AASD and DSD eList announcement

Date: Jan. 21, 2025
To: Lead agency staff and other interested parties
From: DHS Aging and Adult Services and Disability Services divisions
Purpose: To announce consumer directed community supports (CDCS) policy revisions
Effective: Immediately
Contact: For questions about disability waivers, use the DSD Contact Form. For AC or EW questions, email dhs.aasd.hcbs@state.mn.us.

CDCS policy updates

DHS clarified CDCS policy as a result of 2024 legislation. This announcement describes clarifications to lead agency process and procedure, paying a spouse or parent of a minor for personal assistance and allowable and unallowable goods and services.

Lead agency process and procedure

Plan review and approval

When the lead agency reviews and makes decisions about a person’s CDCS community support plan (CSP), they must follow DHS policies in:

· Community-Based Services Manual (CBSM).

· CDCS Policy Manual.

The lead agency cannot create or implement any policies that are in addition to or inconsistent with DHS policies.

DHS added this clarification to CDCS Manual – Process and procedure.

Lead agency’s initial responsibilities

When the lead agency authorizes or reauthorizes CDCS, they must provide the person and their legal representative with information about how their state-set CDCS budget was calculated, including a description of the variables and budget formula.

To explain this change, DHS:

· Added a section about communicating budget information to CDCS Manual – Budgets.

· Created a new resource, CDCS Manual – Resource: Communicating CDCS budget information for people using waivers and Alternative Care (AC).

Paying a spouse or parent of a minor for personal assistance

Other criteria

The negotiated payment rates for workers who are the spouse or parent of a minor of a person with a CDCS enhanced budget cannot exceed the rate established by DHS for complex personal care assistance (PCA) services or complex Community First Services and Supports (CFSS), including wages, benefits and payroll-related taxes.

The lead agency should reference the PCA/CFSS rates for the fiscal year in which the spouse or parent provides personal assistance services in Long-Term Services and Supports Rate Limits, DHS-3945 (PDF) and check with the person’s financial management services (FMS) provider.

DHS added this clarification to CDCS Manual – Service category: Personal assistance (pre-unbundling) and CDCS Manual – Unbundled service category: Personal assistance.

Allowable and unallowable goods and services

Additional goods and services

CDCS can cover goods and services that support the person’s assessed needs for community integration and inclusion, as long as the goods and services meet the criteria on the policy page and are not listed in the unallowable section. DHS added this clarification to the allowable expenditures, additional goods and services section of CDCS Manual – Allowable and unallowable goods and services under CDCS.

Unallowable

Criteria for all waiver/AC services includes language about the direct benefit of the person. DHS removed the following language from CDCS Manual – Allowable and unallowable goods and services under CDCS: “Services and goods provided to or directly benefiting individuals other than the person who uses CDCS.”

Previous eList announcements

AASD LEAD AGENCY ARCHIVE | DSD LEAD AGENCY ARCHIVE | DSD STAKEHOLDER ARCHIVE