Obama’s Wage Hike For Federal Contractors Won’t Apply to Disabled Workers

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90. Eliminate sheltered workshops

Create transition plans, and ultimately phase out the 14(c) program....

Recommendation: NCD recommends that Congress reauthorize and direct SSA, the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the DOL’s Employment and Training Administration to develop and implement an expanded, integrated benefits planning and assistance program that coordinates resources and oversight across several agencies, enabling beneficiaries, including those transitioning out of subminimum wage settings, to access benefits planning services within multiple federal systems. SSA should also make changes to the existing system to improve the accuracy and quality of services provided to individual beneficiaries.

Recommendation: NCD recommends that the three partners authorized under the Development Disabilities Bill of Rights Act coordinate and expand efforts to support peer support to both families and individuals with intellectual developmental disabilities transitioning from the 14(c) programs to integrated employment.

Recommendations: The National Council on Disability recommends the following steps be taken with respect to the expansion of supported employment services:

At the state level:

Align reimbursement rates to providers to reflect a bias in favor of integrated settings and a primary preference in favor of integrated employment services.
Explore the possibility of performance based payment systems for employment supports, keeping in mind the need for ensuring adequate reimbursement to maintain and grow an adequate provider network.
Expand access to customized employment and job carving services.
Develop a strong working collaboration, including a Memorandum of Understanding outlining funding and administrative responsibilities and mechanisms for resolving disputes, between the state Vocational Rehabilitation agency, ID/DD service-provision agency and State Education Authority.
At the Federal level:

To the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services:

Require states applying for waivers or demonstration authority shifting part or all of their long term services and supports systems into managed care to indicate how they will maintain access to employment services, track quality through the use of non-clinical outcome measures and ensure MCO competency to develop and maintain the employment supports service-provision system.
Enhance monitoring, compliance and enforcement activities regarding state employment support policies to promote alignment with CMS’ September 2011 Informational Bulletin on Employment Support.
Congress:

Create a Money Follows the Person for Integrated Employment program, enabling the federal government to pick up 100% of the costs of supported employment services for individuals leaving a sheltered workshop or day habilitation setting for integrated employment.
Increase the Federal Medicaid Assistance Percentage (FMAP) for Supported Employment Services in integrated employment settings while reducing the FMAP for pre-vocational services.
Instruct CMS to develop a minimum standard definition for integrated employment settings aligned with national best practices.
Create a federal grant program, administered by the Administration on Developmental Disabilities, aimed at supporting state systems change efforts regarding integrated employment outcomes. Require states applying to include in their application clear and measurable systems change outcomes goals relating to integrated employment and a memorandum of agreement indicating means of collaboration between a consortium of relevant state entities, including at minimum the state vocational rehabilitation agency, the state ID/DD service-provision agency and the State Education Authority.
Enhance the Administration on Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities (AIDD) budget for Projects of National Significance, specifically targeting initiatives relating to enhancing integrated employment outcomes.

Recommendation: NCD recommends the Congress should pass legislation phasing out the 14(c) program as outlined in this report.

Recommendation: NCD recommends that the U.S. Department of Labor cease issuing all Section 14(c) Certificates thirty days after passage of this legislation.

Recommendation: NCD recommends that the Department of Education undertake rulemaking to prohibit schools districts from establishing placement in a setting whereby the student will receive subminimum wage as a goal in any IEP.

Recommendation: NCD recommends that the Department of Labor undertake rulemaking to phase out all existing 14(c) certificates to providers of employment services according to the following schedule:

All individuals in certificate settings for ten years or less shall be transitioned within two years
All individuals in certificate settings for ten to twenty years shall be transitioned within in four years
All certificates shall expire in six years, and all individuals in certificate settings longer than twenty years shall be transitioned within six years.