DDS performance review: Remote Supports and Waitlist Delay

The DDS performance review took place as announced last Thursday.  There were many witnesses for both ODR and DDS, and the DDS portion of the hearing didn't begin until early afternoon, lasting beyond 5 p.m.!  There clearly is growing interest and attention to all sorts of issues affecting DC's disability community.

The testimony of DDS Director Andy Reese is here, and my own is here, but there were many other witnesses and you can hear the entire hearing at this link.  The Facilities Committee video is about the tenth on the list (2/26/26) and testimony concerning DDS starts about 3 hours and 20 minutes into the video.  I don't have copies of others' testimony to share, but there were other important speakers, including ODR  interim director Peter Stephan.  It's always worth listening to the question-and-answer portion, which in many ways is the most interesting part of the hearing.  

But to provide the most important DDS headlines, Andy Reese announced another delay in implementation of a waitlist for services, seemingly until the fall, and he promised more details in his budget testimony later this spring.  He and others also spoke encouragingly about the remote-supports pilot program, now getting under way, as a promising route to greater independence among people receiving supports as well as a potential source of cost savings.  I, too, am looking forward to the remote-supports rollout, but I'm aware that some of the cautionary notes about implementation sounded by Jimi Lethbridge of the Quality Trust (who sadly is about to retire!) near the end of the hearing do need to be heeded.  There also was an interesting give-and-take between council member Lewis George and Shannon Austin during the Q and A for DDS, which I though was helpful in laying out the background and perspectives of the new RSA head.

Now things will move forward toward the mayor's issuance of her proposed budget early next month.  A lot is riding on the uncertainty around our tax season and how much revenue will actually be available.  I hope you'll stay on top of further developments and make sure to let your views be known when the DDS budget hearing is scheduled.