A PA Tech Accelerator Webinar

Funding and How to Get It is part of the Pennsylvania Tech Accelerator webinar series, Assistive Technology Basics. Recorded October 2024.

This video includes captions and ASL interpretation. The transcript is below.

Transcript

CAITLIN MCKENNEY: Thank you all so much for joining us today for the October installment of our Tech Accelerator webinar series. Our topic this month is technology funding through the Office of Developmental Programs. Before we get started, I do want to make an announcement that live ASL and CART services are not available for this session.

I do sincerely apologize for that. And those accommodations will be in place when the recording comes out. So this session is being recorded, and the video will include picture-in-picture ASL translation, as well as a full transcript. You'll be able to access that video on our website at disabilities.temple.edu. And I'm going to go ahead and put that link in the chat for you as well.

And that website is also where you can register for future webinars. So TechOWL has a wonderful series of 18 topics running from July of 2024 to December of 2025. Each one is being held on the third Thursday of the month and offered at two times, 12:00 noon and 4:00 PM so that, hopefully, you can find something that will fit your schedule.

And this series is part of the Tech Accelerator program, an initiative funded by the Office of Developmental Programs and the Office of Long-Term Living here in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. And this is made possible through funding from the American Rescue Plan Act. Here, on the screen, I have some major components of what that PA Tech Accelerator project includes.

It includes training and resources to build capacity for stakeholders, readiness evaluation to develop tools for a successful adoption of remote supports and assistive technology, statewide assessment to plan and benchmark a technology for systems change, a provider survey to assess technology awareness and resources among providers, and, finally, two technology summits, which will be live events hosted in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh this coming March to enhance awareness of tech solutions. We're really looking forward to being able to get together with people in person at those as well. You can learn more about all of these fantastic projects that are part of the Tech Accelerator initiative on our website at disabilities.temple.edu using the link in the chat.

And, with that, I'm going to introduce our guest speaker for today. We have Julie here from the Office of Developmental Programs, who is a wealth of knowledge about all the funding sources available for those stakeholders. So I'm going to go ahead and turn it over to Julie to introduce herself.

JULIE MOCHON: Thank you so much. And Thank you, everyone, for joining us today as we talk about technology funding through the Office of Developmental Programs. As mentioned, my name is Julie Mochon. I am the director for the Division of Policy and Innovation with the Office of Developmental Programs.

So our agenda today is I'm going to give a high-level overview of the Office of Developmental programs for anybody that might not really understand who the Office of Developmental Programs is and what the Office of Developmental Programs does. I'll talk about how technology is funded through the Office of Developmental Programs, and that's through waivers and base funding. And I will describe what those are and what the differences are between the two.

Then we'll talk about service definitions that cover technology and the types of technology that are funded. We also have some additional resources. Like I said, this is going to be fairly high level.

Often, any one slide could be an hour presentation in and of itself if we wanted to really dive into the details. And, also, we left some time at the end for questions. Feel free to enter questions into the chat at any time. It's just we will answer as many questions as we can at the end of the presentation.

All right, so starting with an overview of the Office of Developmental Programs, or ODP, I will try not to use acronyms today. But some people know the Offices by their acronym. So I at least wanted to acknowledge both Office of Developmental Programs, or ODP, whatever you prefer.

So the Office of Developmental Programs is one of many state government offices within the Department of Human Services. Some other offices that you might be aware of are the Office of Long-Term Living, or OLTL, the Office of Medical Assistance Programs, or OMAP. So each office, they serve a different population of people, or they have a different purpose to their services.

So I will describe where the Office of Developmental Programs fits in in relation to this scope and the services and the purpose. The Office of Developmental Programs has responsibility over the system of services for people with developmental disabilities. The mission of the Office of Developmental Programs is to support Pennsylvanians with developmental disabilities to achieve greater independence, choice, and opportunity and live everyday lives. The Office of Developmental Programs seeks to continuously improve and effective system of accessible services and supports that are flexible, innovative, and person-centered to recognize and support dignity for all Pennsylvanians.

All right, so kind of having a broader understanding that office serves people with developmental disabilities, more specifically, to be eligible for services through the Office of Developmental Programs, an individual must have a diagnosis of at least one of the following-- intellectual disability, autism spectrum disorder, or a developmental disability. And we have two categories of developmental disability. One is for youth aged 0 through age 8, who have a high probability of resulting in an intellectual disability or autism.

Sometimes, at those younger ages, it's more difficult for professionals to determine what the diagnosis-- what the correct diagnosis is, the most accurate diagnosis is for youth. So we have this category for them. And then we also have a category for youth aged 0 through 21 who have a medically complex condition.

So, in addition to having at least one of those diagnoses, the individual must also have adaptive skills deficits in-- and I know this slide says three-- it's two for base funded, three for waiver funded. So two or three or more areas of major life activity. And those major life activities are self-care understanding and use of language, learning, mobility, self-direction, and/or capacity for independent living based on an assessment of adaptive functioning.

And then everyday lives, values, and action is a document that was developed by individuals, families, and organizations that support individuals and their families. The Office of Developmental Programs uses everyday lives, values, and actions as a guide when developing policy, services, and designing programs. Providers of services will use these recommendations to support individuals and their families to achieve everyday lives.

So there are 14 recommendations. And they are assure effective communication; promote self-direction, choice, and control; increase employment; support families through throughout the lifespan; promote health, wellness, and safety; support people with complex needs; develop and support qualified staff; simplify the system; improve quality; expand options for community living; increase community participation; provide community services to everyone; evaluate future innovations based on everyday lives principles; and promote racial equity. So you might already be thinking of different ways that technology can be used to help people achieve these recommendations. And if you are, that's great. I'm hoping that I will catch up with you later in this presentation.

So funding-- and this is just a general-- this isn't specific to technology yet. Once again, just kind of high level how funding works with the Office of Developmental Programs. OK, so, in 1966, the Mental Health and Intellectual Disabilities Act was passed.

And this act officially established and founded-- and funded county mental health and intellectual disability programs. The funding is 100% state funded. No federal funds are used.

County mental health and intellectual disability programs determine eligibility and decide how the funding is used. County programs are required to use some of the base funding to pay for some services, including some of the technology services that we're going to talk about if a person's needs indicate it. And these county mental health intellectual disability programs use base funding to support people who are not eligible for waivers and those who are on the waiting list to receive waiver services.

So then, with waivers, since I'd already alluded to those in the previous slide, waivers were federally established in 1981 and incorporated into the Social Security Act. Waivers give people the option to choose between home- and community-based services or settings that are considered more segregated and institutional, such as nursing facilities or Intermediate Care Facilities, or ICFs. Pennsylvania implemented the consolidated waiver in 1983 and has since created additional waiver programs.

The Office of Developmental Programs administers the five waivers on this slide-- the consolidated waiver the community living waiver, person/family directed support waiver, adult autism waiver, and adult community autism program. The Office of Developmental Programs is not the only office that has waiver programs. The Office of Long-Term Living and the Office of Child development and Early Learning also have waiver programs.

Waivers are funded with state and federal funds. So, remember, base funds were just state funding. Waivers use federal and state funds. And the percentages change for the funding from state and federal from year to year. But it's approximately 50% federal and 50% state.

County mental health and intellectual disability programs. Not only do they determine eligibility for base funding, they also determine eligibility for the waivers administered by the Office of Developmental Programs. Being determined eligible for the waivers-- I feel like we need to point this out for people who might not be aware. Being determined eligible for the waivers does not mean services will start right away.

There are more people in Pennsylvania who need a waiver than ODP can provide services to. So each person will have their urgency of need for services determined. If services are not available, the person will be placed on the wait list.

The vast majority of people will have a supports coordinator. Or if the term case manager means more to you than the term supports coordinator, it's very similar. That's kind of the term that the Office of Developmental Programs uses is supports coordinator. Vast majority of people will have a supports coordinator while on the wait list. And we will talk about what supports coordinators do and how they help people in a couple of slides.

So if you saw that list, and you saw five different waivers, and you were wondering, why do you need to have five different waivers? There are differences between the waivers. And I'm going to-- so this slide shows one of the differences. And that's that some of our waivers have annual limits on the services that people can receive in that waiver.

So there's a long list of services that are available through each one of these waivers. And then, in the person/family directed support waiver, there is a $47,000 annual limit or yearly limit on those services. And you can see that there are some services, such as supports coordination and supports broker that are outside of that limit. And then there are some services where you can get additional funds above and beyond that $47,000.

The community living waiver has a $97,000 yearly limit with an exception for supports coordination. So, like I said, that's one difference. And then what's not on the slide? There are some differences in eligibility.

And the name of these waivers gives it away. So the adult autism waiver. And the adult community autism program require individuals to be aged 21 or older.

So that's where the adult part of the title comes in. And they also need to have a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder. So that's another difference.

So, as I promised, supports coordinators. Most people who are determined eligible for services through the Office of Developmental Programs will receive supports coordination services. These supports coordination services locate, coordinate, and monitor needed services and supports. And this can include services and supports that are not funded through the Office of Developmental Programs.

Supports coordinators also help individuals plan for the life that they want to live. The individual and their team discuss the individual's needs and explore options to meet those needs. If a service paid through the Office of Developmental Programs is identified, It will be added to the individual support plan for authorization.

And then, at the bottom of the slide, you'll see a picture of three buckets. And these come from the LifeCourse tools and framework, which I'm also going to talk about a little bit more later on in the presentation. But, just to give you, why am I talking about the three buckets.

So we encourage individuals, families, and professionals to use the tools and framework to have life experiences that move the individual toward their goals, encourage high expectations for the individuals, and integrate multiple types of supports. A lot of times, as professionals, in fields that work directly with families, when we are talking about providing supports to families, we focus on actual goods and services. But we know that families need more. Sometimes they need information about a disability diagnosis or about a particular type of technology.

Sometimes they need opportunities to connect with others who have been in their shoes. So the blue bucket represents discovery and navigation, having the information and tools you need to navigate life. Sometimes we don't need anything but information about a topic so we can make a decision or simply know what's going on. And that applies to technology as well.

The orange bucket represents connecting and networking. Making connections with peers and resources to help you navigate who has been in your shoes. And, once again, you might want to talk to somebody who has a similar need for technology and what has worked for them and what hasn't worked for them.

The green bucket represents the goods and services, the day-to-day tangible items you buy or use from public and private organizations in your community. These are the things that we connect with to make our daily lives possible and successful. So, while this presentation focuses on technology funding available through the Office of Developmental Programs, these buckets help remind us that there might be information and tools available through other sources, such as-- and I'll talk about the school districts, the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation. Or it might be helpful to talk with others who have used technology. And so I'm going to, throughout the presentation, give you some of those other resources that might be available to you.

Now, we're going to talk about technology and services covered through the Office of Developmental Programs. OK, assistive technology is a service covered through the Office of Developmental Programs waivers and through base funding. So the definition of assistive technology is an item, piece of equipment, or product system acquired commercially off the shelf, modified, or customized that is used to increase, maintain, or improve an individual's functioning or increase their ability to exercise choice and control.

So there are three different pictures on this slide. On the bottom left, there are five different speakers for voice assistant devices. And this is one example of assistive technology.

And so these speakers use Amazon's Alexa, Google Assistant, or Apple's Siri. And these devices respond to voice commands and can help people turn their lights on and off, turn the television on and off, control the temperature in their home, play music, call people, keep a shopping list. I know a lot of people already use these in their homes.

But they're also very useful to the people that we serve and help them be more independent in their home. Another example of assistive technology-- and that's the second picture-- are different types of locks that don't require keys because a lot of people have difficulty using keys to lock and unlock their doors. So the type of lock would depend on the person and their needs.

Some use number pads. Some use fingerprints. And then the picture on this slide uses an application on the person's phone. And then, just as a reminder, the third picture is that assistive technology does not always have to use a sophisticated electronic device. Some people prefer physical printed documents like a graphic organizer, visual schedule, or a communication board.

OK, within the assistive technology service, the Office of Developmental Programs has separate requirements for electronic devices. And so, for our purposes, within the Office of Developmental Programs, electronic devices are specifically used to meet a communication or prompting need or to enable individuals to independently control devices and appliances in their home and community. Examples of electronic devices include tablets, computers, and electronic communication aids.

Applications for electronic devices that assist an individual with an identified need are also covered. So, as we discussed in the previous slide, the assistive technology service covers other items that are not considered electronic devices. There are just some different requirements that are specific to what we consider electronic devices that we will cover shortly.

All right, so now let's talk about some of the questions the individual's team should think about when determining the individual's need for assistive technology. Once again, these are questions that help think about any type of assistive technology, not just electronic devices. We want to make sure that the individual will use and benefit from the technology.

So sometimes we hear about people-- got a device, got some type of technology, and it's now in the closet because it just really didn't work out for them. And sometimes that's going to happen. But, when we can avoid that, we would like to.

So some of the questions to think about are, how will the item increase, maintain, or improve the individual's functioning as the individual used a device in the past to address a similar need? And if they did, what worked well with the device? And what didn't work well with the device, if anything? Because that can help inform if you need a different type of technology.

Have free lending programs been explored for new devices or apps? These programs allow individuals to borrow and use a device or application for a short period of time at no cost. And that can help people determine whether it will meet their needs or not.

And some of those programs are TechOWL and has a short-term loan program as well. And then another question-- and this is just part of waiver requirements-- is, is the device cost effective? And one example of that is if there are multiple similar devices that meet a person's needs, the least expensive option must be chosen.

Now, evaluations are also for assistive technology. They are covered. They can be covered under the assistive technology service, but they could also be covered under physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech language therapy. And, while those therapy services are waiver-covered services, a person might also have a physical therapist through medical assistants or through their private insurance.

And they've done an evaluation and are recommending a specific device. That is also OK. Any one of those is fine.

The independent evaluator must be familiar with the specific type of technology being sought and may not be a related party to the assistive technology provider. The evaluation must include the development of a list of all devices, supplies, software, equipment, product systems, and/or waiver services, including a combination of any of those things that would be most effective to meet the needs of the individual. And then, once again, the least expensive option from the list that would meet the person's needs must be selected for inclusion on the individual support plan. And these assessments, if an item costs $750 or more and will be purchased through the assistive technology service, that type of evaluation is required.

OK, so there are some limits to the assistive technology service. And one is that there is a lifetime limit of $10,000 per individual for all assistive technology. But if additional funding is needed, we do have-- the Office of Developmental Programs does have a process. We call it the variance process, can be used to request funding above that $10,000 lifetime limit.

And then the second one is that no more than one replacement electronic device-- so this is what I was talking about why we have electronic devices spelled out as a kind of a separate thing because no more than one replacement electronic device is allowed every five years. And, remember, those are like the tablets, the computers, the communication assistance devices. And then there are federal rules around what the waivers can and cannot cover. So one of those rules is that the waivers cannot pay for things that other offices are required to cover.

And I'll talk a little bit more about that because this applies to all services that I'm going to talk about today. But, specifically, you see assistive technology covered through medical assistance. We can't cover any assistive technology covered through medical assistance, such as durable medical equipment and hearing aids for youth under 21 years of age. So durable medical equipment that's covered through medical assistance includes wheelchairs, walkers, hospital beds, alternating pressure mattresses, lifts, so they're things usually to meet a medical need or a mobility need, a need to help a person move around in their home or community. Federal requirements, federal rules also say that we-- the waivers can't pay for recreational items and technology, technology that would purely be used for recreational purposes.

So there are some additional limits regarding technology not covered by the waivers that we don't have time to discuss today. But, once again, your supports coordinator should be able to help you out. OK, so that was assistive technology.

We also have a separate and unique service called remote supports, and that is covered by the Office of Developmental Programs waiver and base funding. The purpose of remote support services is to assist individuals aged 16 and older in obtaining and/or maintaining their independence and safety within their private home or community and to decrease their need for assistance from others. So remote supports involve the use of technology that uses two-way real-time communication in the individual's home or community that allows awake staff from an agency who is off-site to monitor and respond to the individual's health and safety needs.

So, when we talk about two-way real-time communications, very similar to what we're doing today, which is you have a device, a computer or a tablet or a smartphone where you can talk with and communicate with someone else. You can see them. You can hear them if you can. And so that's what-- when we talk about two-way real-time communication, that's like it's-- you're actively engaging with somebody. And you can use video and audio to do so.

So interaction with a professional occurs as needed as part of remote supports. But that is not the main function of this service. So this means that the individual should be fairly independent during the delivery of remote supports or have unpaid supports meeting the individual's needs during remote supports.

And remote supports is used during periods of time that direct services are not required. And direct services are when a professional is actively engaging with the individual to meet their needs. They're actively teaching a person a skill or helping a person maintain a skill or giving prompts that are needed to help a person complete an activity.

So that's a different type of support. Remote supports, like I said, is really more about monitoring technology and responding to those devices. So remote supports include-- staff, so those staff that was talking about who monitor the devices and respond to the individual's needs. So that's included in the service.

The technology utilized in the home and community that is monitored by the remote support staff. The technology utilized for that two-way real-time communication. If it's different, then the technology is utilized in the home community that's monitored. The equipment necessary to operate the technology and the costs for delivery, installation, adjustments, monthly testing, monitoring, maintenance, and repairs to the technology and equipment necessary to operate the remote supports technology.

So some examples of what these technology devices are. So they can be installed in the person's home. And some examples include door sensors, window sensors, stove sensors, and water sensors.

They can be worn by the person. So that includes the GPS-tracking watches or pendants, or they could be carried by the person. And those would include things like smartphones, tablets. Depending on the size of the laptop, it could be a laptop.

So the staff that work for the remote supports agency monitor these devices and respond to the person's safety needs, utilizing details in the individual support plan. And we've also included a link for a supportive technology page on my ODP. And this includes some videos of people who successfully use remote supports. And one of those is called "Brandon's journey to independence with remote support". So if you want to see how this works for someone in real life, there are some videos on that web page.

All right, the implementation plan. An implementation plan must be completed by the remote supports provider and reviewed by the individual support plan team. The remote supports implementation plan must include how the individual's rights, including their right to privacy, will be protected?

And this would include-- so things like recording of the individual via audio, like listening in, or videos, seeing the person on the screen. Recording those is prohibited. The use of video monitoring equipment and bathrooms and bedrooms is prohibited.

And individuals and/or unpaid supports who will be present during the provision of remote supports must be able to turn off all audio or video monitoring devices using any part of the home or community during the provision of service. And there are more. Those are just some of the examples. So, as you can hear, privacy is a big concern with these services.

So there have to be protections for people with their privacy. The implementation plan also has to include how the individual's health, welfare, and safety needs will be met, including completion of a backup plan that will be implemented. If there is a problem with the remote supports, say, power goes out or you have problems with your internet, so there needs to be a backup plan to address those types of things.

The plan would also include the training that individuals and any other designated persons will receive to enable them to successfully utilize the technology and equipment. And how remote supports are more cost effective than other waiver services. And, as I kind of alluded to earlier, there are some limits on remote supports. One is that it's only for individuals aged 16 and older.

And internet services cannot be covered through the waivers. The federal government considers internet to be kind of like a utility. Everybody uses internet now, so they consider it to be a utility like our electricity. So it can't be covered.

All right. So, now that I've gone through those two different services that cover technology, I want to talk-- there's still some confusion, and rightfully so, of, what is the difference between the two? So we wanted to create a slide that compares them side by side. So, for remote supports technology, that technology is monitored partially or fully by paid professionals as part of the remote support service to ensure the individual's needs are met.

And we say partially because we know that sometimes unpaid supports might be monitoring the devices or equipment during times that remote supports aren't provided. That's not required. It's just some people have a preference to do that, and that's fine.

And so that acknowledges that that might be somebody's preference. So the technology's monitored. Assistive technology, the technology is either not monitored at all or is only monitored by unpaid supports.

With remote supports technology, it can be leased short term or long term. Assistive technology can only be leased short term for specific reasons. An individual may have both remote supports and assistive technology on their individual support plan.

And so an example of that is a person-- we had talked earlier about those voice assistant devices covered through assistive technology. So a person might have one of those, once again, to turn their lights on and off, to turn their television on and off, control the temperature, all of those good things. Nobody is monitoring that voice assistance device. So that's assistive technology.

The individual may also have those sensors, those stove sensors and the door sensors and the window sensors covered through remote supports that are monitored by paid professionals who are delivering the remote support service. So that's an example of how a person might have both.

And then, to continue to help people understand the difference between those we developed a decision tree. And I believe that we have included it as an attachment with this presentation for people who are interested. But there's also a link on this slide for accessing the full decision tree because this is not-- this is just a screenshot of part of the decision tree.

This decision tree can be used when an individual family member or individual support plan team member identifies a need for a device or wants to explore supportive technology. This decision tree can assist in determining available service options. So, like I said, the picture on the screen's just part of it.

But you can see that the first question is, will someone monitor the device? If the answer is no, the device is most likely assistive technology. If the device will be monitored by someone, there are questions about, who will be monitoring the device? And then it helps people understand whether it's remote supports or assistive technology.

OK, and then there are other services that are available through the Office of Developmental Programs waivers and base funding that can cover technology. We don't have time to go over all of them in detail today. But, once again, if you have questions, please put them in the chat, and I'm happy to try to answer them.

High-level home accessibility adaptations cover technologies such as accessible alerting systems for smoke, fire, or carbon monoxide for individuals with sensory impairments and modifications needed to accommodate an individual's special sensitivity to sound, light, or other environmental conditions. Vehicle accessibility adaptations can include vehicular lifts and customized devices necessary for the individual to be transported safely in the community. And then residential rehabilitation, life sharing, and supported living are the Office of Developmental Programs, residential services.

And, just due to how those services are-- what they cover, how they're paid, they're a service available-- really, one provider is responsible for individuals in these residential services 24/7 to meet their needs and provide support that's needed. And because of that, there are types of technology that is covered under those services. And an example is if technology is used by multiple people in a residential home, that would be covered under the residential service versus assistive technology or remote supports.

OK, and then I kind of talked about this under assistive technology, but there are some limits that apply to all of the services under the waiver. So it's assistive technology, it's remote supports, all the services that I just talked about. So it is a federal rule that the waivers cannot pay for technology that other offices are required to cover.

So, once again. durable medical equipment or technology that meets a person's medical or mobility needs, that's covered through medical assistance. Technology that youth need for school to participate in school activities, that should be covered by their school district. And then people who are receiving services through the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation can receive assistive technology to aid in employment and daily tasks from the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation. And the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation really focuses on employment skills and helping people obtain employment if you haven't worked with them before.

Waivers can only pay for technology needed due to the individual's disability. Waivers cannot pay for goods and services that a household does not-- that a household that does not include a person with a disability would be expected to pay for as household expenses. And waivers cannot pay for something that the federal government calls room and board costs. And these include furnishings, food, and clothing. But waivers can be used to modify furnishings, and that's usually covered under home accessibility adaptations.

OK, and, at the very beginning with the buckets, I briefly spoke about the LifeCourse tools and frameworks. But there are other tools. And, like I said, a framework for having conversations that can be used to help anyone think about how technology can be used to help them live the life they want to live through all of their life stages.

So the Office of Developmental Programs supports people from birth through end of life. And these tools can help think about the different needs that a person has through all of those different life stages. So some of the questions that are included with this framework for having conversations are, does my school provide assistive technology to assist or support me?

Could they? Should they? Would assistive technology help me with college or career? And how can technology assist me to live as independently as possible?

And, also, on the right-hand side of the screen, you're going to see an integrated support star. And that can be used by anyone, individuals, families, or professionals, for mapping current services and supports, problem-solving for a specific need or planning next steps. It can be used to explore current needs, identify gaps, or plan how to access supports for the future.

The tool can be used to guide a conversation over the phone or facilitate an in-person planning meeting with one person or a group of people. The integrated support star can be used by anyone to guide their thinking. So, as you can see, there is a section devoted specifically to technology in the support star. As mentioned, this could be used to identify technology already used, or if there is a gap that technology could fill, to reach a certain goal. There's also-- included there is a link to lifecoursetools.com, and there is a short-- when you look at the Integrated Support Star, there's a short 2 and 1/2-minute video for people to learn about how technology can be used as a support and how the star can help you identify gaps and explore how technology can help people be more independent.

And then, as promised, there are some resources. And, once again, going back to those three buckets, we talked about the networking and connection. The Office of Developmental Programs, contracts with and partners with self-advocates united as one. And the Pennsylvania family network.

And they have a wealth of trainings about waivers. If you want to know more about-- sometimes about technology employment, it's just a whole wide variety of trainings and resources. And they'll also do some peer mentoring. As I mentioned before, we have that supportive technology page on my ODP.

And that has a quarterly newsletter specific to technology and some things you might want to think about or consider. And there are a lot of different videos from different conferences and presentations that you might find helpful. The Gold Book is-- it was developed by the Office of Developmental Programs to try to help explain what the Office of Developmental Programs does in kind of a user-friendly way.

The waivers themselves, each one is over 300 pages long. They are incredibly difficult to read and understand. So the Office of Developmental Programs developed a Gold Book to try to explain those-- explain the waivers and the Office in more user-friendly terms.

And then there are just some other resources on here for how eligibility works, how services works. And then we also have the paautism.org and ASERT Autism Resource Guide. And, as promised, we have some time left for questions.

So thank you again. I hope this information was useful. And I am happy to try to answer any questions because it was a lot. It's a lot of information that you might have.