DSP Wage Increase Plan Notice

In the Division of Disability and Rehabilitative Services announcements of June 28, 2021, and July 8, 2021, the Bureau of Developmental Disabilities Services announced a legislated 14% rate increase to go toward wages and benefits paid to eligible direct support professionals delivering the following services:
• Respite
• Extended services
• Day habilitation – Individual and group small, medium and large
• Transportation services – Level 1, 2 and 3
• Participant assistance and care
• Residential habilitation and support (daily & hourly)

For DSP’s providing the above listed services will be increasing the base wages By 10%-40% effective June 27, 2021.  95% of the 14% will go into increasing wages and 5% will go toward payroll tax Liabilities.
Additionally, we will be paying bonuses to eligible employees if there is a surplus of funds from rate increase. The bonus will be calculated based upon longevity and hours of services provided in the fiscal year.

Thanks to All our Valued and Dedicated DSP’s

As we look at re-opening; here is our safety plan:

- Temperature will be checked 3 times a day (upon entrance, at lunch, upon leaving for the day) and documented for both staff and individuals served. The person screening will be required to wear gloves and a mask during this process. Screening is to be completed in privacy as much as possible. At this same time a COVID questionnaire will need to be completed that shows all the positive results. If someone would refuse to allow staff to complete the screening - they will be turned away immediately without the ability to gain access to our facility. Masks will need to be present with each person and documented upon entry. No mask – no entry

- Social distancing measures will be maintained as best as we can by adding additional square footage for programming and opening more locations for individuals to enjoy breaks and lunch

- Handwashing will continue to be added into programming throughout the day as well as during breaks and lunch. Additional portable hand washing stations have been purchased and will be placed in areas where distance to water might cause someone to not wash as often.

- Face masks must be worn while in the building

- Visitors to our building will be restricted to only essential day-to-day personnel and anyone needed to maintain the safety of the facility. All visitors must sign in and out and have a temp check before proceeding. Anyone that is not considered essential but feels they need to gain access to the building will need to be pre-approved by the CEO and this will be EXTREMELY limited.

- All food will need to be brought in ready to eat (already prepared and cut into proper portions) in disposable packaging (ex. Sandwich in zip lock bag and lunch in brown paper bag) – NO MICROWAVES and REFRIGERATORS WILL BE AVAILABLE UNTIL AT THE EARLIEST 9/8/20

- Staff will be trained on everything from hand washing to social distancing and tons of things in between.

- If someone would develop symptoms of COVID-19 during programming hours; individuals served- will be isolated in the med room until a ride home can be found (cleaning in the areas of their workstation/restrooms would immediately happen), staff – sent home immediately (cleaning in the areas of their workstation/restrooms would immediately happen)

- Staff will continue to sanitize high touch surfaces throughout the day along with our overnight janitorial staff deep cleaning following EPA guidelines, after hours to be able to use hospital grade chemicals to clean our facility.

- Signage will be posted at all points of entry to review guidelines in preparation for entrance in to the building.

- ASI will hold the right to shelter in place again in the future if the case numbers increase to what is deemed unsafe levels.

NO date to re-open has been confirmed. We will reopen in phases in order to maintain the health, safety, and welfare of the individuals we serve, our staff, and their families!

Each family will receive a phone call from the QIDP and they will review our safety plan, answer a series of questions and based on the answers, a return date will be assigned. That return date could change based on information gathered during the wait period.

Please be patient while we work to make calls to all families. This is a marathon, not a sprint so we will work to do this slow and methodical so as not to put anyone in jeopardy.

ASI director issues call to action

Posted Monday, May 4, 2020 1:15 am, Journal Review

As you know — it’s tough, we are all fighting our own battles and each day brings new challenges. That is nothing new for Abilities Services Inc. Our priority, as always, is keeping clients and staff safe, healthy and happy. This sounds easy —until this public health crisis began.

ASI is an agency that assists individuals with developmental and physical disabilities to live and work within our community. We have been providing this service right here in Montgomery County since December 1971.

During this crisis, finding personal protective equipment has become close to impossible. When we do find it — the price is generally four times the amount we were paying just a couple months ago. On Thursday, we had to pay $56 for a gallon of hand sanitizer. Donations have all but dried up. To date we have already spent greater than $10,000 in PPE, cleaning supplies and items that will be needed to re-open. That $10,000 was not in our budget.

Even though we had to idle our day program and temporarily sunset our transportation to ensure the safety of our individuals, we are still providing services to those we serve —24 hours a day seven days a week in their homes. Our job coaches are still meeting with high school and middle school students (albeit via zoom and conference calls) helping them map out their future. Our vocational rehabilitation department is continuing to electronically meet with clients and work towards job placement. Our nursing staff is busier than ever making wellness visits, conducting telehealth appointments and checking in on our individuals’ health and wellbeing. If you could peel back the layers of ASI, you would see that we are busier now more than ever. All this shift in business, requires more staff than we currently have. We are desperately looking to hire 20-plus members of the community to help support our individuals. We have added “hero pay” to all front-line employees working directly with (non-family) individuals. Unfortunately, job applications and new hires have all but come to a standstill. Like other businesses, we are plagued by having more than ten employees who for various reasons, cannot or are not comfortable, working at this time —this a loss of 400 required service hours we cannot provide.

Although the federal government has designated money through the CARES Act for Medicaid service providers like ASI, the state has not passed that money through to agencies like ours. Congress approved a 6% increase in Medicaid dollars (Federal Medical Assistance Percentages), but at this time, Gov. Eric Holcomb has not approved any funding for our industry. Much of the additional work we are doing is a requirement of the state to ensure the health and safety of those who we are entrusted, and ASI is not being paid for those services. Once again — this is one more thing that is not in the budget.  stream to provide some stability. It is important to note that with the massive financial loss to the State of Indiana’s budget, not to mention the rainy-day fund, we have already been warned that cuts to Medicaid budgets are eminent. Once again, that 6% increase is vital for the future solvency of our programs. With budget cuts looming and not receiving the increased Medicaid dollars that were intended for services to individuals with I/DD, agencies like ours will have to make difficult choices to find ways to even keep the lights on — let alone provide the services families so urgently need in our community.

No one is stepping up to help, even though ASI is a front line agency helping our vulnerable population. Please help us by taking a minute to reach out to Gov. Holcomb (317-232-4567), Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, State Rep. Tim Brown (317-232-9651) and State Sen. Phil Boots (317-232-9400). Encourage them to pass along the Medicaid funds as was intended when it was appropriated by Congress to help ensure that agencies like ASI will be able to provide these vital services for our community long after this National Health Emergency is over.

Michelle Leonard-Smith
CEO/Executive Director
Abilities Services Inc.

National Day of Giving is Tuesday December 3nd

GivingTuesday is a global generosity movement, unleashing the power of people and organizations to transform their communities and their world. GivingTuesday will kick off the generosity season this year by inspiring people to give back on December 3rd, and throughout the year.

 

GivingTuesday was launched in 2012 as a simple idea:  to create a day that encourages people to do good. Over the past seven years, this idea has grown into a global movement that inspires hundreds of millions of people to give, collaborate, and celebrate generosity.

 

People demonstrate generosity in many ways on GivingTuesday. Whether it’s helping a neighbor or stranger out, showing up for an issue or people we care about, or giving to causes we care about, every act of generosity counts.

 

GivingTuesday inspires people all around the world to embrace their power to drive progress around the causes they care about, not just on one day but throughout the year.

Every donations counts, even just a $1 , help make a difference in the lives around you and build a stronger community.

Thanks,

Michelle Smith, CEO

 

Donations and the Impact of Kind Gestures

Abilities Services, Inc. assists people with disabilities, or similar disadvantages, with living and working in their local communities. Our goal is to help individuals with developmental disabilities, our consumers, achieve their highest potential and enjoy life where they live, learn, work, and play.

In early September we received a most welcome phone call. A gentleman, who requested to remain anonymous, was calling to inform us that he would like to donate a car to Abilities Services and to our consumers. The generous donation was significant in both size and impact; vehicles play a key role in quality of life for our consumers.

We commit a large amount of time and resources to keep our consumers engaged in a variety of activities, both in our facilities through our Day Services Program and in the local community through our Supported Living and Residential Programs. We schedule daily outings for our consumers and provide round-trip transportation for medical appointments, jobs, and volunteer opportunities across the community. ASI staff frequently use their personal vehicles to provide this service when agency-owned vehicles are not available. Unfortunately, staff vehicles are often unreliable and are not always available when needed, which can limit opportunities for consumers to get out and about. This hampers consumers’ ability to participate in programming and engage in Montgomery County.

The donated vehicle will be used to improve staff and consumer flexibility, and to provide more opportunities to get our consumers and staff out into the community. It will allow our consumers to have more meaningful and active days out, and more flexible schedules for medical appointments, jobs, and the like. The generous donation will allow Abilities Services, Inc. to provide more reliable transportation to and from Adult Day Services, Employment Services, Home by Choice, Protective Services, Recreation, Recreational Therapy, Residential Services, and Supported Living. It will have a direct and significant impact on the lives of our consumers, and we could not be more grateful for the support.

Donations are essential to the success of our mission, and the mission of other non-profits supporting people with disabilities. While the State of Indiana provides significant funding for the care of people with disabilities, these funds are often insufficient in covering costs that improve the quality of life for our consumers.

As a non-profit organization, ASI is always appreciative of donations that assist us in delivering the highest quality of care. Donations contribute to effectively managing our programs and services. They also fund activities such as birthday parties for our consumers, summer barbeques, and other special occasions for our consumers.

Monetary contributions can be designated for special projects or events at the donor’s discretion. Abilities Services can also make use of items that many people discard, such as furniture, household and hygiene supplies, and equipment (such as cooking supplies) for our Day Services Programs. If you would like to donate to Abilities Services, please visit asipages.com. If you are interested in learning more about the direct impact of potential donations to the lives of our consumers, please contact Michelle Leonard-Smith at Michelle.Smith@asipages.com.

Creative Expression Through Creative Abundance

In July 2016, Abilities Services, Inc. hosted a Creative Abundance arts programming workshop at our Clinton County day services location in Frankfort. The Creative Abundance program assists organizations that support people with intellectual disabilities with transforming their services to be more inclusive and community-centered.

The program, which catered to each of our Frankfort consumers on an individual basis, transformed the day services space and our consumers at that location. Consumers blossomed during the two-week program and have continued to express themselves and find fulfillment through art projects. Through the program, ASI has also connected with the local community through art displays, open houses, and more. “To say that changing our program over to Creative Abundance has been life changing sounds cheesy – but it’s true!” ASI’s Executive Director Michelle Smith is a strong advocate for the Creative Abundance program following its success in Frankfort.

“The excitement and enthusiasm that they brought to the program has transformed the way our consumers feel about their day program.  Watching the interaction, creativity, and talents grow on a daily basis is amazing.  People who have been known in the past to be a wall flower are now out in the community spreading the message about the new and exciting things that we are working on.”

The program empowered and inspired our consumers to express themselves and find pride in their work through art projects. Each and every one of the Frankfort consumers was involved in the program at their personal level of comfort. Our consumers began bringing new creations to life and the work they have produced in only a few short months is, in a word, stunning. They are happier, healthier, and more at home while participating in our day services than ever before.

The encouragement of creative expression for mental and developmental disabilities is unconventional, but it is proving to be effective and is beginning to be viewed as a best practice by care organizations throughout the country. Art offers creators an outlet, and opportunity to explore, and the chance to create something that can be appreciated and enjoyed by people they will never meet. “Without fear of judgment or interference of ego, [these] artists can simply explore the way lines emerge when they put pen to paper, and marvel at the singular beauty of each and every mark,” says art writer Priscilla Frank.

To help raise funds for the continuation of the arts programming at Frankfort, ASI will be hosting its first ever fundraiser on November 3rd. The event, which will take place at 7:00 p.m. at 110 S. Prairie Avenue in Frankfort, will be an art auction where attendees can purchase original works of art created by ASI’s Frankfort consumers. Of proceeds collected from the sale of each piece, 40% will go to the artist, 40% will support future ASI programming, and 20% will go towards the purchase of additional art supplies.

ASI has also partnered with the Journal Review print shop to print note card stationary featuring the work of some of our artists. These note cards, pictured below, are available for sale and can be purchased by contacting ASI at (765) 362-4020.

Based on the demonstrated success of the program in Frankfort, ASI is currently working to bring the Creative Abundance Group to Crawfordsville, where they will facilitate the arts programming and build artworks with our Montgomery County consumers and staff for a ten-day workshop. An ASI employed artist-in-residence will continue to offer arts programming following the conclusion of the workshop.  The success of the Creative Abundance has been transformative to the way we care for our consumers, and it is something that we intend to carry into the future for years to come.

Abilities Services, Inc. Is Looking For Your “Trash”

In early December, the Montgomery County Community Foundation awarded $20,000 to Abilities Services Inc. to implement the Creative Abundance program at its Crawfordsville location. Creative Abundance will train all administrators, staff, and consumers to create an atmosphere that encourages creativity and self-expression. The program includes art instruction and up cycling materials to create art which is then sold, with proceeds going to the artist, ASI, and to the continuation of the arts program.

The Creative Abundance program, which was previously hosted at ASI’s Frankfort location, has a significant impact upon ASI’s consumers and staff. At the Frankfort location, ASI’s consumers have had the opportunity to share their artwork with the public through an Open House event and an Art Auction Fundraiser. Through Creative Abundance, ASI’s consumers have learned to channel their energies and emotions into artwork. As a result, the agency has recorded a significant decrease in behavioral issues, and the quality of life of the Frankfort consumers has improved. ASI is excited to bring this innovative and inspiring program to Crawfordsville and looks forward to sharing consumer creations with the community.

To celebrate our consumers and the success of the Creative Abundance program, Abilities Services will be hosting an Open House (more details to come!!). The event, which will be open to the public, will be an art show and culminating capstone event that will celebrate our consumers and their artwork as the Creative Abundance program draws to a close.

To prepare for the Creative Abundance program, which will take place in January 2017, ASI is seeking donations of items of little to no value that are often discarded after the holidays. As you’re cleaning up from your holiday celebrations this year, please consider donating any of the following to support the innovative arts program:

  • Fabrics: Prom dresses, sparkly clothing, and 100% wool sweaters can all be repurposed for costumes and other crafts. Yards of cotton, upholstery fabric, velvet, bed sheets, spare curtains, and bedspreads can be especially useful, as they often serve as the canvas for larger than life art pieces created by participants. And, of course, with all of the painting going on, smocks and lab coats are always welcome.

  • Thread: Thread, yarn, and embroidery thread can be used in sewing projects or as accents for paintings.

  • Embroidery Hoops and Needles: Embroidery hoops 10” or smaller and blunt end, plastic and sharp needles will be used for sewing projects

  • Plastic Containers: Large and small yogurt containers, margarine tubs, hummus tubs, other plastic containers, and old cupcake tins serve as paint containers

  • Paper Mache Materials: Brown grocery bags, heavy paper (ex. craft paper, card stock, rolls, or sheets), colored paper, wrapping paper, tissue construction paper

  • Odds and Ends: Buttons, beads, costume jewelry, foam balls, lace, ribbon, rope, CDs, wooden objects of any kind, wooden chairs, tables, old desks, lampshades