RD329 - Annual Report of the Virginia Department of Rehabilitative Services Brain Injury & Spinal Cord Injury Services


Executive Summary:
The 2006 General Assembly Budget Amendment (Health & Human Services Conference Report: Items 327, #2c and #4c) provided an additional $725,000 from the general fund each year for brain injury services to individuals in unserved or underserved regions of the Commonwealth, as well as $150,000 from the general fund each year to expand case management services for individuals with brain injuries in unserved or underserved regions of the Commonwealth. The Governor’s budget also included $285,000 specifically allocated for brain injury case management services in Southwest Virginia; this was added to an existing state contract with Brain Injury Services of Southwest Virginia with the approval of the Department of General Services which approved the increase based on documentation of the lack of alternative service providers with the necessary expertise and experience to provide these specialized services. This resulted in a total increase in funding for services to Virginians with brain injury in State Fiscal Year 2006-07 of $1,160,000.

Of the $875,000 in General Assembly appropriated state general funds available beginning July 1, 2006, up to $150,000 annually per proposal was designated for dissemination through the Department of Rehabilitative Services via a competitive Request For Proposals (RFP) process. Funds appropriated by the General Assembly for SFY 2005-2007 contained a restriction prohibiting any program already receiving $250,000 or more in state general funds from applying for new state general funds. However, for the purpose of the FY ’07 Request For Proposal (RFP), DRS interpreted this to mean that a currently funded organization was not restricted from applying for funds to establish a new program of services or to expand an existing program of services if it targeted an unserved or underserved area of the Commonwealth.

The Commonwealth of Virginia recognized the need to develop and expand community-based rehabilitation services for Virginians with brain injuries, particularly in unserved or underserved areas of the state. As the lead agency for brain injury, the Department of Rehabilitative Services (DRS) worked collaboratively with the Virginia Brain Injury Council (VBIC) and the Virginia Alliance of Brain Injury Services Providers (VABISP) to develop a footprint of “core services” which provide a foundation for establishing and expanding specialized services within local communities. The three identified “core services” include: case management; day/clubhouse program; and regional resource coordination. General costs associated with these services are conservatively estimated to be $150,000 each for a day or clubhouse program, and $75,000 each for a case manager or regional resource coordinator. Specific information on the “core services” is available through the DRS Brain Injury and Spinal Cord Injury Services Unit or on the DRS website. A link to the October 2007 report by the Joint Legislative and Audit Review Commission (JLARC) on “access to brain injury services in the Commonwealth” (discussed later in this document) is also available on the DRS website.

As the advisory group to DRS, the Virginia Brain Injury Council (VBIC) was invited to submit a plan for dissemination of new funding for brain injury services for State Fiscal Year 2007. The Council worked collaboratively with the Virginia Alliance of Brain Injury Service Providers (VABISP) to develop and endorse recommendations based on estimated numbers of survivors living in an area, current availability of services, and whether or not adequate infrastructure existed to support the establishment and provision of services (i.e., qualified providers, active advocates). Funding recommendations submitted to DRS by the Council gave priority to the Shenandoah Valley, particularly for the expansion of case management services; Southside Virginia; unserved parts of Central and Northern Virginia; Fredericksburg; Northern Neck / Middle Peninsula; and Tidewater / Eastern Shore. DRS encouraged the submission of proposals that provided brain injury services in these and other unserved / underserved areas. DRS is committed to developing qualified providers in Virginia by providing training and technical assistance, particularly in unserved and underserved areas.

Proposals were limited to $150,000 each, to be funded for an initial period of three years through SFY 2008-09 and renewable for two additional one-year periods (through SFY 2011). The number of programs to be funded through the RFP was based on the availability of funding and on the nature and number of responses received.

Four (4) existing brain injury services organizations and three (3) new programs were awarded, funding through the FY ’07 RFP. The seven state-funded organizations operate a total of fourteen (14) service programs across Virginia. The chart below shows the distribution of the total amount of funding (pre-existing and new FY ’07 funding from the 2006 General Assembly appropriation), as well as areas of the state served, for brain injury programs funded during State Fiscal Year 2006-07 (July 1, 2006 through June 30, 2007):

[Chart may be viewed in the full report.]