Senate Bill No. 98
(By Senators Oliverio, Macnaughtan and Hunter)
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[Introduced January 14, 1998; referred to the Committee
on Health and Human Resources; and then to the Committee on
Finance.]
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A BILL to amend chapter eighteen of the code of West Virginia,
one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by adding
thereto a new article, designated article ten-j, relating to
the creation of the personal assistance act; short title;
legislative policy; establishment of program; designating
the state board of education as the agency responsible for
the program; demonstration projects; rules; and reports.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That chapter eighteen of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended by
adding thereto a new article, designated article ten-j, to read
as follows:
ARTICLE 10J. PERSONAL ASSISTANCE ACT.
§18-10J-1. Short title.
This article shall be known and may be cited as the
"Personal Assistance Services Act."
§18-10J-2. Declaration of policy.
It is hereby declared to be the public policy of this state
that:
(a) The increased availability of personal assistance
services for adults will enable them to live in their own homes
and communities;
(b) Priority recipients of personal assistance will be those
with severe disabilities, including mental or physical
impairments, or both, who are in danger of being moved from the
living arrangement of their choice to a restrictive setting;
(c) Recipients of personal assistance have the right to make
decisions about, direct the provision of, and control their
personal assistant services. This includes, but is not limited
to, hiring, training, managing, paying and firing of an
attendant;
(d) Any program receiving the allotted funds must have
within its framework the following five basic principles:
(1) Services are available where they are needed, either at
home or in the community;
(2) Services are available when they are needed, twenty-four
hours a day, seven days a week, as scheduled or needed in an emergency basis;
(3) People contribute to the cost of services based on their
ability to pay;
(4) Consumers choose how, when and by whom services are
provided; and
(5) Eligibility is based on functional needs rather than on
a medical diagnosis.
(e) Subject to available funds, other personal assistance
projects will be developed to increase the availability of
services throughout the state to serve eligible individuals.
§18-10J-3. Definitions.
The following words and phrases when used in this article
have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise:
(a) "Personal assistance services" means:
(1) Those basic and ancillary services which enable eligible
individuals to live in their homes and communities rather than in
institutions and to carry out functions of daily living,
self-care, and mobility;
(2) Basic services include, but are not limited to:
(A) Getting in and out of a bed, wheelchair or motor
vehicle;
(B) Assistance with routine bodily functions, including, but
not limited to:
(i) Health maintenance activities;
(ii) Bathing and personal hygiene;
(iii) Dressing and grooming; and
(iv) Feeding, including preparation and cleanup.
(b) "Designated agency" means that the personal assistance
services program will be administered and overseen by a centrally
located independent living center within West Virginia. The
state board of education is hereby determined to be the
designated agency and shall be advised by a consumer board,
composed of individuals receiving personal assistance services
and others with disabilities.
(c) "Eligible individual" means any physically or mentally
disabled person eighteen years of age or older who meets all of
the following requirements: "Eligible individual" may also be
referred to hereafter as a "consumer" who:
(1) Experiences any physical or mental impairment which can
be expected to recur or last for a period of not less than twelve
months as determined by the evaluation conducted by both medical
examination and functional assessment. The designated agency has
the responsibility of determining eligibility based on the
findings of these assessments;
(2) Is capable of selecting, supervising and, if needed,
firing an attendant. If needed, support shall be provided by the
designated agency;
(3) Is capable of managing his or her own financial and
legal affairs with or without the support of a designated agency;
(4) Because of physical or mental impairment, requires
assistance to complete functions of daily living, self-care and
mobility, including, but not limited to, those functions included
in the definition of personal assistance services.
(d) "Personal assistant" means an individual of the
consumer's choice who provides attendant care services for the
eligible individual.
§18-10J-4. Program.
(a) Establishment. -- The designated agency shall establish
and develop under this article programs of personal assistance
services for eligible individuals.
(b) Solicitation of proposals. -- The designated agency
shall solicit proposals to provide personal assistance services
under this article. Providers shall submit proposals in the form
and manner required by the designated agency.
(c) Proposal selection criteria. -- Proposals shall be
selected based on service priorities developed by the designated
agency; however, priority shall be given to proposals that will
serve the severely disabled and those at greatest risk of being
institutionalized as defined by the designated agency.
(d) Agreements with providers. -- In order to provide
personal assistance services, the designated agency may enter into agreements with providers. Each agreement shall include, at
minimum, the number of consumers to be served, the types of
personal assistance services to be provided, the cost of
services, the method of payment, and the criteria to be used for
evaluating the provision of services.
(e) Participation of eligible individuals. -- Providers,
where appropriate, shall include consumers in the planning,
start-up, delivery and administration of personal assistance
services and training to the maximum extent.
(f) Consumer assessment reports. -- Determination of
eligibility and the need for personal assistance services shall
be supported by consumer assessment reports which will be
developed by the designated agency.
(g) Weekly hours of service. -- Each personal attendant will
work approximately twenty hours a week, or as needed, not to
exceed forty hours.
(h) Waiting list. -- The designated agency and providers
shall develop a waiting list, by service priority, for those
eligible individuals who cannot be served immediately.
(i) Individuals currently found on the waiting list of the
elderly and disabled and MR/DD Waiver will be given preference to
be included in the services provided by this or any other
demonstration project.
§18-10J-5. Fundings.
(a) Use of funds. -- Funds made available under this article
shall be used only for the planning, designing, delivering and
administering of personal assistance services and training of
personal attendants.
(b) Program moneys. -- Programs for personal assistance
services, under this article, shall use program funds from a
number of sources, including state and federal funds, program
fees and other allotted moneys. The designated agency shall
apply for and use all available funding sources to carry out a
program of personal assistance services under this article.
(c) Program fee schedule. -- The designated agency shall
develop, wherever practical, a sliding fee schedule for personal
attendant services for eligible consumers.
(d) Disbursement of funds. -- Funds shall be disbursed in a
manner which ensures a maximum consumer control with the service
of the program.
(e) Availability of services. -- Personal assistance
services shall be available only to the extent that they are
funded through annual appropriations of state and federal funds,
program fees, and other allotted moneys.
§18-10J-6. Demonstration projects.
The designated agency may initiate further demonstration
projects as funding becomes available. Funding may be derived
from a variety of sources, which may include, but not be limited to, state and federal appropriations, program fees and other
allotted moneys. These funds may be used to test new ways of
providing personal assistance services, as well as conduct
specific research into ways to best provide personal assistance
services within the state of West Virginia.
§18-10J-7. Rules.
The designated agency, as directed by consumers, shall
propose such rules as may be necessary for the effective
administration of any programs of personal assistance services
under this article.
§18-10J-8. Report.
The designated agency shall appoint a consumer board to
oversee the project on an ongoing basis. One year after the
initiation of the demonstration project, the consumer board will
report to those legislative committees having jurisdiction over
appropriations and over human resource services. This report
shall include at least the following information regarding
personal assistance services:
(a) A summary of the personal assistance services provided
under this article, including, but not limited to, a description
of service model(s) utilized, cost by service model(s), unit of
service per consumer and consumer demographics.
(b) Recommendations regarding the direction of funding for
the demonstration project(s) for upcoming fiscal years.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to create the "Personal
Assistance Services Act" to be administered by the State Board of
Education to provide those basic and ancillary services which
enable eligible individuals with severe disabilities, including
mental and physical impairments to live in their homes and
communities rather than in institutions and to carry out
functions of daily living, self-care, and mobility.
This article is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.