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AASD and DSD eList announcement

Date: Oct. 31, 2023
To: Lead agencies, customized living (CL) providers and case managers, corporate foster care moratorium liaisons and other interested parties
From: DHS Aging and Adult Services and Disability Services divisions
Purpose: To remind CL providers and case managers of impending deadline for CL moratorium exception
Contact: DSD Contact Form

CL moratorium exception to expire December 2023

The CL exception to the licensing moratorium in Minn. Stat. §245A.03, subd. 7(a)(5) will expire Sunday, Dec. 31, 2023. Providers interested in converting their CL setting to a corporate foster care/community residential setting (CRS) under the exception must work with their corporate foster care moratorium liaison to verify exception eligibility in a timely manner so they can submit the final request to DHS before the Dec. 31, 2023, deadline. DHS announced updates to the CL moratorium exception, including the expiration date, in a June 13, 2023, eList.

Verification process

The corporate foster care moratorium liaison of the lead agency where the setting is located submits CL moratorium exception requests to DHS. The liaison must verify the person meets all eligibility criteria before they submit the request. For a complete list of CL moratorium exception criteria, go to CBSM – Moratorium on corporate foster care and community residential setting development and find “Note about CL and 24-hour CL exception” in the exceptions section.

The time needed to complete the verification process differs for each request because the liaison depends on the provider and case manager to give them information about the CL setting and the person receiving services to verify eligibility.

CL setting requirements

A CL setting meets the setting eligibility criteria for the exception if all the following statements are true:

· The CL setting serves four or fewer people on the Brain Injury Waiver, Community Access for Disability Inclusion Waiver or Elderly Waiver.

· The CL setting is a single-family home.

· The CL setting was operational on or before June 30, 2021.

CL provider actions

You must act if you are a CL provider who:

· Meets the three CL setting requirements listed above.

· Wants to convert your CL setting to a corporate foster care/CRS under the CL moratorium exception.

· Has not yet contacted the lead agency where the setting is located.

In this situation, you should immediately:

1. Contact the lead agency where the setting is located to start the CL exception verification process.

2. Notify the case managers of the people living in the CL setting to let them know you want to convert the CL setting to a corporate foster care/CRS setting.

Case manager actions

If you are a case manager for a person in a CL setting that might convert to a corporate foster care/CRS setting, someone from the lead agency where the setting is located will contact you to ask for more information about the person. They will use this information to determine if the person meets the individual resident eligibility requirements for the moratorium exception. Please respond to lead agency information requests in a timely manner.

Corporate foster care moratorium liaison actions

Corporate foster care moratorium liaisons must submit Request to Close or Develop New Corporate Foster Care, DHS-6021, to DHS on or before Sunday, Dec. 31, 2023, for people whose CL exception eligibility they have verified.

Will DHS approve requests received after Sunday, Dec. 31, 2023?

No, DHS cannot approve CL moratorium exception requests verified on or after Monday, Jan. 1, 2024, according to Laws of Minn., 2023, Regular Session, ch. 61, art. 1, §2, subd. 7(a)(5).

What if a liaison cannot verify eligibility?

A person who is not approved for a CL moratorium exception cannot continue living in a setting that converts to a corporate foster care/CRS. The person’s case manager must find another setting for them to live because a setting converting to a corporate foster care/CRS under the CL moratorium exception cannot go over the capacity approved by DHS.

Example: A CL setting currently serves four people. However, DHS could only approve three people for the exception because eligibility could not be verified for the fourth person. DHS can license this setting for a maximum of three beds if the setting completes the conversion to a corporate foster care/CRS. The fourth person would need to move out of the setting before the CL setting converts to a corporate foster care/CRS.