After careful consideration, the NBRC supervisory team determined that it agreed
with this approach, and decided to decline to use vendors to provide services within its
catchment area that are not vendorized by NBRC, unless the consumer is in the process
of transitioning from one regional center to another. NBRC therefore asked Lifehouse to
apply to be vendorized in its catchment area in order to provide services to claimant;
however, Lifehouse declined.
16. NBRC then provided claimant’s father with a list of approved vendors in
the NBRC catchment area. NBRC also asked claimant’s parents to sign releases enabling
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claimant’s service coordinator to contact its vendors to investigate their ability to
provide appropriate services to claimant. Claimant’s parents preferred to perform their
own investigation. Claimant’s father contacted all of the providers on NBRC’s list. Of the
list provided by NBRC, only several vendors provide supported living services in
Sonoma, where claimant resides. Of those,
claimant’s father narrowed the list to two
vendors based on his conversations with the vendors and claimant’s needs. Claimant’s
father testified that he interviewed employees of these two agencies and found that
they are for-profit companies and lack an autism training module. In addition, he found
that they have only a small number of autism clients. For a variety of reasons, claimant’s
father determined that none of the vendors on the list was appropriate to serve
claimant.
17. NBRC believes that it can provide appropriate supported living services for
claimant performed by an agency vendorized in its catchment area. An NBRC supervisor
testified that she has never been unable to provide appropriate services with the vendors
available in the NBRC catchment. Sometimes a negotiated rate is required, and an
exception is obtained. Other times NBRC provides additional services such as behavioral
therapy or personal assistant hours, in order to meet the needs of the consumer. NBRC is
requesting the opportunity to put services in place with its own vendors; it is willing to
apply for a rate exception if necessary.
Claimant’s family is requesting that Lifehouse be hired because the family
believes that it is the only agency in the area capable of providing appropriate care for
claimant.
