AGING AND DISABILITY SERVICES ADMINISTRATION
January 30, 2004
ADSA: BH #2004-002
CENTRALIZED INFORMAL DISPUTE RESOLUTION PILOT PROJECT
Dear Boarding Home Provider:
On September 26, 2003, Residential Care Services (RCS) sent a letter to all providers (ADSA: BH #2003-020) informing them of Senate Bill 5579, which included provisions for a two-year statewide information dispute resolution pilot program.
Effective February 17, 2004, RCS will move to a centralized process for conducting boarding home Informal Dispute Resolution (IDR) meetings. The RCS headquarters IDR Program Manager will conduct all IDRs for boarding homes. This is a pilot project that will run February 17, 2004 through May 31, 2005. The pilot project applies only to the boarding home IDRs. The provider must request the IDR within ten (10) working days of the receipt of the statement of deficiencies. Beginning February 17, 2004, requests for IDRs should be sent to:
Linda Moss, Informal Dispute Resolution Manager
Residential Care Services
PO Box 45600
Olympia, WA 98504-5600
(360) 725-2492
Boarding home IDRs may be held face-to-face, by telephone, or be based solely on a record/documentation review. The provider will have the option of which type of IDR meeting they would prefer. Given budgetary limitations, face-to-face IDR's must be held at RCS headquarters in Lacey, Washington.
This letter explains the focus of the new centralized BH IDR Pilot Project. The focus is to provide:
- An opportunity for discussion of concerns and potentially significant issues while the licensors are on-site. Encourage providers to furnish information to assist licensors in making compliance decisions while the licensors are on-site. This communication is truly the first step in an informal dispute resolution process.
- An opportunity to resolve disputes related to deficiencies informally.
- An opportunity for the exchange and gathering of information from the provider, resident, or resident representative and other participants.
- Timely notification of IDR results to the provider and RCS staff. The Long Term Care Ombudsman and resident or resident representative will receive notification if they participated in IDR.
- A quality assurance component to measure and track IDR outcomes.
The IDR process does not replace or stop the formal process for enforcement actions. It is designed to promote the resolution of disagreements during the inspection process and immediately following the receipt of the statement of deficiencies so that the need for formal and protracted disputes might be avoided or reduced.
All participants in the IDR, regardless of whether the IDR is held face-to-face, by telephone or record review, will receive a postcard survey to assess the new process.
We encourage recipients to complete this survey and return the postage-paid card to assist in evaluating the new process.
If you have questions regarding the enclosed Informal Dispute Resolution Pilot Process, please contact Linda Moss, IDR Project Manager, at (360) 725-2492
Sincerely,
Patricia K. Lashway, Director
Residential Care Services
cc: Regional Administrators
