Writing on the Wall: Winter 2022

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Director’s Corner John Weatherspoon The final Rate Model Proposal has been released and despite recommendations from the Virginia Sponsored Residential Provider Group, Wall Residences and multiple other agencies the proposal for Sponsored Residential Services did not include the same formula used during the refresh for determining the Home Payment. Due to this decision most Sponsored Residential providers will receive a cut in pay on July 1, 2022. The Governor’s proposed budget was released on December 17th, and included funding that was based on recommendation from DMAS and the rate model. This is the rate model that will be in place for the next 3-5 years and any updates to rates will be based on it. The rate model fails to recognize that Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) outside of the Sponsor (Host) Family exist within homes or that Sponsors have to increase their pay to staff just like all other agencies when prices and minimum wage goes up. Currently the service is receiving the temporary rate increase from the American Rescue Plan Act funds which is in place until July 1, 2022. In the proposed budget most sponsored providers will actually experience a 3-5 % cut in pay on July 1, while group homes will receive a substantial increase for serving the same person in their residential service. Sponsored Residential will continue to fall further behind other residential payments with this model as changes are made in the next 3-5 years. The proposed model includes differences of more that $100/day for serving the same person in a Group Home vs a Sponsored Home. The model proposed by the Virginia Sponsored Residential Provider Group did not expect parity with group homes, but asked that DSPs be included and recognized in the rate model which would have lead to increases over the current temporary ARPA rate and safe from cuts. We are beginning to reach out to members of the General Assembly to educate them about the discrepancies for Sponsored Residential within the proposed rate model and the risk of cuts to sponsored providers if the current recommendations are followed. Our representatives need to be reminded that DSPs exist within the model, though they are not included within proposed rates for Sponsored Residential and that the current model will not suffice when changes are made due to increases in minimum wage. The regulations and expectations of DBHDS and DMAS are that DSPs exist within the model but they continue to fail to recognize them when it comes to rate setting. It looks like it will be another busy session advocating for Sponsored Residential Services! I am excited to welcome Valerie Cooper as the newest member of the Board of Directors for Wall Residences! Valerie has decades of experience in the rehabilitation field as an Occupational Therapist and Manager. In addition, she has been a contracted residential provider with Wall Residences since 2013. Welcome Valerie! Diversity Corner Though Dr. King is most remembered for his “I Have A Dream” speech in Washington, DC in 1963, his work toward equality through non-violence started long before that. He led the Montgomery, AL bus boycott in 1955. He became the first president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which worked to promote equal rights in voting, education and labor laws by strategically organizing protests. We can continue Dr. King’s dream of equality for all by incorporating the principles of inclusion, respect, and peace with everyone we encounter. 2
All in the Family For longtime provider Janet Young and new provider Jared Nepal, caretaking is a family business. Janet, a former realtor, and her husband Kenneth bought and renovated their home with the idea of caring for the elderly. Their drywall installer told them about Wall Residences. Janet met with the agency and soon was introduced to a hospitalized man in need of a home and caretaker. Janet decided on the spot to become his provider and a week later brought him home. That was the beginning of her journey in 2008 as a Wall Residences provider. Jared, her son, was ten at the time. Within a year, Janet was licensed as a four bed group home and specializes in complex referrals. “We are the kind of provider, we stick to it no matter what,” she says. “The people they look at and say, ‘Where will they go?’ We say, ‘They will come here.’” She said she doesn’t see impossibility or wonder, “Can I do this?” Instead, she sees a need she can fill and a life she can impact for the better, creating chosen family along the way. Jared expands on his mother’s statement by saying, “You get the opportunity to support people to live their best lives. You see how people come in and then you see how they leave.” Watching that positive growth is what they both love best about their work as providers. create a log of every senior center in Montana and was a representative for a guardianship reform program. His roots called him home, however. “By 18, I knew I’d be a provider, but after Americorps, I was all in.” At just 24, he is one of Wall Residence’s youngest providers, and like his mother, he is ably supporting individuals with complex needs. “You make a living and you do it in such a dignified way,” Jared notes. “It’s the perfect job. You get paid, yes, but you also get the emotional reward of doing something you love.” Jared is not the first of Janet’s backup workers to become a provider. In fact, he is the sixth! This wonderful mentor shares, “I want my back-up workers to flourish. I show them they can become providers too. I help them get their home ready.” She sees the positive impact of this lifestyle on her family too. “To do this work, you have to have compassion.” She believes in the benefit of this care model for families of individuals as well, mentioning parents and siblings who now worry less about their loved one because they know the individual is loved and cherished by their providers. Jared agrees. “They... the individuals and their families... they know we care about them,” he says. Being providers has made the two closer as mother and son, as well. Doing the same type of work means they understand each other’s day to day life in a very real way. As for that life and career choice, it is one they foresee continuing for years to come. Janet says with a laugh, “I could not go back to being a realtor. I love what I am doing!” ~Angie Covington Jared grew up interacting with the individuals his mom supported and was licensed as a back-up worker at 18. He echoes Janet’s words about family, lifting up Neal who has lived with them for 14 years. “He’s like my uncle. He’s family.” After graduating from VCU, Jared moved to Montana as part of Americorps, a service organization. He worked with Adult Protective Services, helping Front: Neal, Jordan, and Ruth Ann. Back: Provider Jared Nepal, Provider Janet Young, and Back-Up Worker Kenneth Young. 3
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Writing on the Wall: Winter 2022

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