Authorized Provider System General Information

The need for the Division of Developmental Disabilities Services (DDDS) to recruit and maintain a pool of qualified day and residential service providers becomes more acute as the Division continues its transition from a prescriptive to a self-determined service delivery system. If the DDDS is going to be successful in the promotion of self-determined services, it must establish an effective process for procuring community-based services that is based on a system that facilitates the exercise of individual / family / representative choice and is supported by a published-rate system that ensures fairness and equity among certified providers through the use of objective criteria. Some important ways that the APS ( including published-rates ) benefits people with mental retardation/developmental disabilities and their families include:

For People with MR / Developmental Disabilities and Their Families -

• Enhanced individual / family empowerment and decision-making
• Clearer expectations for individuals / families and providers
• Increased choice of providers
• More flexibility for the changing needs of consumers

For Providers -

• Levels the playing field - information, opportunities, and rates
• Providers authorized by standardized criteria and selected on the basis of performance, capacity, and consumer / consensus choice ( bids / price negotiations eliminated )
• Reduced paperwork and process for providing services to new individuals ( e.g., project announcements, Requests for Letters of Interest )
• Ability to increase the types of services that can be provided. as well as develop innovative service models

For the State -

• Enhanced competition around quality of services
• Increased ability of new providers to enter the system (e.g.,small and minority businesses )
• Expanded provider network
• Reduced paperwork and processes for providing services to new individuals (e.g., project announcements, Request for Letters of Interest )
• Enhanced working relationships with consumers, their families, and providers