacy for People with Disabilities | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES STANDING COMMITTEE
February 6, 2020
3:14 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Tiffany Zulkosky, Chair
Representative Ivy Spohnholz, Vice Chair
Representative Matt Claman
Representative Harriet Drummond
Representative Geran Tarr
Representative Lance Pruitt
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Sharon Jackson
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
PRESENTATION: ADVOCACY FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
- HEARD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action to record
WITNESS REGISTER
DENNIS HAAS, President
Key Coalition
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified and offered information during
the presentation on Advocacy for People with Disabilities.
KRISITN VANDAGRIFF, Executive Director
Governor's Council on Disabilities & Special Education
Division of Senior and Disability Services
Department of Health & Social Services
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Introduced witnesses and provided
information during the presentation on Advocacy for People with
Disabilities.
COREY GILMORE, Chair
Governor's Council on Disabilities & Special Education
Division of Senior and Disability Services
Department of Health & Social Services
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified during the presentation on
Advocacy for People with Disabilities.
ART DELAUNE, Legislative Committee Chair
Governor's Council on Disabilities & Special Education
Division of Senior and Disability Services
Department of Health & Social Services
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified and offered information via
PowerPoint during the presentation on Advocacy for People with
Disabilities.
ACTION NARRATIVE
3:14:33 PM
CHAIR TIFFANY ZULKOSKY called the House Health and Social
Services Standing Committee meeting to order at 3:14 p.m.
Representatives Zulkosky, Spohnholz, Claman, and Drummond (via
teleconference) were present at the call to order.
Representatives Tarr and Pruitt arrived as the meeting was in
progress.
^Presentation: Advocacy for People with Disabilities
Presentation: Advocacy for People with Disabilities
3:15:24 PM
CHAIR ZULKOSKY announced that the first order of business would
be a presentation on Advocacy for People with Disabilities.
3:15:45 PM
DENNIS HAAS, President, Key Coalition testified that he is,
"first and foremost, Katie's (ph) dad." The Key Coalition
celebrates its [twenty-second] year of advocacy for Individuals
with Developmental Disabilities (IDD) in Alaska. At the time of
its formation, there was to be a large cut to program services,
and as a result, 30-40 people traveled from Anchorage and other
locations across the state to Juneau to contest the cuts. The
group's activity resulted in less substantive cuts to programs,
and therein the citizens decided that it would be necessary to
organize to continue advocacy work each year to maintain
funding.
MR. HAAS related his personal story of caring for a child with
severe developmental disabilities. He explained that his family
is required to write and submit a new plan for his daughter's
care each year. His daughter, Katie, is blind, severely
disabled, doesn't talk, and is living without a pancreas. He
testified that this year, his daughter's care plan was rejected,
resulting in cuts to the in-home support services they have been
receiving, from 56 hours per week to only 23.5 hours of care per
week. He postulated that this reduced amount of service is not
enough hours to keep his daughter alive. He noted that his fear
of danger to his daughter is compounded by his and his wife's
advancing age. Mr. Haas declared deep gratitude to the State of
Alaska for the services that they have received to date and
emphasized that those services are lifesaving.
MR. HAAS explained that there is a waitlist for services that
consists of 730 people who, due to lack of funding, may continue
to wait for several years to receive necessary services. The
Key Coalition's priority is to advocate until all the
individuals on the waitlist receive care.
3:20:49 PM
MR. HAAS noted that the service providers for programs for IDD
service providers haven't received any additional funding for
approximately four to five years. As a result, the servicing
agencies cannot effectively recruit and retain direct service
providers to provide necessary levels of care.
3:21:42 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SPOHNHOLZ asked whether there was a reason given
for the cuts to Mr. Hass' weekly services from 56 to 23.5 hours.
MR. HAAS replied that "they keep changing the rules." He
explained that he received a 64-page document outlining the
changes to his daughter's care plan, in which he found it
difficult to interpret any reason that the plan was rejected.
He gave an example of how one of the specificities outlined in
the revised care plan is not adequate for his daughter's fragile
health conditions.
3:23:19 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SPOHNHOLZ asked for confirmation that the
waitlist consists of individuals waiting for home- and
community-based services.
MR. HAAS confirmed yes.
3:24:09 PM
KRISTIN VANDAGRIFF, Executive Director, Governor's Council on
Disabilities & Special Education, Division of Senior and
Disability Services, Department of Health & Social Services,
noted that she had provided the committee with a hard copy of a
PowerPoint regarding "2020 Update GCDSE," [included in the
committee packet]. In the interest of time, she explained she
would not present the PowerPoint, and instead she introduced the
next speaker.
3:24:44 PM
COREY GILMORE, Chair, Governor's Council on Disabilities &
Special Education, Division of Senior and Disability Services,
Department of Health & Social Services expressed that he is
honored to testify before the legislature once again. He
thanked the State of Alaska and the Alaska State Legislature,
noting that the legislature passed "DD [Developmental
Disability] Shared Vision" changing how care is delivered, which
places the individuals receiving the services in control of the
planning for their own care that works the best for their own
lives.
3:26:11 PM
ART DELAUNE, Legislative Committee Chair, Governor's Council on
Disabilities & Special Education, Division of Senior and
Disability Services, Department of Health & Social Services
testified for the purposes of providing the legislature with
program progress updates and to request continued support for
the programs. He drew attention to a PowerPoint presentation
regarding "2020 Update GCDSE," to slide 8, entitled "Supported
Decision Making Agreements Act." He said he supports the Act.
The SDMA (Supported Decision Making Agreements Act) was passed
during the 30th Legislature in November 2018. The SDMA changed
how care is received and allows the option for guardianship.
The SDMA allows the disabled person to direct his/her own care
with the help of supporters, formalizing the agreement between
the individual and his/her supporters. The SDMA clarifies
responsibilities and allows the individual to direct goals and
priorities toward a more meaningful life. Mr. Delaune provided
a personal example of his family's positive experience with this
change; his disabled son has been able to remain employed. He
said the council has provided materials to the House Health and
Social Services Standing Committee in the hopes of increasing
program visibility to possible qualified recipients.
3:28:02 PM
MR. GILMORE acknowledged his disability and the limitations in
routine activities and personal care that he cannot perform for
himself. The service levels provided though the program are not
at completely adequate levels; however, the services that are in
place are highly effective and support not only the individual's
personal hygiene and care, but also allow the recipient to
participate in his/her own community and perform activities such
as outreach and mentoring to children with disabilities and
special needs. Referring to the PowerPoint previously cited,
Mr. Gilmore drew attention to slide 13, entitled "Home and
Community Based Services are Cost Savings". These types of
support services are more cost effective than would be
institutionalization, by an estimate of 2.5 times less cost.
Mr. Gilmore left the committee with the sentiment that all
people need help at some point in their lives, and these
services need to remain available now and in the future.
3:30:30 PM
MR. DELAUNE indicated that the Key Coalition is working with the
state to recommend removal of barriers to efficiency such as:
unnecessary regulations, application processes, re-evaluations,
and reporting requirements that individuals who have received
Medicaid waivers must fulfill to maintain services. These
individuals have lifelong static medical conditions which are
not going to be resolved through medical care, and current
methods of reporting and monitoring of these conditions is
wasteful of limited resources. Another recommendation is [to
include transportation costs as part of the program that employs
people with disabilities]. This would open more employment
opportunities and thereby reduce costs by reducing their
reliance on other welfare programs' funds. Another
recommendation is to eliminate burdensome processes and
bureaucracy to increase flexibility for purchases for the home,
especially consumables such as diapers. The program requires
recipients to procure through limited, authorized suppliers,
which is inflexible, inefficient, and costs more.
3:33:04 PM
MR. DELAUNE, referring to the PowerPoint previously cited by Mr.
Gilmore, drew attention to slide 17, entitled "Increase savings
and self-determination by offering an option for people with
I/DD to more closely direct their services." He indicated a
potential increase in savings by streamlining or consolidating
care programs for IDDs. Currently there are multiple sources of
funding with separate administrative requirements, and the
Council recommends that these funds be combined to streamline
resources available for an individual's self-directed care. Mr.
Delaune explained his personal experience of losing some of
these services for his son. He testified that the Adult
Companion Service available hours were capped in 2018, and that
the Adult Companion Service is a low-cost way for individuals
with disabilities to participate meaningfully in their own
communities. Prior to cuts, his son was socially active three
times per week and benefitted from these community activities
and social opportunities that the services provided. He is now
socially isolated except for the time he spends out of the home
while at work. Mr. Delaune left the committee with the
sentiment that the manner in which we treat individuals with
disabilities and the elderly reflects the values that are and
should remain important.
3:35:34 PM
REPRESENTATIVE TARR indicated that she had several questions
regarding the Council's recommendations per the materials
provided, and in the interest of time would follow up
separately, save for one clarification. She asked that in a
circumstance in which a need for increased services was
[determined], would the individual be able to initiate the
increased services, or otherwise, for continuing services, re-
apply on an annual renewal basis?
MR DELAUNE answered that an IDD has "plans of care", and they
can make changes to those plans.
3:36:38 PM
KRISITN VANDAGRIFF specified that it would be through a plan of
care amendment.
3:36:43 PM
CHAIR ZULKOSKY offered thanks to the presenters.
3:37:29 PM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Health and Social Services Standing Committee meeting was
adjourned at 3:37 p.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 Gov Council on Dis. & Special Ed. Presentation.pptx |
HHSS 2/6/2020 3:00:00 PM |
|
| 2020 Key Campaign Platform Priorities.pdf |
HHSS 2/6/2020 3:00:00 PM |