MONDAY REPORT
July 23, 2001
SPECIAL NOTE: Copyright 2001. The Monday Report is produced each week as a benefit to the member agencies of the Child Care Association. Please protect this membership benefit - DO NOT copy and distribute this report to agencies/staff that are not members of CCA. Thank you for your cooperation.
ATTENTION:
Except for Marge Berglind, the CCA staff e-mail addresses have changed.
The new e-mails are listed at the end of the Monday Report. You will no
longer be able to use the AOL addresses for the CCA Springfield staff in August.
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CHILD WELFARE
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CCAI VISIONING RETREAT
More than 40 CEO�s participated in the CCAI
Visioning Retreat on July 19 in Peoria. This was followed up on July 20 with a
CCAI Board Retreat. General directions for the future of CCAI were projected:
leading a value shift regarding the status of children and families in Illinois;
creating a compelling definition of the unique role of the voluntary agency;
promoting relationships with other associations and advocacy organizations as
well as foundation and fundraising community; and using non-member volunteers.
The policy directions of CCAI were set and will be threaded through the general
directions: obtaining social justice for juveniles, children and families;
confirming the role and resource needs of the voluntary, not-for-profit as a key
provider of services and promoting community development including prevention
and early intervention as essential for meeting the needs of children and
families.
A full report of the retreat outcomes will be
provided for all member agencies by mid-September. There will be further
discussion, analysis and development of strategies during the Fall Retreat
scheduled for October 25 and 26 in Oak Brook. (MB)
CWAC FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION REPORT
CWAC Finance and Administration committee met
in Peoria on July 17. The following items were discussed:
 | Rate
Methodology: As previously
reported to CCAI members, DCFS was directed by Bureau of the Budget to
eliminate the inflation factor from the rate methodology calculations for
FY�02. DCFS staff shared results of calculations using the rate
methodology formula, with no inflation for �02, but with an inflation
factor of the FY�01 COLA of 2.5%. The results show some agencies would get
an increase with this application, and some the predicted decrease. A few
agencies that would have received an increase under the previous formula
will lose rate with the elimination of inflation for �02. Overall,
although the formula is not ideal, it appears to move closer to the goals of
the rate methodology system than not using a methodology at all. The CODB of
2% effective April 1 could be applied. The results will be presented for
final decision to the full CWAC meeting in August. Private agency members of
the group will still advocate for a return to the full methodology as of
July 1 via other channels, or as an alternate, a full rate methodology run
on April 1 vs. a CODB. A major concern for DCFS remains their ability to
further control the residential utilization line for FY�02 and thus
control residential expenses that factor into the budget line. |
| Excess
Revenue: DCFS will prepare a
draft rule for submission to JCAR by August 1. This will reflect the
agreement in previous discussions that would apply excess revenue provisions
only after an initial percentage, similar to that maintained by
�for-profits.� |
| Training
Funds: DCFS agreed to extend
the grant terms and recovery period for the use of the recently provided
training funds at least until January 1. Agencies will need to report the
way in which the training funds were �consumed,� as part of cost
reporting. The group recommended that any new training grants be multi-year.
|
| Case
Management Fees: DCFS agreed
to the group�s previous recommendation to apply the administrative rate on
cases in downstate performance, specialized, residential and ILA that need
to be serviced by agencies beyond the close date. Agencies will submit bills
through the regions and central office will review regional performance.
This should be effective in September. A procedure and information
transmittal will be forthcoming prior to the effective date. |
| Foster
Parent Payment Dates: Per
agreement in previous FAS meetings, agencies must submit a list/chart of
their payment dates for FY�02 for foster parents. Many contracts went out
without this requirement. DCFS will be sending a letter requesting this
material. |
| LOC
Penalties: A number of
agencies incurred penalties for failure to comply with Levels of Care review
dates. As of June 30, DCFS records show 91% of cases in 60% of the agencies
were in compliance. Penalties
for the May reporting requirement will not be applied. However, DCFS will
focus on the goal of l00% compliance. The assessment information received by
DCFS Central Client Payment Unit on or prior to July 13, 2001 will be taken
into consideration. Assessment information received after this date will not
count toward the June reporting requirement. Agencies that did not meet the reporting requirement of
l00% compliance for June will incur a 5% financial penalty of their August
current funding payment and may face contract penalties until the l00% level
of care assessment has been reached. Agencies should expect further notices
from DCFS regarding the June non-compliance rate and subsequent penalty. |
| Multi-Year
Contracts: DCFS will develop
a staggered system of working on 3-year residential contracts. This would
stagger renewals throughout the year and make processing more efficient.
This will immediately affect those agencies in year 3 of their multi-year
contracts. |
| Boilerplate
Changes: Some current,
non-multi year contracts reflect a new specification that bills submitted
after 30 days would be subject to 80% payment. DCFS reports that some
programs do not submit bills for service sometimes for up to 6 or 12 months
for their entire caseload. This new clause is meant to enforce the necessity
of timely billing from those programs. It was not intended to penalize
agencies for the occasional case that is billed late due to problems with
case opening dates or lack of i.d. or the occasional monthly billing that is
submitted slightly behind schedule due to a development in the agency. Regions must be the ones to apply this clause, with
approval from central office, to assure the 80% level is not applied to
those types of cases. |
| FY�01
Closeouts: DCFS staff
reported that there are still problems with certain agencies that do not
understand the nature of �current funding.� With the end of year
reconciliation, some agencies have reported to DCFS that they are unable to
meet payroll due to a reduced current funding payment. DCFS is concerned
that the concerns about current funding illustrate the lack of understanding
on the nature of �advances� and that these problems may be masking
agencies also experiencing other internal problems (reduced BARC/BAT,
caseload penalties.) These agencies will be targeted for participation in
upcoming meetings on financial issues with DCFS. |
| Caseload
Penalties: DCFS reported
collection of $1million in caseload penalties. Many agencies appear still to
not understand the CERAP requirements. Other agencies are not submitting
explanations or appeals of penalties that occur when they have sufficient
staff but are under-utilized. We remind our member agencies once again that
when a penalty notice arrives, an explanation should be submitted, which
frequently will offset the penalty. |
| Sib
Visit Penalties: The group
reviewed the suggested penalties for non-compliance with sibling visits.
(See Monday Report of July 16.) Since DCFS finance staff had not been
apprised internally of this plan, the discussion was put on hold until
further internal discussion was held. (MB) |
UNUSUAL INCIDENT REPORT PROCEDURES
Revised procedures for Rule 331, Unusual
Incident Reports, have been issued by DCFS and training is scheduled beginning
this week. The new procedures
reflect the comments received by DCFS after the previous issuance of the UIR
procedures last fall. A group of CWAC-SED members from CCAI agencies worked with
department staff to review comments and to tighten the UIR procedures. Some
parts of the procedure that agencies listed as most troubling were, however,
non-negotiable. DCFS is under pressure from various advocates to implement a
more thorough way of tracking incidents relating to department wards in all
forms of care. The group did, however, obtain agreement from DCFS to develop a
special set of procedures relating to residential children whose repetitive
behavior or treatment plan would suggest the need for multiple UIR�s. DCFS
agreed to develop a procedure for waiving some of the usual reporting
requirements for a specific group of high-end children. The group of CCAI
members from SED and DCFS will work on these procedures as well as the criteria
for the waiver, timelines and review processes.
The Division of Clinical Services will meet
with the SED work group on these procedures. The first meeting is scheduled for
July 30 in Chicago. There is the possibility of adding a few private agency
representatives to this focused, short term, work group. Any agency that would
like to participate should call Ed Sherk at Shelter, Inc. Private agency members
of the group are also open to accepting further feedback about this part of the
procedure. Comments should be e-mailed to Marge Berglind at [email protected]
by July 26. They will be forwarded to the work group.
If your agency needs a copy of the revised procedures in order to submit
comments, please contact the CCA Springfield office at 217-528-4409 for a fax
copy. (MB)
DIRECT SERVICE EMPLOYEE LICENSURE UPDATE
DCFS Licensing
Administrator reports that private agency staff are in good shape for the
imminent issuance of the Direct Service Employee License. All but about 200
people listed as case carrying or supervising are going to be licensed. It
appears on first review that these 200 people who are shown as not being in
compliance are no longer carrying cases. This
appears to be a data problem and not an individual qualification problem. DCFS
is in the process of arranging the actual printing of the licenses and hopes to
get all of the actual licenses out by the end of August.
(MB)
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SPECIAL
EDUCATION
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NONPUBLIC SPECIAL EDUCATION FACILITY
RATE-SETTING STILL BEING NEGOTIATED
CCA sponsored a conference call with staff
from the Illinois State Board of Education, The Illinois Purchased Care Review
Board and nonpublic schools representatives in an effort to resolve an issue
still referred to as �enrollment/capacity.�
The IPCRB maintains that it needs the flexibility to �stabilize
rates� in nonpublic schools since enrollment can change dramatically from
year-to-year. Nonpublic schools
insist that the discretion to modify the rate methodology is too broad and must
stipulate when it will be used. Other
forms of cost containment were considered as well.
CCA will review the feasibility of providing specific allowed costs in
the special education regulations and eliminating the IPCRB with proposed
legislation. Several proposals
regarding rate-setting will be brought to the membership for their consideration
in August (BRH).
�HOT TOPICS IN SPECIAL EDUCATION LEGAL
ISSUES AND REAL WORLD SOLUTIONS� sponsored by the Illinois Special
Education Leadership Academy, August 28, 2001, Gateway Convention Center, 1
Gateway Drive, Collinsville, IL, September 20, 2001, Weaver Ridge Golf Club,
Peoria, IL, September 21, 2001, Giovanni�s Restaurant, Rockford IL. Contact
phone: (618) 395-8626.
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GENERAL
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Juvenile
Justice County Councils
The Illinois Criminal Justice Information
Authority (ICJIA), the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) and the
Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission (IJJC) plan to present six, five-hour
workshops targeted toward active juvenile justice county councils and counties
that are interested in forming them. These workshops will include a discussion
of the merits of juvenile justice councils and how the work at these agencies
fit in with the work for which juvenile justice county councils are responsible,
including the formation of juvenile justice plans.
When
and Where (Tentative Dates and Locations):
Wednesday,
September 5 -- in Lisle, IL
Thursday,
September 6 -- Rockford, TL
Thursday,
September 20 - Champaign, TL
Friday,
September 21 - Peoria, IL
Wednesday,
September 26 - Mt, Vernon, IL
Friday,
September 28 - Collinsville, IL
All sessions will be 1Oam to 3pm and are free
of charge.
In addition to these workshops, ICJTA is
publishing the "Juvenile Justice Council guidebook and Evaluation
Manual" in late July. This guidebook focuses on how research and evaluation
can assist councils in forming a juvenile justice plan.
Please visit TCJIA's website to obtain more
information about these workshops and the guidebook. Information will be posted
as it becomes available.
NEW
CCAI PROVISIONAL MEMBERS
The
Association is happy to announce and welcome three agencies to provisional
membership, they are: Camelot Community Care, Inc., Elk Grove; Catholic
Children�s Home, Alton; and Respite House, Lisle.
Camelot
Community Care
provides therapeutic foster home care, traditional foster home care, adoption,
and family preservation services in Cook County and in the Northern and Central
Regions of DCFS. The agency is a
not-for-profit subsidiary of Camelot Care Corporation, incorporated in Florida.
Catholic Children�s Home in Alton serves to promote and care for
the needs, education and welfare of dependent, neglected or otherwise needy
children and youths who need structured care away from their own homes.
The agency provides a Special Education Day School.
Through their special education department the agency provides year-round
educational and therapeutic services to students age 5 through 21.
Residential services consist of long-term diagnostic and emergency
shelter care programs for boys and girls ages 11 through 18 years of age.
Respite House offers pediatric medical respite services for
children from birth through 18 years of age, for periods of up to two weeks.
They serve the medically fragile population in the Chicagoland area and
are licensed by the Illinois Department of Public Health.
You
may write or call these agencies and welcome them to the membership at: Camelot
Community Care, Inc., 60 Turner Avenue, Suite 2W, Elk Grove, IL 60007,
Phone: 847/778-8100, Fax: 847/788-1310, Chuck Boien, Executive Director; Catholic
Children�s Home, 1400 State Street, Alton, IL 62002, Phone: 618/465-3594,
Fax: 618/465-4023, Candace Lumetta, Administrator; Respite House, 1019
School Street, Lisle, IL 60532, Phone: 630/960-2467, Fax: 630/960-2784, Judith
R. Eichmiller, Executive Director. (SKA)
MEDIA INTERVIEWS UNDER PRESSURE: SOME TIPS FOR SUCCESS
�Media
Interviews Under Pressure: Some Tips for Success� has been prepared by the CCA
Communications office for member use. To obtain your copy, contact Linda Lenzini,
Director of Marketing and Communications at CCA at [email protected].
Please specify whether you prefer a MSWord attachment, imbedded email, or hard
copy of the information.
TAKE YOUR AGENCY�S PR TEMPERATURE
WITH THE CCA COMMUNICATIONS SURVEY
CCA has a number of services available for
public relations professionals, and is currently analyzing membership needs and
interest in the area of public relations. Take advantage of this opportunity to
contribute ideas by filling out the CCA Public Relations Survey. You can request
this survey by e-mailing your request to [email protected],
or visit the home page of the CCA website at http://www.cca-il.org.
PUBLIC RELATIONS INFORMATION AND
IDEA EXCHANGE
CCA
offers an e-mail advisory list for public relations professionals and other
personnel within member agencies that function in a public relations capacity.
The Association will also be offering additional opportunities to exchange
information and ideas and share your successes and challenges. To join your
colleagues at CCA in these efforts, please e-mail Linda Lenzini at the Child
Care Association at [email protected]
or call the CCA offices at 217-528-4409.
NOW AVAILABLE: �HOW TO GET INTO THE NEWSPAPERS
WITHOUT COMMITTING A CRIME� This
handbook, prepared by the Illinois Press Association, is available to CCA member
agencies upon request through a permission to reprint agreement with the Press
Association. The handbook is ideal not only for communications professionals,
but for educating staff, Boards of Directors, and volunteers. To obtain your
copy, contact Linda Lenzini at CCA at [email protected]
or by calling 217-528-4409.
KNOW YOUR LOCAL PRESS
Names,
titles, and contact phone numbers of your agency�s local media outlets are
available for the asking from CCA. Contact Linda Lenzini at the Child Care
Association at [email protected],
or call the CCA offices at 216-528-4409.
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UPCOMING EVENTS/MEETINGS
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Calendar:
July 25-27 �
SUSTAINING KINSHIP TIES: PERMANENCY AND BEYOND--The third national kinship care
conference, sponsored by the Child Welfare League of America, will be held July
25-27, 2001 at the Chicago Hilton and Towers. For more information contact the
Child Welfare League at (202) 638-2952.
August 14 � CWAC SACWIS Advisory Committee
- LSSI
Aug.
23-24 - Uhlich Children's Home presents
"Building Skills for a Brighter Future"-- For further information
please contact: Dee Ann Flynn at (773) 588-0180, X1275 or via email at [email protected]
Aug.
27-28 - THERAPEUTIC CRISIS INTERVENTION UPDATE TRAINING�Cunningham
Children�s Home, Urbana
| For further information on any of the
above, contact the staff member noted in parentheses at the end of the
text: RHM = Ron Moorman
217/528-4409 ([email protected]) MB
= Marge Berglind 312/819-1950
([email protected]) JMS = Jan Schoening
217/528-4409 ([email protected]) BRH= Bridget Helmholz
217/528-4409 ([email protected]) |
RJS=Rommel J. Sangalang 217/528-4409
([email protected]) SKA = Sandy Armstrong
217/528-4409 ([email protected]) LLL = Linda Lenzini
217/528-4409 ([email protected]) |
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