Latest / Life Without a Filter: Practical Strategies for Life After 22 / Episode 15: Starting PDP? What the Orientation Is REALLY Like (and How to Be Prepared)

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Episode 15: Starting PDP? What the Orientation Is REALLY Like (and How to Be Prepared) · Life Without a Filter: Practical Strategies for Life After 22

• 0:07
  SPEAKER_00: Hi everyone and welcome back to another episode of Life Without a Filter.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_00: In episode 13, I reviewed the checklist that I created with the steps to starting a participant directed program.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_00: If you missed that episode, don't worry, I've put a link in the show notes.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_00: This week we are going to take a deeper dive into a part of that process, the PDP orientation.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_00: You might be asking yourself, wait, what exactly is this?
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_00: And why does it feel like such a big deal?
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_00: And you are definitely not alone.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: For a lot of families, this step can feel a little intimidating.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_00: We are getting into the weeds here and talking about responsibilities, budgets, and even risks.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_00: And it can leave you wondering, am I ready for this?
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_00: So in today's episode, I'm going to walk you through what the PDP orientation actually is, why it exists, and most importantly, how to go into it feeling prepared and confident and not overwhelmed.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_00: As a reminder, if you are more of a visual learner, you can hop on over to the YouTube channel if you want to see any of the screens that I am talking about.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: Let's start by looking at what the PDP orientation is.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_00: The PDP orientation is one of the final steps before your adult can get approved for the participant directed program in Massachusetts.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_00: It's really a structured conversation and review process that makes sure you fully understand what it means to manage an individualized budget, take on an employer type role, and partner with your DDS team in a different way than you may be used to.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: For us, this orientation occurred over Zoom with myself, our DDS transition coordinator, and the adult DDS support broker.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_00: Elle did attend for part of the meeting, primarily so that the DDS support broker could get to know him a bit.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_00: Once we really started getting into the business side of the orientation, Elle was excused since I was going to be taking on that role as the employer of record.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_00: You might be asking, if our adult child and family has decided that we want to do participant directed programming, why do I have to go through an orientation before it is finalized?
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: The primary reason for having this orientation is to make sure that you understand how the system works, you know how to avoid the common pitfalls, and you feel equipped, not just excited about self-direction.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: This process exists to protect you, your young adult, and your funding.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_00: It also gives you a starting place to ask questions and get to know your DDS support broker.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: And I'll be honest, this is a point in the process where I see a lot of families have similar reactions.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_00: Like suddenly this feels real, real.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_00: Wait, I'm an employer now?
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_00: And what if I mess something up?
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_00: If you've had any of those thoughts, you are in very good company.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_00: Self-direction is a shift, and the orientation is often the moment where that shift really clicks.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_00: In the orientation, you'll go through the checklist with your DDS team that typically includes your roles and responsibilities, how the individualized budget works, safeguards around spending and documentation, hiring and managing staff, and the supports available to you like your service coordinator and support broker.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_00: So let's go over to the checklist and walk through the items.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_00: And remember, if you're watching this on YouTube, I'll walk through that checklist line by line.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_00: When we participated in the orientation, we had a different layout of the checklist that we reviewed and had to initial next to.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_00: Again, if you're watching on YouTube, I'm showing you the screen of what the orientation checklist we used to look like.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_00: Last year, DDS updated it to a document which lists the items that would be reviewed with the space to sign that you participated in the orientation at the bottom.
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_00: So what I'm going to do now is I am going to jump over to the orientation checklist that you're going to be using moving forward.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_00: I put a link in the show notes of the checklist.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_00: So if you click on that link, it will bring you to the mass.gov website, tools for PDP and AWC.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_00: And it has the PDP orientation checklist and service code matrix.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_00: If you click on the orientation checklist, it is going to bring you to the one-page document that your support brokers will review during the orientation.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_00: And then at the bottom you is the place for either the participant or legal guardian to sign and the support broker to sign.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_00: So there are 18 items listed on here, and they will go over again in greater detail.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_00: Our orientation took about two and a half hours to do, and that was only because at the end of the first hour they asked if we wanted to continue on and finish it or if we wanted to have a break and reschedule.
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_00: So I think that depends on how many questions you have during the process, how much time you have available.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: I was asking a lot of questions during this process, which is why it probably took two and a half hours.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_00: But I am just a person that likes to ask a lot of questions when I have those questions in the moment.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_00: So I would just before you make the appointment for the orientation, ask how much time they are scheduling for it.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_00: And that if it is a hard stop after, say an hour, if you will have the opportunity to schedule another orientation time so that you can complete it and get all of your questions answered.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_00: Again, this is really where you want to have all of your questions answered because this is where you are making that final informed decision about yes, our family is going to pursue doing self-directed services for our young adult.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_00: All right, so the first one, the general concept and practice of self-directed supports.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_00: Usually by this point, you know what a self-directed program is.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_00: You know if you're doing PDP versus agency with choice, you know what your options are related to doing self-directed versus doing a CBDS program, but they do the general overview of what PDP is.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_00: Um, same for number two, review all of the service delivery models and the option to change them.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_00: You do have the option to switch out of PDP into agency with choice or vice versa.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_00: You also have the option to move out of self-directed into a CBDS.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_00: When we did our orientation, even though you can opt out anytime that you want, our support broker did ask if we would be willing to at least put in one year doing this model.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_00: And that was primarily because it really does take, or at least it took us, a good three to six months before we were fully up and running with staff and programming and whatnot.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_00: So they really want you to give it a good chance, and they know that the front part of that portion is going to be a lot of setup time.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_00: So I did understand that we did verbally agree to stick with it for at least a year, but you do have the option to change.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_00: Um, number three, translating a participant's vision into an individual support plan and budget.
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_00: So prior to coming into this, again, if you've read either some of my previous blog posts or listened to previous episodes, I talk about creating your vision plan and your business plan.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_00: You're you would have already done this, so you're going to take that information, including the person-centered plan, and turn it into your draft ISP, which is your individual support plan, and the budget that reflects the goals and the vision.
• 9:08
  SPEAKER_00: Um, number four is the role of the participant, family support broker, other DDS staff in the financial management service.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_00: And this is just basically what roles everyone is playing within this structure.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_00: Review of natural and existing supports and services.
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_00: At this time, your DDS support broker will usually inquire if your person is getting any other funding, if they're getting any Medicaid funding, if they're getting SSI funding.
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_00: Because while there may be some items you would like to purchase as part of the self-directed program, the self-directed budget may not support that.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_00: But if there are other supports and services that you are receiving, they may be able to fill in those gaps within the self-directed program.
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_00: Number six is the big one: development of an individual budget with an explanation of alt-paid services.
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_00: Um, at this point, again, going back to number three, if you have your individual support plan and budget, if you know how many staff you are going to need, how many hours you're going to need your staff, what activities they're going to participate in, that is going to really help you with advocating for the development of your individual budget and what um budget items they will come through, and if there are any caps in those budget items.
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_00: So this is why, again, if you've listened to any of my past episodes, it's so important to come into this orientation with all of that information really laid out in a very concise plan because that will show your DDS support broker that you have a plan, how you want to execute on it, and it's going to justify the budget amount that you are asking for.
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_00: Number seven is review of how and why to make changes to supports and budget.
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_00: So you get your lump sum of money, and by you, I mean DDS gets the money.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_00: DDS always holds the money through your fiscal intermediary.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_00: You, as the employer of record, um, or whoever the employer of record may be, can request DDS to have funding moved between different budget line items, but you cannot go in yourself and move money around.
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_00: So during this stage, it's going to, they are going to talk to you about the different budget line items, if there are any caps to those line items, and how much money should be moved into those budget amounts based on your initial plan.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_00: Now that doesn't mean that throughout the year money can't be moved around.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_00: So in our situation, our first year, we did all day supports.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_00: Then starting year two, we started doing activities that should have should be paid out of the home support budget.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_00: So we spoke with our DDS coordinator about it.
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_00: It reflected in Elle's ISP in his goals, and we looked at what those goals were going to be, how many hours were going to need to be used for that, and our support broker was able to move that amount from the day support hour budget into the home support budget.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_00: Now we could have also moved it from any other of the budget line items that we had, but um this is just one example to show you that even though you kind of you're not locked into where the money is, there is some fluidity on where you can move it within the caps that are within those budget line items.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_00: And we can do another episode if people are interested in all the different budget items, what the caps are and stuff like that.
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_00: I don't want to go too into the weeds for that right now.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and that actually flows into number eight, your limitations, allowable and disallowable expenses.
• 13:11
  SPEAKER_00: Those are so six, seven, and eight, you're kind of going to all go through together as far as your budget goes.
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, number nine, selecting an employer of record or authorized representative, and if they are needed.
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_00: So when you sign up to do, or when your person signs up to do the participant directed program, that person, the client, they can be their own employer of record.
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_00: Now, there may be reasons why they cannot or should not be their own employer of record.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_00: So in our situation, we have limited guardianship with L.
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_00: And one of those areas has to do with, you know, making certain decisions.
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_00: And the decisions that would need to be made related to the employer of record are those that his team has determined would be very difficult for him to be able to make independently on his own.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_00: So it was the teams and Liam agreed, understanding that I would become the employer of record.
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_00: And basically, the employer of record means that you are the CEO of the self-directed program that you are creating for your person through DDS.
• 14:34
  SPEAKER_00: Now it doesn't have to be a family member, it can be anyone in the circle of care.
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_00: Um, can be the employer of record.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but you know, number nine is first.
• 14:45
  SPEAKER_00: Do you need an can the client be their own employer of record?
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_00: And if not, who is going to be that?
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_00: And then that goes into number 10.
• 14:53
  SPEAKER_00: And this is where we spent a lot of time during the orientation, and L was excused for all of that part, was going over all of the responsibilities, which uh include, you know, finding staff, scheduling staff, writing the job descriptions, um, reviewing timesheets, um, managing the um budget, um, supervision, performance reviews, um, hiring, pay rates, um, keeping track of everything.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_00: Um, everything that has to do with being the, as I call it, the CEO, the chief everything officer of the program.
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_00: If you're the employer of record, you are signing on that you are doing all of that.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_00: And again, if people have interest, we can do another episode where I go into a deeper dive into all of the things that are required of you to be the employer of record.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, number 12, review the wages cost to you in the payment schedule.
• 15:51
  SPEAKER_00: So the payment schedule is literally just um your employees, your staff will get paid every two weeks.
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_00: They give you the schedule, it's already predetermined, so you know when everything needs to be approved.
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and the wages cost to you is you need to be aware that if you are paying your staff, say,$20 an hour, um, additional cost will come out of the budget because of taxes and workmen's comp and other um monies that need to be associated with the payroll.
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_00: So you need to take that into consideration too when you're doing your budget.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_00: It's not just I'm paying$20 or$25 an hour.
• 16:35
  SPEAKER_00: It's really they are getting paid$20 or$25 an hour, but really$23 to$28 per hour is coming out of my budget.
• 16:44
  SPEAKER_00: So you need to be aware of that, or else you're gonna run out of money sooner than you thought you would.
• 16:49
  SPEAKER_00: So numbers 13 and 14 discuss the ability to be able to talk with other PDP participants and to participate in any um information sessions that DDS has.
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_00: And number 15 is the review of the participant toolbox.
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_00: This is the DDS workbook that they have put out, which really goes into a lot of detailed information about the participant directed program.
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_00: I have done blog posts on that, so I will put a link to the blog post and a link to the toolkit.
• 17:23
  SPEAKER_00: And that is something that when I'm working with families, I will often have them reference and review that when we're looking at the vision statement and um setting up the budget and doing all of those initial steps.
• 17:37
  SPEAKER_00: So, really, that number 15 review of the participant toolbox, that should be something that you are already familiar with and have already used.
• 17:47
  SPEAKER_00: Number 16 is a review of the preventing financial abuse and exploitation.
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_00: And basically, that is their fraud policy.
• 17:56
  SPEAKER_00: And then number 17, you're going to review and sign this PDP acknowledgement of responsibility saying that you have reviewed all of the topics with your support broker.
• 18:07
  SPEAKER_00: And then number 18 is just review other program responsibilities and considerations as needed, any questions that come up, or at any time throughout from this point forward, anytime you have questions of your DDS support broker, you are able to reach out to them and talk to them about any questions that you have.
• 18:29
  SPEAKER_00: So I know this is a lot of information, but because you know I love a good checklist, here are some simple ways to get yourself ready for this meeting.
• 18:39
  SPEAKER_00: The first is shift your mindset.
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_00: You are not expected to know everything when you walk in.
• 18:46
  SPEAKER_00: To be honest, I did not have a copy ahead of time of the orientation checklist when I went into that process.
• 18:53
  SPEAKER_00: So knowing what that checklist looks like and having an overview already puts you ahead.
• 19:01
  SPEAKER_00: You are expected to be willing to learn and ask questions.
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_00: My DDS support broker encouraged me to ask a lot of questions, which is why our orientation was about two and a half hours long.
• 19:13
  SPEAKER_00: But by asking questions from the get-go, it told him that I was invested in supporting this process for L and that I was comfortable with acknowledging that I needed help and was willing to do the work from those questions that I asked.
• 19:28
  SPEAKER_00: The second thing is start thinking about the various roles.
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_00: This checklist breaks down all of the components of a PDP program.
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_00: And while the initial response may feel like you have to do it all on your own, if you have a circle of care of family and friends, look at this checklist and ask yourself what parts feel manageable for you to do and which ones may you need to outsource.
• 19:52
  SPEAKER_00: And what parts feel intimidating and are going to require some additional support for you and your adult.
• 19:58
  SPEAKER_00: Looking at this also helps guide good questions during the actual orientation, which leads to write down your questions ahead of time.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_00: Like I mentioned earlier, I did not have a copy of the orientation checklist before the meeting.
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_00: But if I did, I would have written down all of my initial questions ahead of time.
• 20:20
  SPEAKER_00: Also know that if your DDS support staff are providing a detailed orientation, the majority of your questions will probably be answered without having to ask any, but new questions may come up during the discussion.
• 20:36
  SPEAKER_00: Number four, review the materials by skimming the checklist and look at the participant directed toolkit that DDS has published.
• 20:43
  SPEAKER_00: And again, I'll put a link to that in the show notes.
• 20:48
  SPEAKER_00: And finally, reflect on the why.
• 20:52
  SPEAKER_00: While this process can be overwhelming, now is a good time to ask why is your child participant family choosing self-direction?
• 21:01
  SPEAKER_00: And what do you want to make possible for your young adult to achieve via this programming model?
• 21:09
  SPEAKER_00: That last one matters more than you think because it keeps you grounded when things feel new or uncertain.
• 21:17
  SPEAKER_00: And remember, the goal of the orientation is not to make this feel harder.
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_00: It's to make sure that when you step into self-direction, you're doing it with clarity, support, and confidence.
• 21:28
  SPEAKER_00: Because at the end of the day, this model is about building something that actually works for your young adult and your family.
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_00: It is better to be prepared and have those hard conversations about if this is the right model before you close off any other options.
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_00: Over the next few episodes, I am going to walk you even deeper into the PDP process, things like hiring staff, managing your budget, and building your support team.
• 21:56
  SPEAKER_00: So make sure you subscribe so you don't miss those.
• 21:59
  SPEAKER_00: And if you're listening and thinking, I still have questions, you're not alone.
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_00: You can always reach out, and starting in August, I'll also be offering a free 20-minute coaching call for you to learn more about my upcoming coaching services if you want more individualized support.
• 22:17
  SPEAKER_00: Everything will be linked in the show notes.
• 22:29
  SPEAKER_00: But you don't have to figure it out all at once.
• 22:32
  SPEAKER_00: And you definitely don't have to figure it out alone.
• 22:35
  SPEAKER_00: Until next time, thanks for listening.