Overview, Purpose, and Need - The Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG) is the designated Area Agency on Aging (AAA) serving older adults and adults 18+ living with a disability in the eight county Denver metro region. Counties in the region include Adams, Arapahoe, City and County of Broomfield, Clear Creek, City and County of Denver, Douglas, Gilpin, and Jefferson.
The DRCOG AAA is requesting proposals from qualified respondents to provide Vendor Fiscal/Employer Agent (F/EA) Financial Management Services (FMS), in a program of participant-directed long-term services and supports. The DRCOG AAA desires to offer participant-direction to Veterans of all ages referred by the VA Eastern Colorado Healthcare System (ECHCS) as participants of the Veteran Directed Care (VDC) program.
The Veteran Directed Care (VDC) program serves Veterans of any age who are determined by the referring VA Medical Center to be at risk of institutional placement and appropriate for the VDC program. The purpose of the program is to help eligible Veterans remain in their homes with dignity and quality of life. Participant-direction is a service delivery model that empowers Veterans by expanding their degree of choice and control over the long-term services and supports they use to continue living at home. Program participants may delegate an authorized representative who understands and respects the participant’s needs, wants, and values, who will serve as the employer of record. A participant’s delegation of authority to a representative may enable an adult with cognitive impairments to participate in participant-direction programs.
Veterans are assessed for need by the VA VDC Program Coordinator and then referred to the DRCOG AAA to start the program. Within limits set by the program’s overall budget, a Veteran designs a personal spending plan based on the individual’s needs and values, informed by a comprehensive assessment and person-centered planning process. The Veteran serves as the employer of record and manages their budget for personal care services – deciding for themselves what mix of goods and services will best meet their needs. The Veteran is responsible for hiring and supervising their own attendants, including family and friends, and purchasing goods or services that will help them live more independently and safely remain in their home.
The DRCOG AAA proposes in this RFP to procure an entity that can provide financial management services to Veterans located in the eight county DRCOG region, during a 24-month period. Financial management will include providing the services that meet Internal Revenue Service (IRS) requirements for Vendor Fiscal/Employer Agents (F/EA) operating under contract with the DRCOG AAA and in accordance with Section 3504 of the IRS code and Revenue Procedure 70-6 to facilitate eligible publicly funded home and community-based service recipients’ use of participant-directed supports.
