AB459: Bill Text

LRB-3218/1

TJD:cjs:jf

2013 - 2014 LEGISLATURE

2013 Assembly BILL 459

October 21, 2013 - Introduced by Representatives Sanfelippo, Tranel, Pasch, Severson, Jagler, Tittl, Murphy, Spiros, Steineke, Bies, Petryk, Czaja, Ballweg, Brooks, Bernier, A. Ott, Wachs, Bernard Schaber, Danou, Hulsey and Jorgensen, cosponsored by Senators Petrowski, Moulton, Schultz, L. Taylor, Harris, Lassa, Wirch and Lehman. Referred to Committee on Health.

AB459,1,3 An Act to create 20.435 (5) (br) and 46.545 of the statutes; relating to: individual placement and support program for employment of individuals experiencing mental illness and making an appropriation.

Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau

This bill requires the Department of Health Services (DHS) to create five regional centers for individual placement and support (IPS) for employment of individual experiencing mental illness. DHS must ensure that each of the state's counties is served by one of the regional centers. DHS is allowed to contract with existing organizations or consortiums to create a regional center. DHS and the regional centers must provide or arrange for work incentive benefits counseling for individuals who are not receiving vocational rehabilitation services from the Department of Workforce Development. DHS is required to award grants to employment sites that are implementing IPS services or regional centers for certain activities. The allocation for the moneys and grant awards for IPS programs for the 2013-2015 biennium is specified in the bill.

Under the bill, DHS must ensure that each regional center has access to the services of an IPS trainer or mentor and an IPS supervisor. A trainer or mentor has the responsibility to monitor infrastructure grants, coordinate training with DHS, train employers on IPS practices, conduct visits twice per month to supervisors of employees hired under IPS to assist with implementation of effective practices, and review IPS programs every six months until the programs achieve good fidelity to the evidence-based model. An IPS supervisor has responsibilities that include developing training for employment specialists at work sites, creating a vocational unit that includes employment specialists, and providing supervision of program outcomes in accordance with the evidence-based model.

For further information see the state fiscal estimate, which will be printed as an appendix to this bill.

The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do enact as follows:

AB459,1 Section 1. 20.005 (3) (schedule) of the statutes: at the appropriate place, insert the following amounts for the purposes indicated: - See PDF for table

AB459,2 Section 2. 20.435 (5) (br) of the statutes is created to read:

AB459,2,7 20.435 (5) (br) Individual placement and support. Biennially, the amounts in the schedule for operating and providing grants for the individual placement and support program for employment of individuals experiencing mental illness under s. 46.545.

AB459,3 Section 3. 46.545 of the statutes is created to read:

AB459,2,11 46.545 Individual placement and support. (1) (a) The department shall create all of the following regional centers for individual placement and support for employment of individuals experiencing mental illness.

AB459,2,12 1. A northwestern Wisconsin region.

AB459,2,13 2. A south-central Wisconsin region.

AB459,2,14 3. A region consisting of a consortium of counties in northeastern Wisconsin.

AB459,3,1 4. A region consisting of a consortium of counties in central Wisconsin.

AB459,3,2 5. A region consisting of Milwaukee, Waukesha, and Racine Counties.

AB459,3,4 (b) The department shall ensure that each county in the state is served by one of the regional centers created under par. (a).

AB459,3,6 (c) The department may contract with existing organizations or consortiums to create any regional center.

AB459,3,8 (2) The department shall ensure that each regional center created under sub. (1) (a) has access to the services of all of the following:

AB459,3,10 (a) An individual placement and support trainer or mentor, who is responsible for all of the following:

AB459,3,11 1. Monitoring infrastructure grants.

AB459,3,12 2. Coordinating training with the department.

AB459,3,13 3. Training employers on individual placement and support practices.

AB459,3,16 4. Conducting visits twice per month to supervisors of employees hired under individual placement and support to assist with implementation of effective practices.

AB459,3,18 5. Reviewing individual placement and support programs every 6 months until the programs achieve good fidelity to the evidence-based model.

AB459,3,20 (b) An individual placement and support supervisor, whose responsibilities include all of the following:

AB459,3,21 1. Developing training for employment specialists at work sites.

AB459,3,23 2. Creating a vocational unit of employment specialists that with the supervisor comprise the individual placement and support team.

AB459,3,25 3. Providing supervision of program outcomes in accordance with the evidence-based model.

AB459,4,3 (3) The department shall award grants to employment sites that are implementing individual placement and support services or regional centers for any of the following activities:

AB459,4,4 (a) Implementing individual placement and support programs.

AB459,4,6 (b) Offsetting costs until a program is capable of billing the Medical Assistance program.

AB459,4,8 (c) Becoming a provider of vocational rehabilitation services through the department of workforce development.

AB459,4,11 (4) The department and regional centers shall provide or arrange for work incentive benefits counseling for individuals who are not receiving vocational rehabilitation services from the department of workforce development.

AB459,4 Section 4. Nonstatutory provisions.

AB459,4,13 (1) Individual placement and support funding.

AB459,4,18 (a) In the 2013-2015 fiscal biennium, from the appropriation under section 20.435 (5) (br) of the statutes, as created by this act, the department of health services shall award grants and provide moneys for individual placement and support as described under section 46.545 of the statutes to be distributed in all of the following allocations:

AB459,4,21 1. Three individual placement and support trainers or mentors at an amount of $75,000 for each trainer or mentor with $50,000 of each $75,000 being the base salary.

AB459,4,23 2. Three individual placement and support supervisors at an amount of $75,000 for each supervisor with $50,000 of each $75,000 being the base salary.

AB459,4,25 3. Infrastructure pilot grants in the total amount of $400,000 to be distributed as described in paragraph (b).

AB459,5,2 4. Work incentive benefits counseling for 100 individuals statewide at the amount of $1,200 for each individual who is provided counseling.

AB459,5,5 (b) The department shall award the grants under paragraph (a ) 3. using a graduated outcome or incentive payment schedule with all of the following amounts being awarded when the grant applicant satisfies certain criteria:

AB459,5,9 1. $2,500 for each grant applicant when that applicant develops a steering committee, completes agreements with the department of workforce development, becomes a vocational rehabilitation service provider, hires staff and hosts an event indicating readiness to provide services.

AB459,5,11 2. $2,500 for each grant applicant when that applicant completes the baseline review within the first 6 months of the program.

AB459,5,14 3. $5,000 for each grant applicant when that applicant develops a plan for improvements and achieves 50 percent employment for a full year based on the program model requirements.

AB459,5,16 4. $5,000 for each grant applicant when that applicant achieves good fidelity to the evidence-based model.

AB459,5,17 (End)