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State moves agency‑with‑choice supports to Consumer Direct Care Network; agency seeks $3 million to sustain program
Summary
DHS told legislators community providers stopped delivering agency‑with‑choice supports after federal regulatory changes; the department contracted Consumer Direct Care Network LLC to continue payroll/fiscal services and asked for about $3 million to cover new fiscal and employment‑related costs.
The Department of Human Services told the Joint Committee on Appropriations that provider‑delivered "agency with choice" supports were in danger of collapse and the agency contracted Consumer Direct Care Network LLC to maintain the program.
Shawnee Rectenbaugh, Cabinet Secretary for the Department of Human Services, said five community support providers stopped offering agency‑with‑choice services in 2024 after federal regulatory changes limited prior practices. "Due to these regulatory changes, the 5 CSPs ... announced in January of 2024 that they would no longer be able to provide agency with choice supports," Rectenbaugh said. To avoid service gaps and to allow direct support workers to keep paychecks, DHS contracted Consumer Direct Care Network in June 2024 to assume fiscal management.
Why it matters: Agency‑with‑choice enables families or individuals to hire and direct in‑home caregivers; without a fiscal intermediary the program cannot pay workers. DHS said the transition and a change to allowable worker hours raised operating costs, and the department asked legislators for $3,000,000 in additional authority to sustain the program that served 811 individuals in 2024.
What DHS proposed - Funding request: DHS asked for roughly $3 million in additional expenditure authority to cover increased fiscal management costs, employee‑related expenses and the removal of a 20‑hour work‑week cap for direct care workers. - Rationale: DHS told the committee the new arrangement preserves jobs for direct care workers and continuity of services for participants who rely on the family‑directed employment model. Secretary Rectenbaugh noted the switch avoids abrupt service interruption and allows agencies to pay employees while acting as the fiscal employer.
Testimony and next steps DHS said most participants have transitioned to the new fiscal intermediary and the department will complete the move by May 31, 2025. Committee members asked for budget detail and the department said it would provide the claims and fiscal breakdowns that justify the requested authority.
Ending DHS framed the shift as a pragmatic response to federal regulatory changes and requested state funding to maintain program continuity for roughly 800 participants who rely on self‑directed home supports.
