By Gina Macris

A special Commission of the Rhode Island Senate will hold its first meeting Tuesday, Oct. 9 to begin studying the impact of “Project Sustainability” on services for adults with developmental disabilities, its chairman, Sen. Louis DiPalma, D-Middletown, has announced. The meeting is open to the public.

Project Sustainability is the name of the fee-for-service reimbursement system for Medicaid-funded supports for adults with intellectual challenges that was enacted by the General Assembly in 2011. 

The system features a standardized assessment of each client’s needs which is then translated by an algorithm into one of five levels of individual funding.  It was introduced as a more equitable way of allocating funds than the previous method, in which providers negotiated flat rates for each client in their care. 

But Project Sustainability, which was accompanied by significant budget cuts, has been controversial from the start. The state first calculated a myriad of distinct reimbursement rates based on existing median wages for direct care workers. From there it slashed the rates an average of 17 percent in the budget for the 2011-2012 fiscal year, citing a poor economy.   

Providers were forced to cut wages drastically, leading to an instability in the workforce that persists today. Advocates say the high turnover prevents the state from achieving the goals of a 2014 federal civil rights decree that followed in the wake of Project Sustainability.

The U.S. Department of Justice criticized the state for incentivizing segregated care in day centers or sheltered workshops that can be managed with a minimum of staff. An over-reliance on this type of care violates the integration mandate of the Americans With Disabilities Act, the DOJ found.  

DiPalma, the commission chairman, said the 19-member commission includes two consumers, other advocates, providers and representatives of the executive branch of state government. The commission will accept public comment at every meeting, he said.

The first meeting will cover the history of Project Sustainability and spell out the goals of the commission, according to a statement issued in DiPalma’s behalf. The meeting will begin at 3:30 p.m. Oct. 9 at the State House, but the room has not yet been selected, DiPalma said.