Application for Day Services Grants Released

Posted on September 2, 2020 by Jeff Bostic

Last month, the Legislature approved more than $20M in state CARES Act relief funds to provide retention grants to adult day services providers to address the impact of business interruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Under the bill, providers who plan on providing services through the end of this year, either in person or via “alternative adult day,” are eligible for a grant equal to two-thirds of their Medicaid revenue (from all waivers including fee-for-service and managed care) from January 2020. 

DHS recently released an application portal for those grants.  DHS is moving quickly with these grants because of the requirements of the authorizing legislation, which includes an application deadline of September 15.  Members should note that they will need to create an account on the application portal if they have not previously received state grants.

DHS has posted a web page of frequently asked questions about these grants. The application is relatively simple and mostly requires submission of a federal tax ID number and “attestation” about use of the funds. The terms providers must agree to include:

• Intends to provide eligible services through Dec. 30, 2020;
• Incurs unreimbursed costs between March 1 and Dec. 30, 2020, for COVID-19-related business interruptions caused by required closures, reduced capacity to promote social distancing measures or reduced demand for services;
• Experienced revenue losses between March 1 and Aug. 31, 2020, due to COVID-19, that resulted in the organization’s monthly fixed costs to exceed its monthly revenue;
• Will be unable to maintain continuity of services without additional funds.

Grant amounts can be used to cover “fixed” costs. Providers who receive grants should track how the funds were used and make sure they do not overlap with any other assistance they have received, such as federal CARES Act funds or Paycheck Protection Loans. The definition of fixed costs used by DHS for these grants includes:

• General administrative support costs, such as:
  • Software and hardware used to support people who receive services, including billing software;
  • Telecommunications devices, including cell phones and tablets;
  • Costs related to ensuring compliance with laws and regulations, including training and licensing activities;
  • Property, vehicle and liability insurance payments; and
• Costs related to the program’s facility, such as:
  • Mortgage payments;
  • Lease rent payments;
  • Bundled maintenance costs as a part of a lease;
  • Basic utilities, including electricity, gas, water and trash collection.