CCPA Legislative Talking Points
Thank you to all of you who have been working with your local legislators to communicate the importance of adequately funding the community provider system. CCPA staff and members have been meeting with key legislators to discuss the “core services” provided by our members. We may be asking you to join us in meetings with legislators that serve your districts. Please feel free to use these talking points in your conversations with your delegation. Also please remember to let us know about events you are hosting and communication you’ve had with policy makers.
The Community Provider Rescue Fund:
to Support Essential Services and Protect the People We Serve
Community providers deliver vital human services to over 500,000 individuals with disabilities and other significant challenges across Connecticut.
- Community providers have struggled for decades with funding that falls far short of meeting the costs of services. In FY09 community providers received no increase in funding to cover these rising costs.
- Providers have taken the difficult steps of closing programs, reducing service hours, eliminating staff positions and delaying needed capital improvements.
- In difficult economic times, demand for the services provided by the community provider system increase.
- Our services are a key component of the “core mission” of state government and we provide those services in an efficient and effective manner.
- Fully funding the Community Provider System can save the state money in the long-term by preventing many of our clients from needing higher and more costly levels of care from emergency rooms, through prolonged hospitalizations or ending up in the criminal justice system.
- Many community provider services are federally reimbursed, creating significant state cost savings for vital services. There are opportunities to further expand federal reimbursement for community services.
- Investing in the Community Provider System is both good public policy and good fiscal policy.
We are seeking your help in assuring that these vital services continue to be available to Connecticut residents. Please support the Community Provider Rescue Fund, to support essential services and protect the people we serve.
The Community Provider Rescue Fund includes:
- Providing for consistent and adequate funding to meet the immediate Cost of Services (COS) through annual funding increases that match the rate of inflation for medical services. This equates to $70M in each year of the biennium.
- Creation of a Community Provider Capital Improvement Fund of $30M per year to address infrastructure needs.
- Elimination of Unfunded State Mandates on community providers and administrative rule changes that reduce costs and improve efficiencies.
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New Legislator Profiles
There are twenty nine new legislators this session and two former members of the House who are now Senators. Thanks to Rome, Smith, Lutz and Associates, CCPA’s lobbyists, who have developed very comprehensive new legislator profiles
New Legislator Biographical Information ~ profiles on all the new 2009 legislators.
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Legislation Impacting Community Providers
CCPA tracks hundreds of bills throughout the session that impact community providers. We’ve highlighted a few early pieces of legislation that may be of interest. Note that these bills are “proposed” bills, not yet taken up for committee action. Not all bills will have a public hearing. Click on the link to read the full bill.
H.B. 5061 AN ACT ESTABLISHING A COMMUNITY PROVIDER RESCUE FUND ACCOUNT AND COMMUNITY-BASED SERVICES COMMISSION. – Proposed by Representative Villano, Co-Chair, Human Services
That the general statutes be amended to: (1) Establish a separate, nonlapsing account within the General Fund, to be known as the "community provider rescue fund", in which funds are made available to state agencies to provide grants to community providers under purchase of service contracts to remedy or avoid budget shortfalls; and (2) to establish a commission on community-based services to make recommendations concerning long-term funding for community providers under purchase of service contracts.
http://www.cga.ct.gov/asp/cgabillstatus/cgabillstatus.asp?selBillType=Bill&bill_num=5061&which_year=2009
Proposed H.B. No. 5824 REP. OLSON, 46th DIST.; REP. ORANGE, 48th DIST.; REP. RITTER, 38th DIST.; REP. RYAN, 139th DIST.; REP. REYNOLDS, 42nd DIST.; REP. URBAN, 43rd DIST.; REP. WRIGHT, 41st DIST.; REP. HEWETT, 39th DIST.; REP. JUTILA, 37th DIST.; REP. MIKUTEL, 45th DIST.; SEN. PRAGUE, 19th DIST.; SEN. STILLMAN, 20th DIST.; SEN. MAYNARD, 18th DIST. 'AN ACT CONCERNING THE PAYMENT OF PERSONAL SERVICE CONTRACTS', to ensure that personal service contractors, including those who provide health and human services, receive timely payment for their services and have a means of recourse if payment is not timely.
Proposed H.B. No. 5840 REP. REYNOLDS, 42nd DIST. 'AN ACT CONCERNING COST-OF-LIVING INCREASES FOR PRIVATE PROVIDERS AND ESTABLISHMENT OF A FUND FOR COMMUNITY PROVIDERS TO MAKE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS', to increase the ability of private providers to meet the health and human service needs of state residents.
Proposed S.B. No. 571 SEN. CALIGIURI, 16th DIST. 'AN ACT CONCERNING RESIDENTIAL FACILITIES LICENSED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES', to ensure that residential facilities licensed by the Department of Children and Families operate in a safe and quiet manner.
S.B. 346 AN ACT CONCERNING THE TRANSFER OF SOCIAL SERVICE PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION TO COMMUNITY PROVIDERS. – Proposed by the Senator McKinney, Minority Leader
This legislation proposes to transfer the administration of all social service programs from any state agency administering a social service program to community-based private providers no later than December 31, 2011.http://www.cga.ct.gov/asp/cgabillstatus/cgabillstatus.asp?selBillType=Bill&bill_num=346&which_year=2009
H.B. 5320 AN ACT CONCERNING TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY IN THE DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES. – Proposed by Representative Gail Hamm
To require more transparency and accountability from the Department of Children and Families.
http://www.cga.ct.gov/asp/cgabillstatus/cgabillstatus.asp?selBillType=Bill&bill_num=5320&which_year=2009
H.B. 5415 AN ACT CONCERNING THE CONSOLIDATION OF PRIVATE SOCIAL SERVICE PROVIDERS. – Proposed by Representative Moukawsher
To attain greater efficiency and cost containment in the delivery of social services provided by private nonprofit providers by eliminating excessive executive and administrative costs incurred by the state due to the number of such providers and their individual executive and administrative personnel and salaries.
http://www.cga.ct.gov/asp/cgabillstatus/cgabillstatus.asp?selBillType=Bill&bill_num=5415&which_year=2009
S.B. 201 AN ACT CONCERNING APPLICABILITY OF THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT TO GROUP HOMES AND RESIDENTIAL FACILITIES UNDER CONTRACT WITH THE STATE. – Proposed by Sen. Sam S.F. Caligiuri
To acknowledge that state funded group homes perform an important government function and that the public has a right to know how such homes are being managed and operated under the purview of the Freedom of Information Act.
http://www.cga.ct.gov/asp/cgabillstatus/cgabillstatus.asp?selBillType=Bill&bill_num=201&which_year=2009
S.B. 209 AN ACT CONCERNING THE OPERATION OF GROUP HOMES AND RESIDENTIAL FACILITIES UNDER CONTRACT WITH THE STATE. Proposed by Sen. Sam Caligiuri
To protect the public's right to the peaceable enjoyment of their property and neighborhood by requiring that group homes licensed by or under contract with the state be legally obligated to maintain the peace in their neighborhood.
http://www.cga.ct.gov/asp/cgabillstatus/cgabillstatus.asp?selBillType=Bill&bill_num=209&which_year=2009
H.B. 5303 AN ACT CONCERNING DISCLOSURE OF PRIVATE PROVIDER CONTRACTS WITH THE STATE. Proposed by Representative Tim O’Brien
To require the Governor's budget proposal to disclose the number and aggregate dollar amount of private provider contracts with the state, and to identify the type of work being performed under each.
http://www.cga.ct.gov/asp/cgabillstatus/cgabillstatus.asp?selBillType=Bill&bill_num=5303&which_year=2009
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