The Department of Mental Retardation creates innovative opportunities for individuals with mental retardation to participate fully and meaningfully in their communities as valued members. The Department provides residential, day, work, family and individual support, and transportation services to more than 24,000 individuals.

Objectives

In Fiscal Year 1998, additional funding will allow the Department to provide services to 387 families and individuals currently on the waiting list for day and residential services. Increasing consumer access to these services has been identified as a major priority for the Weld/Cellucci Administration by the Governor's Commission on Mental Retardation.

In addition, a significant portion of the waiting list for day and residential services is made up of individuals who have turned twenty-two years of age, thus becoming ineligible for the Department of Education's special education programs. Additional expansion funding will allow the Department to provide day and residential services to 160 of the most needy of those individuals who turn twenty-two years of age during Fiscal Year 1998, and who would not otherwise receive state-sponsored day or residential services.

Budget Recommendations

The Fiscal Year 1998 budget recommendation includes two expansion items: 1) a $10 million increase for day and residential services targeted for individuals and families currently on the waiting list; and 2) an increase of $4.4 million in the Turning Twenty-Two account to allow the Department to provide services to individuals who turn twenty-two years of age during this fiscal year. The cost of these service expansions will be partially offset by an associated $5.8 million increase in federal Medicaid reimbursement revenue.

These recommendations will also propose five account consolidations to promote administrative efficiency: 1) the community-based adult day and work program account (5920-2025) will be consolidated into the residential and day community-based program account (5920-2000); 2) the community-based adult health services account (5920-2040) will be consolidated into the state-operated community-based adult residential programs account (5920-2010); 3) the school-related residential account (5920-8010) will be consolidated into the children and adolescent services account (5920-8000); 4) the Glavin Regional Center account (5930-2000) will be consolidated into the state facilities account (5930-1000); and 5) the account (5911-9999) that funded personnel "chargeback" costs, including workers' compensation, unemployment insurance, and various health insurance costs will be consolidated into the Department of Mental Retardation administration account (5911-1000). In addition, the retained revenue account (5911-1001), which is funded from a portion of the home and community-based waiver revenue, will be converted to a direct appropriation and combined with the administration account (5911-1000) to afford the Department more flexibility, and to ensure that funds are available to support critical services.

These recommendations include $5.96 million to improve salaries for the Department's lowest paid, contracted, direct care workers. In Fiscal Year 1997 this funding was appropriated as part of a reserve account in the Executive Office for Administration and Finance.

Fiscal Year 1998 Spending in Fiscal Year 1997 Account Structure

FY98 Account Structure			FY97 Account Structure
5911-1000	DMR Administration	17,584,972	5911-1000	3,724,497
			5911-1001	1,000,000
			5911-9999	12,860,475
5920-2000	Residential, Day, and Work Community Programs	362,584,828	5920-2000	295,163,005
			5920-2025	67,421,823
5920-2010	State-Operated Community Residential Services	80,509,500	5920-2010	69,443,295
			5920-2040	11,066,205
5920-8000	Child and Adolescent Community Services	4,536,077	5920-8000	4,036,077
			5920-8010	500,000
5930-1000	State Facilities Maintenance and Operation	192,528,075	5930-1000	186,934,644
			5930-2000	5,593,431

Budgetary Direct Appropriations

DEPARTMENT OF MENTAL RETARDATION ADMINISTRATION
5911-1000	For the administration of the department of mental retardation	17,584,972

COMMUNITY SERVICES TRANSPORTATION
5911-2000	For the transportation costs associated with adult services; provided, that the department shall provide such services on the basis of priority of needs as determined by the department	24,937,385

COMMUNITY SUPPORT SERVICES
5920-1000	For the administration and program support of adult services	39,953,791

RESIDENTIAL, DAY, AND WORK COMMUNITY PROGRAMS
5920-2000	For residential and day adult services	362,584,828

STATE-OPERATED COMMUNITY-BASED RESIDENTIAL SERVICES
5920-2010	For state-operated community-based residential services for adults	80,509,500

RESPITE SERVICES AND INTENSIVE FAMILY AND INDIVIDUAL SUPPORT
5920-3000	For respite services and intensive family and individual supports	37,464,028

TURNING TWENTY-TWO COMMUNITY SERVICES
5920-5000	For services to clients of the department who turn twenty-two years of age during state fiscal year nineteen hundred and ninety-eight; provided, that the services funded in fiscal year nineteen hundred and ninety-eight by the amount appropriated herein shall not have an annualized cost of more than eight million five hundred thousand dollars in fiscal year nineteen hundred and ninety-nine; and provided further, that no provision set out herein is intended to give rise to an enforceable legal right or entitlement not otherwise provided in regulations of the department, or any other special or general laws	4,400,000

OLDER UNSERVED ADULT SERVICES
5920-6000	For services to the older unserved	6,750,000

CHILD AND ADOLESCENT COMMUNITY SERVICES
5920-8000	For child and adolescent services	4,536,077

STATE FACILITIES MAINTENANCE AND OPERATION
5930-1000	For facility operations for individuals with mental retardation	192,528,075

Intragovernmental Service Spending

RESIDENTIAL SERVICES PILOT PROGRAM INTRAGOVERNMENTAL CHARGEBACK
5948-0012	For a residential services program, including the costs of residential services provided for the purposes of item 7061-0012	5,000,000
	Intragovernmental Service Fund 100%

Federal Grant Spending

PROJECT ENGAGE TEMPORARY CHILD CARE FOR CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES
5947-0004	For the purposes of a federally funded grant entitled, Project Engage Temporary Child Care for Children with Disabilities	47,889

Trust and Other Spending

5483-9101

WALTER E FERNALD STATE SCHOOL

7,000

5911-2001

DEPARTMENT OF MENTAL RETARDATION COMMISSIONER'S TRUST

2,300,000

5920-0002

BELCHERTOWN CAROUSEL TRUST

20,000