South Dakota lawmakers are taking up a growing nationwide effort to streamline services for vulnerable populations.
One of the committees for this legislative offseason has focused on community support providers and their needs moving forward.
The group is tasked with finding efficiencies in the state IDD, or intellectual and developmental disability, network.
At their final meeting Tuesday, that body left with three recommendations. Senate Pro Tem Chris Karr summarized them for the committee.
“Number one – recommend the Department of Human Services collaborate with community support providers, case management organizations and other stakeholders to update the guidance document choices, roles, and responsibilities," Karr said. "Number two - recommend the Department of Human Services work with community support providers and other stakeholders to address overlap and redundancy. Number three – recommend the Department of Human Services include a day-rate for day services in addition to the current, 15-minute, billing option.”
Ultimately, this boils down to reducing redundancies within the state’s provider network, and a change to billing options to allow for a full day rate over the current system that breaks down into 15-minute chunks.
Those recommendations were broadly accepted by the state Division of Developmental Disabilities, with minor notes.
Sioux Falls Republican Brian Mulder said this is part of a nationwide, nonpartisan trend of facing challenges in the field.
“We’re trying to get more efficient in those areas because we know we aren’t funding the methodologies," Mulder said. "We see the writing on the wall, it’s a national trend. Two weeks ago, I was in Denver as part of the National Conference of State Legislators Health Chairs meeting. It was one of the scheduled topics for the three-day session, and it lit a fire in the room. It’s all across the nation, they’re feeling the pressures in these services.”
These recommendations are not legally binding and will require further legislative approval.