DDA Begins to Turn the Page?

Earlier today, the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH) held a conference call to address questions about why the Developmental Disabilities Administration (DDA) underspent millions in  funds and to describe the steps that the Department is taking in response.  This call covered the same material as the Town Hall meeting that was held on November 30 and was intended for those who were unable to attend that meeting.  

This in itself is a good sign.   Too often, public agencies hold in-person meetings which are difficult to get to and use the meetings to say they are open to public input. Today, with telecommunications so advanced, connecting with broader audiences via conference call, video conference or webinar is relatively easy to do, so a single in-person meeting is no excuse for communicating with the public.   I’m glad that DHMH is figuring this out.

Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, Secretary of DHMH, led the presentation with the good news – the steps DDA will take now that this problem has come to light. 

He said four steps are happening for fiscal year 2012:

1)  DDA is enhancing urgent assistance for families on immediate risk/crisis prevention lists ($7 million in new general funds)

2)  They are supporting and improving their infrastructure  ($6 million)

3)  They are increasing funding to support care coordination ($1 million)

4)  They have hired a consultant to start to develop a new supports-only Federal waiver program, which could lead to several million dollars in additional Federal funds in the future.

They are also developing a fiscal year 2013 plan which will be announced in Governor’s next budget. 

Frank Kirkland, the new Executive Director of DDA since August, expanded on this to say that the first item will enable them to reach everyone currently on the crisis prevention list.   Before taking this step, they had budget  to help only 400 families.   This is one time funding, but it will meet needs like providing respite care and making home modifications.  A list of the services they will provide will soon be posted on the DDA website.

To explain how Maryland got to this point, they turned the call over to Tom Russell, the Inspector General for DHMH.  He stressed that his office’s investigation had found no evidence of fraud or criminal activity.   What they found instead was an antiquated and ‘broke’ accounting and payment system (often still relying on paper processes).  Such a system cannot efficiently pay out funds received.  The problems are state wide and affect every region in the DDA system. 

Modernizing the administration of DDA will presumably be the purpose of the infrastructure funding.  Russell encouraged everyone to look at the Inspector General’s report about this problem and to call his office at 410-767-5862 if you have any questions.   The presentation stressed this personal touch, with Kirkland also saying repeatedly that any families with specific problems with DDA should contact his assistant, Kim Bennardi, at 410-767-5997.

These are all good steps and good attitudes.  They don’t erase the fact that Maryland, the wealthiest State in the US, has no excuse for failing to upgrade its backward administration of disability programs.  But let’s hope this is a move in the right direction and the effort Sharfstein described lasts once the public spotlight fades.

Wil Gehne