dds: Operations Division
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Operations Division

DDA Operations Division


Kenneth Cabral, M.Ed - Division Director
(202) 730-1587
Kenneth.cabral@dc.gov


The purpose of the Operations Divisions is to manage the administrative functions of the Developmental Disabilities Administration and DDA budget planning and management. This Division manages the key functions of the District DD agency for intake and eligibility determinations, provider management and development, HCBS waiver administration and consumer benefits, and coordination of activities carried out in DC Superior Court.

The Operations Division is divided into four functional units:
  • Intake and Eligibility
  • Resource and Provider Management
  • Medicaid Waiver and Benefits
  • Court Liaisions
Intake and Eligibility Determination Unit
Alice Anderson – Manager
(202) 730-1745
Alice.anderson@dc.gov

The Intake and Eligibility Determination Unit is responsible for receiving and processing applications and determining eligibility for people applying for services through DDA. In addition this unit identifies and links applicants to services that are related to the person’s and family’s needs while their application is pending. This unit will coordinate across all service agencies and conduct community outreach to ensure that the resources to meet needs and preferences of the consumer are met in an appropriate, timely, and coordinated manner. Efforts are made to identify and procure all possible services and revenue sources, to provide information to facilitate understanding of their legal rights and protections, and to maintain an easy to understand intake and eligibility process.
Some of the supports offered through this unit include:
  • Provides application to the prospective client,
  • Assists individuals and families in filling out application,
  • Researches and connects individuals and families to community resources
  • Informs consumer of resources available and works with the Service Coordinators to ensure the consumer has been connected with providers and District agencies to meet their most urgent needs,
  • Attends Individualized Education Plan (IEP) meetings for children who are transitioning out of public schools, charter schools, private schools, and out of state placements to adult services within the next two years.
  • Provides a link to public and private school representatives or other professionals involved in transitioning youth from the schools to DDA services,
  • Provides information concerning DDA and participates in the planning and transitioning process for these youth prior to them coming into DDA,
  • Conducts outreach in the community and in other sister agencies regarding DDS services.
Resource and Provider Management Unit
Yvonne Iscandari – Manager
(202) 730-1743
Yvonne.iscandari@dc.gov

The Resource and Provider Management Unit is primarily responsible for the overall management and support for service providers deemed qualified by DDA. The unit is committed to ensuring the quality of services, and that individuals and families have the opportunity to choose their own providers from an array of qualified providers. The unit will work collaboratively with providers to ensure they meet the standards set forth by the department, are and serve as the link for providers to DDA, and assess gaps in service delivery to focus provider development activities to ensure individuals have access to services which meet their needs, are flexible, and assist individuals to experience quality of life.

Specific roles and responsibilities of this unit include
  • Provide technical assistance, training and education,
  • Lead responsibility for the COTR process,
  • Approval of invoices submitted by providers,
  • Implementation of the provider readiness system,
  • Support creativity and initiative within providers,
  • Recruit and develop new providers,
  • Processing service funding authorizations,
  • Monitor corrective action and improvement plans,
  • Oversee fiscal payment issues, work through payment problems in collaboration with the Wavier Unit
  • Participate in development of agency performance objectives
  • Conduct site visits based on concerns expressed by individuals, families, community members, or DDA staf
  • Develop RFP’s for services
  • Facilitate the selection process for RFP’s,
  • Coordinate the DDA HCBS provider enrollment review process,
  • Participate in the process of completing the human care agreement,
  • Approve new residential settings, and
  • Ensure all services are funded through the appropriate funding source.
Medicaid Waiver and Benefits Unit:
Arun Natarajan – Manager
(202) 730-1585
Arun.natarajan@dc.gov

  • Reviews and approves initial eligibility for waiver enrollment;
  • Reviews and approves waiver services based on submission of appropriate documentation;
  • Processes annual renewals of plans of care and levels of care;
  • Maintains waiver records;
  • Submits prior authorizations to providers, and,
  • Processes service additions, changes, and cancellations from plans of care.
  • Audits the standards and procedures by which DDA will identify the appropriate funding streams for payment of support and/or services identified in the Individual Service Plan (ISP) and established in the Plan of Care (POC) for all individuals served as part of DDS’s service delivery system.
  • Oversight and management of acquiring and maintaining consumer benefit funds and establishing DDS as the representative payee for consumer’s SSI.
  • Liaising with the Office of the Chief Financial Officer to ensure that an individual’s funds are accessible to him/her.
  • Processing all requests for disbursement of funds, transfer of funds, and depositing funds into and out of a person’s account.
  • Monitors and reviews the use of an individual’s funds that are managed by residential providers.
  • Provides technical assistance and trainings to other units and divisions within DDA/DDA and providers in the following areas: Medicaid waiver rules and regulations, acquiring and maintaining eligibility for Medicaid, acquiring and maintaining other entitlement benefits and Representative Trainee orientation and training in conjunction with Social Security.

What is Waiver*
Waiver Service Descriptions

Court Liaisons

The Court Representatives represents DDA at all hearings at the MR Superior Court, provides the individuals with accurate information for court hearings on all court orders, and ensures court orders have been implemented appropriately and in a timely manner. This Unit ensures DDA will remain in compliance with the court orders by ensuring that providers submit the required information to service coordinators in order to respond to court orders in a complete and timely manner, and that service coordinators maintain required responsibilities to meet the needs of the individuals on his/her caseload per orders of the Superior Court. This Unit ensures that ISP's are timely filed in court prior to the individuals’ court hearing.

In order to ensure compliance with this policy, all DDA Court Liaisons, Service Coordinators, Service Providers and the Office of the Attorney General shall adhere to the following standards:
  • DDA shall represent the individual with accurate and completed information.
  • DDA shall ensure timely submission of ISP’s prior to individual’s court hearing.
  • DDA shall timely comply with court orders.


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