DHS Conducting Two Surveys on Costs in HCBS Settings

Posted on June 2, 2021 by Jeff Bostic

Beginning this year, the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) is now conducting two surveys on the cost of providing services in Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) settings. Both surveys are being conducted this summer and are based on random samples of providers.

Disability Waiver Rate Setting (DWRS) Cost Reporting
If notified in March, providers of services to disability waiver clients must submit information on the cost of providing services to DHS. Providers are selected to submit information through the Disability Waiver Rate System (DWRS) cost reporting platform every five years. The survey is intended to determine whether DWRS rates are adequate to cover the cost of providing services. Providers selected to participate this year must submit the information by August 31.

To assist providers who will be completing this reporting for the first time, DHS is offering a webinar that covers-

• Overview of DWRS cost reporting
• What to expect
• A brief tutorial on the DWRS cost reporting online system
• Account set-up for organization staff
• How to get help.

The webinar is being held Tuesday, June 8 from 2:30 to 4 p.m. Providers can register via TrainLink. 

HCBS Labor Market Survey
A sample of providers of HCBS services to DHS clients has been selected to participate in this year's HCBS Labor Market Survey. Those selected providers have been contacted directly by the DHS contractor, The Improve Group. The survey is focused on wages and benefits of direct care workers, as opposed to the much broader DWRS survey. Providers selected to participate in this survey must submit the information by June 18.