DDS reports 21 approved STEP plans, 65 individuals moved and $78.6 million spent under ARPA

Department of Developmental Services ARPA project coordinator Gunnar Abrahamson told the advisory committee that 21 private provider agencies now have approved STEP transformation plans and that, "As of today, there are 65 individuals who have moved to more independent day and employment and residential settings."

The number of approved plans spans small single-person transitions to larger provider strategies. Abrahamson said the most recently approved plan, from Resources for Human Development, focuses on moving a single person from a congregate/regional setting to an independent apartment using assistive technology and IHS supports. "We currently have 21 private provider agencies that have approved STEP transformation plans," he said.

The update put the program’s progress in context of its original targets. Abrahamson said earlier targets set by department leadership called for 200 day/employment transitions and 100 residential transitions during the ARPA-funded period, but the department has adjusted expectations: "I think at the beginning of the new year, it would be great if the department could be right around 75 individuals having been successfully placed through this initiative," with a goal of more than 100 by the end of the ARPA period.

Abrahamson also reviewed the department’s ARPA spending and near-term plans: "Over the past, 2 to 3 years, the department has spent $78,600,000 in trying to move our service delivery system forward," he said, naming provider stabilization payments, STEP and other supports as uses of those funds. He said the department has added two additional initiatives to its CMS-submitted spend plan and that agency chief financial officer Nicholas Gerard and Commissioner Sheff will give a high-level briefing on those initiatives at an upcoming alliance meeting.

On unspent federal funds, Abrahamson was explicit: "The department does not plan to return any money," though he said some proposed initiatives are still under CMS review and details will follow once approvals are received. The committee was not given a line-by-line accounting in the meeting; Abrahamson invited members to ask for further detail and said the department will continue periodic updates through the remainder of the ARPA period.

The committee’s next procedural step recorded in this meeting was a motion to adjourn; no votes on program changes were recorded during the session. The department plans to provide further detail to the committee as CMS decisions are finalized.