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OLR Bill Analysis
sHB 5053
AN ACT CONCERNING THE GOVERNOR'S BUDGET
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES.
SUMMARY
This bill (1) transitions certain emergency medical services (EMS)-
related positions into classified service; (2) allows, rather than requires,
the Chief Workforce Officer (CWO) to establish a Human Services
Career Pipeline Program; and (3) consolidates, aligns, and makes other
changes to reporting requirements related to services for people with
intellectual or developmental disabilities (IDD) and autism.
The bill requires the Department of Administrative Services (DAS)
commissioner to transition the regional EMS coordinator and assistant
regional EMS coordinator positions and incumbents into the classified
service. To the extent these employees are performing jobs that would
normally be within a current executive branch bargaining unit, the bill
requires (1) the jobs to be added to the bargaining unit’s descriptions
and (2) employees in the jobs to be deemed part of the bargaining unit.
The DAS commissioner must transition these employees beginning
January 30, 2024, and do so in consultation with the Department of
Public Health commissioner.
Current law requires the CWO to establish a Human Services Career
Pipeline Program by July 1, 2024, and report annually on it to various
legislative committees starting January 1, 2026. The bill instead allows
the CWO to establish the career pipeline, with no deadline and within
available appropriations, and only requires the annual report if the
pipeline is established. The bill also adds a reporting requirement on the
plan the CWO must develop for the pipeline program.
Lastly, the bill makes technical and conforming changes.
EFFECTIVE DATE: Upon passage 2024HB-05053-R000597-BA.DOCX
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HUMAN SERVICES CAREER PIPELINE PROG RAM
The bill allows, rather than requires, the CWO to establish a Human
Services Career Pipeline Program. By law, the career pipeline must (1)
ensure enough trained providers are available to serve elderly people
and people with IDD, physical disabilities, cognitive impairment, or
mental illness; and (2) include training and certification for
cardiopulmonary resuscitation, first aid, medication administration, job
placement, and incentives for retentions in the human services labor
sector after the program ends. (A separate part of the existing law,
unchanged by the bill, maintains the requirement that CWO establish a
career pipeline in consultation with various executive branch agencies.)
By law, the CWO must consult with the Department of Labor
commissioner to develop a plan for the career pipeline. The bill requires
CWO to report on the plan, including recommendations for establishing
the career pipeline and estimated funding needed to implement the
plan. Under the bill, CWO must submit the report by January 1, 2025, to
the Aging, Appropriations, Higher Education and Employment
Advancement, Human Services, Labor, and Public Health committees.
Current law requires the CWO to report annually to the same
committees described above on the career pipeline’s development and
implementation beginning by January 1, 2026. The bill only requires this
report if the career pipeline is established.
REPORTING REQUIREMEN TS
IDD Reports (§§ 2 & 4)
Current law requires DDS to report annually to the Appropriations
and Public Health committees on the number of people eligible for (1)
DDS services who have unmet residential care needs or employment
opportunity and day services needs or (2) DDS’s behavioral services
program who are waiting for a funding allocation.
Separately, current law requires OPM’s statewide coordinator for
IDD services to report annually to the Appropriations, Human Services,
and Public Health committees certain information on waitlists for DDS
Medicaid waivers. 2024HB-05053-R000597-BA.DOCX
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The bill generally merges these two reporting requirements by
eliminating them and instead requiring that DDS, in consultation with
OPM’s statewide coordinator for IDD services, report the following
information annually by January 1 to the Appropriations, Human
Services, and Public Health committees:
1. the number and ages of people (a) waiting for services in DDS’s
Medicaid waiver programs; (b) currently served by these
waivers; (c) waiting for residential care under the waivers; (d)
receiving residential care under the waivers; (e) served under
these waivers but waiting for additional services, including a
brief description of awaited services; and (f) added to and
subtracted from waiver waiting lists in the previous calendar
year;
2. the number of people with IDD (other than autism) who have
unmet employment opportunity and day service needs;
3. whether the waiver waiting lists have increased or decreased
over the previous calendar year, and, if so, by how much;
4. recommendations to further reduce the waiver waiting lists and
associated costs; and
5. measurable data for people eligible for DDS’s Medicaid waivers
for people with IDD, including how many of them are enrolled
in postsecondary education, their employment status, their living
arrangements, and the age of any guardians they live with.
The bill also requires the DDS commissioner to post the report on the
department’s website.
Autism Reports (§§ 3 & 6)
Current law requires DSS to report annually to the Human Services
Committee on its Division of Autism Spectrum Disorder Services and
the Autism Spectrum Disorder Advisory Council. Under current law,
this report must include certain information on people (1) served by the
autism Medicaid waiver and (2) waiting for services. 2024HB-05053-R000597-BA.DOCX
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Separately, current law requires OPM’s statewide coordinator for
autism services, in consultation with DSS, to report certain information
on the Medicaid autism waiver to the Appropriations and Human
Services committees.
The bill generally merges these two reporting requirements by
eliminating them and instead requiring that DSS, in consultation with
OPM’s statewide coordinator for autism services, report much of the
same information current law requires the statewide coordinator to
report. Specifically, under the bill, DSS must report the following
information annually by January 1 to the Appropriations and Human
Services committees:
1. the number and ages of people (a) currently served by the
Medicaid autism waiver; (b) receiving services under the waiver;
(c) waiting for residential care; (d) receiving residential care
through the waiver; (e) served under the waiver but waiting for
additional waiver services, including a brief description of
awaited services; and (f) added to and taken off the waitlist in the
previous calendar year;
2. whether the waitlist for the Medicaid autism waiver has
increased or decreased in the previous calendar year and, if so,
by how many people;
3. recommendations to further reduce the waiting list and
associated costs; and
4. measurable data on people eligible for the Medicaid autism
waiver, including how many of them are enrolled in
postsecondary education, their employment status, their living
arrangements, and the age of any guardians they live with.
The bill also requires the DSS commissioner to post the report on the
department’s website.
COMMITTEE ACTION
Human Services Committee 2024HB-05053-R000597-BA.DOCX
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Joint Favorable Substitute Change of Reference - APP
Yea 15 Nay 7 (03/19/2024)
Appropriations Committee
Joint Favorable
Yea 38 Nay 13 (04/04/2024)