Ddra.introduced Fact Sheet - Quality Standards Oct 09

What’s in Bill 1818-501, the Developmental Disabilities Reform Act (DDRA)? Quality Management and Standards Quality Management The D.C. Developmental Disabilities Administration (DDA) will develop and implement a new, comprehensive quality management and improvement system.


DDA will provide prompt written notice of incidents and patterns of concern to providers, to people who receive services, and where appropriate to family members.




DDA will ensure that providers take prompt corrective action to address incidents and patterns of concern and to protect people from harm.




DDA will lead an interagency protocol to share information that could affect people’s safety and well-being. The protocol requires interagency coordination, timelines for notice and corrective action plans, prompt investigation of abuse, neglect, exploitation and death, and implementation of all relevant laws, regulations and policies.




DDA must publish a publicly-available (on the internet and in print) provider report card by no later than 2 years after the DDRA takes effect.




DDA must include people who receive services and their families in ongoing systemic quality management and improvement activities.

Staff Standards At DDA and service providers, all employees and all volunteers who have unsupervised contact with people with developmental disabilities will be required to complete checks of: 1. FBI criminal background, which covers the District and all states; 2. A new DDA Abuse and Neglect Registry, operated by DDA, that tracks people terminated by DDA and providers due to substantiated abuse or neglect; 3. D.C. Nurse Aide Abuse Registry and any other registries of abuse and neglect maintained by the District; 4. List of Excluded Individuals/Entities maintained by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The list identifies individuals and entities who are prohibited from participating in federally-funded health programs such as Medicaid based on convictions for program-related fraud and patient abuse, licensing board actions and default on Health Education Assistance Loans; and 5. Traffic record, if the person will be driving people with developmental disabilities in the course of his or her duties. The DDA and providers will be prohibited from hiring a person who has been convicted of a felony offense (specific felonies are identified in the DDRA) or who is listed on an abuse and neglect registry or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ exclusion list. October, 2009. For more information, visit http://dc-ddleg.blogspot.com or contact the DDS MAC Legislative Committee through [email protected] or (202) 636-2963.