One service provider in Vermont with disabilities and brain injuries will take over for another after state regulators called for a change in leadership.
Colchester-based Champlain Community Services, Inc. agreed earlier this month to oversee the work of the management and staff of Green Mountain Support Services, which is based in Morrisville and has offices in St. Johnsbury and Waterbury. bottom.
The Vermont Department of Senior Independent Living was moving to cancel its provider contract with Green Mountain Support Services. This is a process called “dedesignation” in the agency’s administrative rules and was done because of the organization’s financial situation and an investigation by the Vermont Attorney General’s Office and the State of Vermont. Ministry of Labor.
As a result, GMSS would have been disqualified from providing services paid by state or federal government to 122 customers in 10 counties.
Beth Sightler, Executive Director of Champlain Community Services said: “It’s the whole network that’s moved forward” to help GMSS, she said.
The state contracts with ten “Designated Agencies” and five “Professional Services Agencies” nonprofits to assist residents with developmental disabilities and their families. Their staff provides direct services such as dating, job support, transportation, case management and co-living coordination.
GMSS works with Vermonters with developmental disabilities and their families in most parts of the state, primarily in Caledonia, Lamoille, and Orléans counties. His operating budget for 2020 was nearly $12 million, according to federal filings.
Commissioner Monica White said the Department of Aging and Independent Living will notify the GMSS in late 2021 after a standard review revealed deficiencies in the organization’s policies and its service providers’ monitoring procedures. The organization was “provisionally designated” while department staff worked with GMSS leadership to resolve the issue.
White said some progress had been made, but the department’s concerns had not been fully addressed. White said the decision to initiate the dedesignation process was prompted by the “whole situation,” coupled with the department learning from other research on GMSS.
The Department of Labor has determined that GMSS misclassified some workers as contractors instead of employees. Meanwhile, the Vermont Attorney General’s Office is investigating the organization for fraudulent Medicaid charges.
As part of the restructuring, both GMSS Board Chairman Steve Peterson and Managing Director Josh Smith stepped down in early March. In an interview, both men said that their top priority was to ensure that clients continue to receive the services they needed, and that they were resigning in the interest of the organization.
Smith said the GMSS worked diligently to address the department’s concerns over the 16 months under review, but the process was opaque and difficult to understand because “target posts were constantly moving.” said.
“We did everything they asked for,” said Smith. Smith added that the organization itself brought up inaccuracies in its Medicaid bills, which are currently under investigation.
For now, GMSS Clinical Director Elizabeth Walters has taken over as Interim Executive Director, and a new Board Chair, Sarah Henshaw, has been elected.
Walters said he appreciates Champlain Community Services for helping clients maintain stability. The two organizations already work closely together, sharing the same HR consultants, training his platform, and in some cases providers and staff.
“GMSS provides exceptional care for the people we care for. We have some work on the basic policies and procedures,” said Walters.
“It’s a tough place for an agency,” she said. “But all of us involved feel this is doable.”
