And Proposals for the Budget are . . . ?

February 05, 2023

The reports on the proposed budget amendments from the House Appropriations Committee and the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee are out today.  The Senate Report does not contain as much detail (though considerably more money!) so it will be several days until we have the exact information.  I’ll list some of the key elements below and indicate if they appear in the House [H] or Senate [S] or both [H/S]:

• Updates to the rates for CD Services and for DD Peer Mentoring (both were left off of the increase last July) [H/S]
• Fund a rate study for BH services [S]
• Request that DMAS amend the the DD Waivers to allow for the Ticket to Work and WIIA as allowable categories for the Waivers [H]
• Increase rates for partial hospitalization for $250.62 to $500 per diem [H/S]
• Funds the requirements of HB 1603 & SB945 combining the maximum annual allowable for AT and EH-BS [H/S]
• Requires DMAS to convene a workgroup to examine the impact of including all children’s residential services in managed care [H]
• Requires DBHDS to review, in several ways, the reporting requirements for CSBs to identify duplicative or out of date requirements [H/S]
• Transfers $15M from DBHDS to DOE for grants to schools for school-based services [H]
• Adds an additional $25M to create more Crisis Receiving Centers and Crisis Stabilization Units than were requested in the Governor’s “Right Help, Right Now Plan in high need areas [H]
• Provides $36.5M to allow salary adjustments for all CSB staff; not just those funded by state dollars [H]
• Add permanent supportive housing [S]
• Increase rates for the first three steps of STEP-VA [S]
• Increases the personal care allowance and the auxiliary grant amount (not to exceed $1,832) [H/S]
• Increase rates for BH services 10% [S]
• Add $8.4 M for children’s BH Services [S]
• Increase DD Waiver Rates 5% [S]
• A “contingent” amount for an additional 500 Waiver slots – I expect it is contingent on the rates being agree to – it would bring the total to 1,600 in July [S]
• Raise rate for Supported Living to equal GH 4 or fewer [S]

While we will not know for sure until the “half-sheets” are out, it looks like our request for funding while staffing individuals in an acute care setting was not successful in either committee.  New idea, first time ask, we have some work to do before the next Session!


Remember that these are to amend the Governor’s Budget – (See the News Post of 17 December) and they are proposals to be negotiated between the House and the Senate.  It is clear that the House has accepted the Governor’s tax cuts, so they had far less money to use for needed expenditures.  Those items that are in both committee reports are very likely to survive.