Welcome
Rachelle Kivanovski moderated
Allison McCarthy, OPWDD
Megan O’Connor, OPWDD
Abiba Kindo, OPWDD
Cathy Varano, CDNY
Randy Bolton, Parent, NYC FAIR
Danielle Lanzetta, SANYS
OPWDD links-What is the Life Plan?
Person Centered description: https://opwdd.ny.gov/providers/person-centered-planning
What is the LifePlan: https://opwdd.ny.gov/providers/what-life-plan
LifePlan Outcome Measures: https://opwdd.ny.gov/providers/life-plan-outcome-measures
The LifePlan is supposed to be a ‘person centered’ plan that is supposed to include overarching safeguards, life goals, including health care and DD services. It must meet Home and Community Based (HCBS) settings rules
It is different from an IEP or ISP in that includes health care and behavioral health.
OPWDD is partnering with the CCOs, to refine and strengthen their part of the Life Plan process.
Preparation
It is helpful to look at the previous Life Plan before the meeting to see if there are changes you see that need to be made. It is also helpful to get information from providers and the Care Manager about any proposed goals or issues in advance.
Making Changes
The Life Plan can be altered if there is a change that isn’t accurate.
For some minor changes, the Care Manager can make notations in a person’s electronic health record and then formally change the life plan at the next review.
If it’s a more substantive change, the Care Manager can do an addendum and an official modification. They can convene the team to discuss changing specific goals, and involve the OPWDD regional field office if it means increasing hours for a specific service or requesting an additional service.
Reinforce what is meaningful to you. for example, you can include very specific ideas – insisting on certain doctors, hospitals and ER., types of recreational activities, etc. This is important as people’s Care Managers change for a variety of reasons.
Life Plan Follow-Up
After the Life Plan is written, it is sent to you to review, approve or change what is in there. There is a 45 day window to finalize the plan but want it to be only a few weeks. Then it goes to the providers. You are given a copy,
What if Goals are not being met because of the lack of availability of programs or staff Care Managers should ask if there is something else that can be done instead while they work on staffing and capacity. There should be some acknowledgement in the Life Plan as to why a goal is not being met, acknowledging the lack of availability.
How the goals of the Life Plan are translated into everyday life
If it stays as a piece of paper it is not very helpful. The provider of both residential and Day services is supposed to communicate with the staff and then create specific Staff Action Plans to talk about how they will achieve those goals.
The Staff Action Plan (SAP) which is used by Certified Residences and Day Programs is drawn from the goals in the Life Plan. The providers are required to educate the staff on each individual’s SAP and share the document with the Care Manager within 60 days of the LifePlan meeting. Currently, there is no requirement that the SAP be shared with the member or family, but OPWDD states they encourage providers to share the SAP with the individual and family. You have the right to ask for it.
For people in Self Direction the Broker is supposed to create a Staff Action Plan (SAP) who sends it to the FI, should send a copy to the Care Manager and hopefully to the person/self director.
Care Managers are supposed to monitor the goals during their scheduled check-ins. Those are informal. The meetings are the formal review.
How the CAS (Certified Assessment System) used for the Life Plan
According to OPWDD the CAS looks at all the key areas of a person’s life: living skills, health, behavior and supports. OPWDD says they use multiple assessments. The Care Manager is supposed to use the CAS to inform the planning process and identify possible unmet needs.
Regulatory Items
The Life Plan has to include certain specific content to meet regulatory requirements. The new HCBS (Home and Community Based Services) Settings Rule has specific requirements about allowing individuals in certified settings access to keys to their home and room, have a locked bedroom door, unlimited access to food and visitors. How these rules are being implemented and all requested modifications to these rights must be documented in the Life Plan.
OPWDD also requires specific documentation regarding need for Family Reimbursement and other items within the Self Direction budget be included.
Request for changes centering around the use of durable medical equipment to make them be more individualized to the person’s needs.
Health Management
There is concern that at this point the health care focus is only on preventive care, which is important but there are those with complex medical and/or behavioral health needs that are beyond the expertise of Care Managers who don’t have a nursing or medical background. Each CCO functions a bit differently – some have a system to escalate to someone with the appropriate expertise, but others less so.
OPWDD added that they reviewed a set of high needs individual Life Plans to identify opportunities for learning and strengthening the ability for CCOs to move towards the next step to strengthen their clinical capacity.
OPWDD Quality Oversight
OPWDD Division of Quality Improvement also conducts ongoing reviews of many Life Plans monthly and compares them to the person’s record, provider documentation and interviews with the individuals and their circle of support. They provide feedback and recommendations for improvement to the CCO and try to identify issues and trends that may need to be addressed system wide.
How can the Life Plan help the care of my loved one after I am unable
Apart from the LifePlan you may want to consider creating a Letter of Intent to detail what you would like to see for your family member when you are gone. It can be as detailed as you wish: what is your child’s favorite color, food. Who are your family members’ doctors and what is their medical history.
Here’s one example: https://www.rubinlaw.com/blog/what-is-a-letter-of-intent-do-i-need-one-for-my-child-who-has-special-needs/#:~:text=The%20goal%20of%20a%20letter,into%20a%20new%20caregiving%20routine.
Another example:
https://www.specialneedsplanning.com/parents-guide-to-the-special-needs-letter-of-intent
The Life Plan does not need to be in the First Person for someone who is non-verbal or has limited verbal skills. Does not need to be written as “I am “ can be “So and so wants”