The Bureau of Individual Safety and Advocacy (BISA) – Ensuring the Rights and Safety of Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) Recipients
The DDSD Individual Safety and Advocacy Bureau is a newly formed bureau responsible for providing support to individuals receiving HCBS, including Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation prevention activities, administering the Regional Office Requests for Assistance (RORA) system and ensuring Fair Hearings rights.
Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation (ANE) Prevention Unit
Administers and provides support for ANE prevention activities. The aim is to improve supports and overall quality of life for clients by using data and by directly advocating to reduce the risk of ANE incidents.
Call the Adult Abuse, Neglect & Exploitation Hotline at 866 654-3219 or file a report online.
Visit Division of Health Improvement pages for more information.
Regional Office Requests for Assistance
DDSD created the Regional Office Request for Assistance RORA, system to promote communication with external and internal partners and to provide a forum for requesting assistance or raising concerns to DDSD. Note: This process does not replace any required reporting of Abuse Neglect or Exploitation.
Legal Affairs Unit
In 2015, DDSD created the Fair Hearings/Legal Affairs Unit to centralize waiver-related fair hearing matters, to offer opportunities to work towards resolution and assist individuals and families throughout the hearing process. The Legal Affairs Unit receives hearing notices and acknowledgements from the Healthcare Authority Office of Fair Hearings. It then compiles the Summary of Evidence for the parties and the Administrative Law Judge. The unit also organizes agency review conferences with the goal of resolving issues efficiently before a formal fair hearing.
