March 2010: News from the WCHO and the Recipient Rights Advisory Committee

I have been attending Washtenaw Community Health Organization (WCHO) Board meetings for most of the last year in an attempt to understand and follow changes in the agency during the current economic crisis. Very few outsiders attend these meetings—most of the participants and attendees are either Board members or staff from the WCHO or CSTS (Community Supports and Treatment Services). The Board deals with complex issues concerning money and policy that affect the people they serve but, in my opinion, their decisions are not always anchored in the realities of life that we and our family members face each day. The Board does best when we keep them informed and connected to how their actions affect our family members.

For example, at the end of last summer, there were plans afoot to contract out all the vocational and skill-building programs that were operated by CSTS, a public agency. This was part of the County Board of Commissioners move to close a huge budget deficit. Families went to the WCHO and the Board of Commissioners with heartfelt arguments for why the CSTS programs should not be eliminated or changed. Eventually the CSTS employees' union made concessions to the County Board, their employer, that preserved most of their jobs. Then, the WCHO decided to continue contracting with CSTS for vocational and skill-building programs without interruption. Another outside agency that provides supported employment and skill-building programs for other WCHO consumers, was going to be dropped by the WCHO, which would have caused disruption to the people served by that agency. The outside agency felt that the WCHO had made the decision with inaccurate information. The WCHO then decided to continue the contract without interruption. Not all policy and funding decisions work out as well as this one did, but it would never have happened if no one had spoken up.

WCHO Board funding outlook

During a Board discussion on WCHO funding, the Executive Director Patrick Barrie said that continued federal stimulus funding and Medicaid funds would help the agency (and the state) make it through the next six months. If the health care reform legislation makes it through Congress, there will be many opportunities to expand Medicaid funding and to take advantage of demonstration projects. This could avoid cuts that are under consideration by the Michigan Senate. If health care reform fails, there are other possibilities to consider, (passing out Prozac was suggested) but no one is very optimistic about any of these. [Health care reform did pass, so hold the Prozac for now.]

Recipient Rights Advisory Committee Report

The Recipient Rights Advisory Committee for the WCHO has worked on decreasing the number of complaints having to do with "Failure to Report". (If an employee of a WCHO programs fails to report a possible rights violation, that is in itself a violation of rights.) Through training of people who work in group homes, supported living situations, and in other programs funded by the WCHO, the Recipient Rights Office has emphasized the responsibility of employees to report rights violations that they see in their work with people served by the WCHO. There has been a dramatic increase in the number of rights violations reported, perhaps due in part to this emphasis.

There is concern by the Recipient Rights Committee in the large number of substantiated complaints in unlicensed supported living sites for people with developmental disabilities. There were 71 reported for the last fiscal year. Rights complaints in licensed group homes for people with developmental disabilities came in a distant second, with 26 complaints. Substantiated rights complaints increased 50% overall during the last fiscal year.

The Recipient Rights Advisory Committee believes that there should be further investigation of this problem. Some of the causes of the problem may be outside the scope of the Recipient Rights Office, however. For instance, when there are complaints that services are not suitable to the individual’s needs, it may be that Person-Centered Plans are not adequately addressing the needs of the people served. The cause of the problem may lie with staff training, lack of accurate information to families, misunderstanding of PCP requirements, etc.

The WCHO Board is interested in supporting the idea of further investigation into these problems, but asked that the committee come up with a more specific proposal.