McKee Announces Additional Federal Funding for Home and Community-Based Services - and More
Monday, December 06, 2021
Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee, House Speaker Joseph Shekarchi, and Senate President Dominick Ruggerio on Monday announced the legislature’s commitment to act on the Governor’s RI Rebounds proposal, an initial investment of 10 percent of the State’s $1.13 billion American Rescue Plan State Fiscal Recovery Funds to make a down payment on Rhode Island’s recovery.
McKee also announced tens of millions of dollars in additional federal funding to support home- and community-based services and the state’s Early Intervention program for children with developmental needs.
The Governor’s original RI Rebounds proposal, submitted to the legislature for approval in October, invests $113 million to jumpstart Rhode Island’s recovery. The proposal includes $38.5 million to support children, families, and social supports; $32 million to assist small businesses impacted by COVID-19; $29.5 million to promote affordable housing, housing stability supports and broadband; and $13 million for hard-hit tourism, hospitality and event industries.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTThe Governor, Speaker and Senate President also pledged to add an additional $6 million to address growing child care needs.
Home and Community-Based Services
The Governor announced that he will direct $57.4 million in Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) funding for workforce related investments which will provide support to nearly 4,500 home- and community-based services direct care workers. These funds are the result of a 10 percentage point federal match FMAP increase for all state spending on home- and community-based services that was included in the American Rescue Plan.
Providers will allocate 85 percent of funding to direct care workers in the form of hiring bonuses, increased hourly wages, enhanced benefits, shift differentials, wrap around benefits and training or support.
Long Term Services and Supports Recruitment and Retention Temporary Rate Program ($33.9 million): Eligible providers include Home Health agencies, Adult Day Care Centers, HabGroup Homes, PACE workers, Independent Provider and Personal Choice PCAs.
Behavioral Health Recruitment and Retention Program ($22.4 million): Eligible providers include Community Mental Health Centers, Certified Peer Navigator Agencies, Substance Use Disorder Rehab programs and Opioid Treatment programs and Children’s HBTS/PASS providers.
$1 million will be allocated to support administrative needs including program design, rate setting, reporting and compliance.
Investments in Early Intervention
McKee announced $3.64 million in CARES Act funds to support Early Intervention which provides essential early childhood development services that support healthy outcomes for children across Rhode Island.
This investment is in addition to the $5.5 million for Early Intervention that the Governor included in his RI Rebounds plan. Funds will be used to assist Early Intervention providers in mitigating the economic impact of the pandemic, recruiting and retaining workers, avoiding further closures, and providing continued services to children with developmental needs.
Due to the pandemic, Early Intervention providers faced significant losses because of the current rates, and today are struggling to hire and retain the staff needed to provide services to all children needing Early Intervention programming.
“Today, we are making a crucial investment in Rhode Island’s recovery,” said McKee. “Our Administration is committed to delivering support for home- and community-based direct care workers and ensuring that children with developmental needs receive the services they need. I also thank the Speaker and the Senate President for their partnership and their commitment to act on our RI Rebounds plan which will provide much-needed relief for children, families, housing, and small businesses. This is an important step – we must keep going.”
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