Date: March 10, 2021
To: Adult Day Care Service Providers, specifically those under the State Adult Day Care Certification Standards
From: Wisconsin Adult Day Services Association (WADSA)
Subject: Home & Community Based Services (HCSB) Compliance – Non-residential settings

The WADSA Board understands there is some confusion over the Federal Requirement of the HCBS ruling.   All nonresidential providers will need to meet the rules for Home & Community Based Services (HCBS.)  Some centers have already been contacted and asked to complete a checklist, and others have even had in-person visits (before Covid19.) The State has a certain length of time to ensure all its approved providers comply. They understand the difficulty in making a “one size fits all” guideline for all the various types of services this new regulation governs. It applies to traditional day service settings, prevocational services, adult day care, and other nonresidential settings.
WADSA Board members have been and will continue to be in contact with the State regarding our member’s concerns.  Remember, this is new for the State as well and they are trying to work with providers to help comply with the Federal rules.  (Note:  HCBS regulations only apply if you are billing the Medicaid Waiver for your participants, i.e., Family Care/IRIS.  If you are private pay, this does not apply to you.)
Here are some responses that we received from the State….
 “All nonresidential provider settings regardless of type – adult day care, adult day service, prevocational or group supported employment – will be required to meet the benchmarks prior to receiving an HCBS compliance determination.”
“A common misconception about the HCBS process is that DHS has the power or flexibility to change benchmarks, alter the process, or HCBS expectations based on setting type. This is not the case.  All settings regardless of type ultimately are required to meet the benchmarks.”
“As also mentioned, we (the State) will be providing a resource guide for ADC settings very soon. This reference guide is designed to assist providers of adult day care settings to effectively meet the benchmarks of the HCBS Settings Rule. This guide does not include every benchmark; instead it focuses on questions DHS has received from ADC settings. It is intended to be used as a cross reference between DHS certification standards for adult day care and DHS benchmarks for HCBS compliance.” 
 
We have also heard from members being asked to resubmit their review materials that they had already completed months ago. Putting together these documents takes time and effort, so we recommend anything submitted to make a backup copy until your process is completed. 

If you have any questions or concerns regarding HCBS, please contact Diane Goetsch our WADSA lead for HCBS, at 715-218-3772 or diane@kindheartedhomecare.com