DDS Performance, Fair Wages for DSPs, and Progress Toward D.C. Statehood!

First off, go back and re-read my January 23 blog post:  https://www.ddinwdc.com/2020/01/disability-advocacy-events-in-dc-that.html.  There is such a lot happening in February!  

I know everyone reading this will be in room 412 of the Wilson Building for the hearing on DDS performance at 10:00 Tuesday, February 11.  Here’s the link on the D.C. council website:  https://dccouncil.us/event/performance-oversight-hearing-committee-on-human-services-4/.  Contact the Human Services Committee at humanservices@dccouncil.us if you’d like to testify.  Here's some late-breaking news, DDS answers to the committee's questions:  https://dccouncil.us/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/dds.pdf.  I’ll be testifying on behalf of the Developmental Disabilities Council (https://ddc.dc.gov/page/ddc-members), and I look forward to seeing you there!

At the very same time on February 11, the House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, chaired by Representative Carolyn B. Maloney (NY), will meet to consider and mark up H.R. 51, the “Washington, D.C. Admission Act” (see D.C. Representative Norton’s announcement here:  https://norton.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/norton-bowser-mendelson-and-oversight-committee-chairwoman-maloney).  You’ll remember the hearing back in September that was presided over by the late Representative Elijah Cummings of Maryland (https://www.ddinwdc.com/2019/09/keep-celebrating-direct-support.html) - it was only due to his untimely passing that consideration of the bill has taken this long – it has more than enough sponsors to pass in the House! 

I’m also very happy to report that bill 23-0214, the Direct Support Professional Payment Rate Act of 2019, received its final (favorable) vote in the D.C. council at the legislative meeting, on February 4.  So from here on, the issue is whether the bill will be funded – and you’ll be hearing plenty more about this next Tuesday if you come!  If you don’t know what this bill is about, enter “DSP” in the Search box over to the right at the very top, and you’ll find all the information you could want.

Before closing, I want to remind folks of some links you’ll want to keep handy:

-          The DDS complaint process, whose development has been under way for some time, is now up and running, as of January 1.  The link is here:  https://dds.dc.gov/page/dda-formal-complaint-system.  The new system was announced in a memo from Kirk Dobson (kirk.dobson@dc.gov), who succeeded Erin Leveton as deputy director of the Quality Assurance and Performance Management Administration in November.  (Current DDS organizational chart:  https://dds.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/dds/publication/attachments/DDS%20Org.%20Charts%2011.25.19.pdf)

-          Also, periodically people approach me with questions for people they know who need some sort of support but don't know which agency can help.  They should be told about the DC Support Link, http://dcsupportlink.networkofcare.org/, also known as No Wrong Door.  For anyone you encounter who is trying to obtain services but is not sure which agency to approach, this is the place to go first.

See you 10 a.m. Tuesday, February 11 at the Wilson Building!