Current through 2024-38, September 18, 2024
A.
General
Requirements. Each home and community-based setting must have all of the
following qualities, based on the needs of the Member as indicated in the
Member's Person-Centered Service Plan:
This 6.04(A) provision will become legally
effective on September 30, 2022, EXCEPT that, for those HCBS Settings that were
approved as new settings on or after March 17, 2014, this provision is legally
effective on the effective date of this rule.
(1) Is integrated in and supports full access
of the Member receiving HCBS waiver services to the greater community,
including opportunities to seek employment and work in competitive, integrated
settings, engage in community life, control personal resources, and receive
services in the community, to the same degree of access as individuals not
receiving HCBS waiver services;
(2)
Is selected by the Member from among setting options including non
disability-specific settings and an option for a private unit in a residential
setting. The setting options are identified and documented in the
Person-Centered Service Plan and are based on the Member's needs, preferences,
and, for residential settings, resources available for room and
board;
(3) Ensures the Member's
rights of privacy, dignity and respect, and freedom from coercion and
restraint, except restraints deployed in accordance with
34-B
M.R.S. §5605(14-A) to
protect the Member or others from imminent injury or in conformance with an
approved behavior management program under
34-B
M.R.S.
§5605(13).
(4) Optimizes, but does not regiment,
individual initiative, autonomy, and independence in making life choices,
including but not limited to daily activities, physical environment, and
deciding with whom to interact;
(5) Facilitates individual choice regarding
HCBS waiver services and supports, and - from among qualified and willing
MaineCare Providers - who provide them; and
(6) Complies with any and all licensing
requirements.
B.
Additional Requirements for Provider-Owned or Controlled Residential
Settings
This 6.04(B) provision will become legally
effective on September 30, 2022, EXCEPT that, for those Provider-owned or
Controlled Residential Settings that were approved as new settings on or after
March 17, 2014, this provision is legally effective on the effective date of
this rule.
In a Provider-Owned or Controlled Residential Setting,
in addition to the qualities set forth in Section 6.04(A), the following
additional conditions must be met:
(1) The unit or dwelling is a specific
physical place that can be owned, rented, or occupied under a legally
enforceable agreement by the Member receiving services, and the Member has, at
a minimum, the same responsibilities and protections from eviction that tenants
have under landlord/tenant law of Maine and/or the county and/or municipality
in which the unit or dwelling is located. For settings in which landlord/tenant
laws do not apply, a lease, rental, or residency agreement or other form of
written agreement must be executed for each HCBS participant that provides
protections that address eviction processes and appeals comparable to those
provided pursuant to
14 M.R.S.
§§6000 -
6017.
(2) Each Member has privacy in
their sleeping or living unit:
(a) Units have
entrance doors lockable by the Member, with only appropriate staff having keys
to doors;
(b) Members sharing units
have a choice of roommates in that setting; and
(c) Members have the freedom to furnish and
decorate their sleeping or living units within the lease or other
agreement;
(3) Members
have the freedom and support to control their own schedules and activities, and
have access to food at any time;
(4) Members are able to have visitors of
their choosing at any time; and
(5)
The setting is physically accessible to the Member.
C.
Additional Requirements for Certain
Disability-Specific Settings
For the purposes of this provision, "disability-specific
setting" means a non-residential HCBS setting that exclusively or primarily
serves persons with a disability and that is not open to the general public.
This provision applies to the following disability-specific service settings:
MCBM, Ch. II, Sec. 18 (Work Ordered Day Club House
Services)
MCBM, Ch. II, Sec. 20 (Work Support Services)
MCBM, Ch. II, Sec. 21 (Community Support Services and
Work Support-Group Services)
MCBM, Ch. II, Sec. 29 (Community Support Services and
Work Support-Group Services)
In addition to the qualities set forth in Subsection
6.04(A), the Department may require, in Ch. II, Sections 18, 20, 21 and 29,
that Disability-Specific Settings have the following qualities:
(1) the setting is physically accessible to
the Member;
(2) the Member may have
visitors at the setting;
(3) the
Member is supported to determine the Member's activities and schedule;
and
(4) the Member has the freedom
to have access to food at any time.
