ROUGHLY EDITED TRANSCRIPT
INDEPENDENT LIVING RESEARCH UTILIZATION (ILRU)
704 REPORT: PART II
PRESENTED BY KIMBALL GRAY
NOVEMBER 23, 2015
3:00 P.M. ET
>> KIMBALL GRAY: All right. Hello, my name is Kimball Gray. I am a project officer
with the Independent Living Administration in ACL, which is the Administration for
Community Living, and we have a webinar we would like to share some information
with you today.
Specifically on the 704 report.
Next slide, please.
The purpose of the webinar, as indicated in the announcements you received is to
refresh your memory and inform you of any new developments in this year's 704 report
process. We do recognize that reporting this data in a consistent and uniform manner
is not very easy. We want to make that process as stress-free as possible in.
Keeping with my goal, which is to get you guys out of here as quickly as possible is to
give you just the right amount of information that will result in you getting your report
completed and submitted. I'm going to stop the introduction and dive right into the
webinar right now.
Next slide, please.
Topics. 704 report form and process; fifth core service, points of emphasis, update
on the 704 revision, update on MIS, GMS contact by state, which is actually a project
officer now, but just keep that in mind when you are contacting us, use "project officer"
term.
And then URLs to documents and MIS.
Topics addressed in this webinar, are related partly from questions we have received
from you in the past and where we have noticed problems in the past as well. It's our
hope that after you have listened to this short webinar, you will feel more comfortable
completing and submitting your part II, 704 report this year.
Next slide, please.
The 704 report form and process. First and foremost is the form itself. The 704
report form has not changed from last year. Due to the RSA MIS7 website is no
longer being available, included in the notice of announcement about this webinar, that
each CIL will receive, there will be a blank 704 report form, the instructions, and the
guidance letter of transmittal that CILs received last year from us.
We suggest that you use that blank to complete this year's 704, to begin the work on, it
start getting it done. Nothing has changed. And then as soon as the online version
of the 704 report goes live, we'll notify you. Then it will be very easy for you to just cut
and paste the work you have already done on the blank into the online version.
Content, the content has not changed from last year's instructions on what data is
requested, including the addition of the fifth core data into the report. More on that
later in the webinar.
Timeline. The reports are due to ACL by December 30th, but due to the
circumstances arising from the transition taking place over the next two weeks, we'll be
accepting late submissions this year. There has been a delay in setting up and
implementing the new MIS system at ACL. It's being tested at this time to ensure it is
operational. But there will be more information on the new deadline forthcoming in
the near future.
Next slide, please.
The fifth core service. Nursing home transition, diversion, youth transition, and as I
shared with you, the link to transmittal will actually include the transmittal itself in that
announcement letter, letting you know that the webinar is live.
The 704 report instrument will be revised at a future date to incorporate the new core
services and other pertinent WIOA provisions. In the meantime, the DSE's federally
funded Centers for Independent Living or expected to use the current 704 report
instrument to report on their IL core service activities during the past year, in three
areas specified by WIOA.
Nursing home transition. From institution to home and community-based living.
Diversion, preventing at-risk individuals from entering an institution and youth
transition, from school to postsecondary life.
Each of these areas is to be reported in a different 70 report section.
A, the nursing home transition. We want you to place that information in subpart III,
Section b, significant life areas.
Item j, community based living.
Diversion, subpart III, significant life areas, item d, community-based living. That's
where the diversion data and information data will go.
Youth transition. Subpart III, Section A, individual services. Item U, youth transition
services. We are aware that some funded CILs and other service providers may have
provided services that would fall within the new fifth core service during this reporting
period. Those who choose to do so may provide additional data about the new core
service, and subpart VII, Section A, other accomplishments, activities and challenges.
Service providers should specify, for example, the number of diversion-related
outcomes in Section B, item D, separate from the other types of community-based
living outcomes.
Service providers should distinguish between the number of school transition-related
services and other kinds of service -- youth service outcomes in Section A, item U.
We want you to do your best with the current 704 report format, and data already
collected, until the revised report and corresponding guidance can become available.
Grantees are also encouraged to start adopting their IL data collection reporting
systems to accommodate the new IL core service. Next slide, please.
Subpart I, sources and amounts of funds and resources. Enter the correct IL part C
amount for performance period October 1, 2014, through September 30th, 2015. This
is where you will enter your part C fund amount from your GAN or your NOA.
Subpart 3, individual services and achievements, Sections A and B. Make sure the
number of consumers in a specific IL service and IL goal category do not exceed the
total number of consumers served as reported in subpart II, Section A, low 3. This is
readily made right, but if you catch it before you submit it, the time and grief saved by
all will be worth taking the time to make sure the numbers are correct.
Those numbers need to be correct, because otherwise, you will be getting us calling
you back, asking you to revise them and you will have to go back into the system and
redo them, and it makes for a stressful time for all of us, trying to get those numbers
correct. So check 'em really well before you submit.
Next slide, please.
Subpart IV, extend of CIL compliance with the six evaluation standards, Section A,
item 1, consumer control, b, staff composition.
If individuals with disabilities are less than 50% of the decision-making staff and/or less
than 50% other staff, make sure that you are, a, counting FTEs rather than individual
persons; b, correctly classifying decision-making staff versus other staff; and c,
excluding personal assistants, readers, drivers, interpreters, et cetera.
If individuals with disabilities in the decision making or other staff categories remain
below 50%, even after verifying the above information, you must explain in subpart
VII additional information the reasons for your CIL's lack of compliance and describe
your plan to bring the CIL back into compliance.
This is very important because to not meet the consumer control requirement is to not
be a CIL in the truest sense of the word and philosophy. We tend to find that many
times staff are miscounted due to three itemized reasons on that slide. One in
particular, that I have noticed is that FTEs are not used, and you may have a part-time
staff person that does not have a disability, that you are counting as a full-time staff
person and it ends up skewing your numbers when in reality, you do meet the
requirement. So work with your project officer if you are -- you find out you do not
believe you are meeting that requirement and they can also work with you on
completing or creating a plan to become compliant.
Next slide, please.
Subpart IV, extent of CIL compliance with the six evaluation standards. Section D,
community options and community capacity, item 1. Ensure that you include at least
one community activity in each of the required activity types: Community and
systems advocacy, technical assistance, community education and public information,
outreach efforts and collaboration/networking.
You are required to list one activity from each activity type. And some do only list one
from each type. Some will list many more. The maximum allowable. ACL is looking
for opportunities to promote IL as a high performing program. There can be a middle
ground between only listing one activity type, and maxing out the space allowed for
that data entry. And I guess what I'm looking for there is we really need more than
one, just to show a diverse -- well, to demonstrate the diverse activities that CILs are
involved in, and on the other hand, we don't need to know every little phone call and
activity related to a certain topic on a day-to-day basis.
In other words, try to find a happy medium. I can't really give you a number, but if I
did, I would say maybe four to five or something on each topic activity list, if you can.
Next slide, please. Subpart 1, sources and amounts of funds and resources.
Subpart IV, extent of CIL compliance with the six evaluation standards and subpart V,
annual program and financial planning objectives.
If your organization administers multiple CIL grants, each of the corresponding 704
reports must reflect the differences between each CIL. In other words, if you have
multiple CIL grants, treat them as separate programs. Each grant would have its own
704 reports and the data in it needs to be for that grant's work.
No duplication of numbers on multiple grounds. Just make sure that you are -- the
funds being used for one grant, the numbers and the program data entered in the 704
are reflected by the funds from that particular grant and the individuals working
through that particular grant. Do not cross them.
Next slide, please.
All funding streams included. Consistent with federal regulations, the 704 reports
must include information from all of your CIL's funding sources, not just part C,
especially the consumer, IL service and IL goal data in subpart II, number and types of
individuals with significant disabilities and subpart III individual services and
achievements.
Capturing this data in the 704 report is used to demonstrate the CIL's ability to
leverage the part C funds and give a more holistic picture of the role CILs play in their
communities.
Next slide, please.
Updates. 704 revision. The 704 report and process is in the process of being
revised. There's a 704 report revision work group that's active and will be seeking
your input in January and February of next year. If you have any questions about that
process and what's going on, the point of contact for this -- for the revision of the 704
work group is Corinna Stiles, and that is Corinna.Stiles@acl.hhs.gov. If you can't
remember it or write it down quick enough, just call your program officer and tell them
you want to speak to Corinna Stiles and they will transfer you over.
MIS. There's been a delay in setting up and implementing the new MIS system, and
the reason it's applicable to this discussion today is if you recall, last year you
submitted your 704 reports through the RSA MIS website. ACL is creating their own
version of MIS, where eventually you will be entering the data that you are collecting
now in your 704 reports, and upload it into that system.
It's being tested at this time to ensure it's operational. The reports are due to reiterate
from what I said earlier, the reports are due to ACL by December 30th, but since the
circumstances of the transition and the late submissions are being allowed this year.
When we have more detail on the new deadline, we'll be sending it out to you with
instructions on how to submit and where to submit your 704. We do plan to provide
another webinar on how and where to file the 704 report, and the guidance in trying to
get that uploaded in the correct place and in a timely fashion.
Next slide, please.
And this is a list of your project officer by state. And every one of their email
addresses is first name dot last name, at symbol, acl.hhs.gov.
Next slide, please.
And I hope this has been helpful to some extent. I know most of the information is
from last year. Nothing has changed in that part, but I know some of you are new or
you are newly acquired duty is to do the 704 report. So I hope you find it helpful. Do
use your project officer. We will try to help. We have been doing this for years. So
we can probably help you get through the process. At first, it might be a little daunting
and we want to make it as pain-free as possible.
Next slide, please.
An evaluation survey is available and I would really appreciate it if you would complete
it. Send it in. Give us your feedback, if this is helpful, or some ways we might
improve the way we do these webinars and just give us your feedback. Thanks and
have a great day.