Letters with this information were sent to families and workers early in the year. Mostly these are just reminders and clarifications regarding policies and the program.
All printed portions of a timesheet must be completed legibly. Signatures, the worker’s payroll number and client’s UCI are all required to verify service and ensure the correct worker is paid. If incomplete, it may not be processed for the intended payday and payment would be delayed. Also, timesheets with the worker’s name on the top left and copies of timesheets with date changes will not be accepted or processed.
For those who use email to submit timesheets, they must be scanned in black and white, then saved and sent as a .pdf, (not a picture) with the client’s first name, last name initial and UCI number in the Subject line. Please use: timesheets@respiteinc.com when sending timesheets as email attachments.
Pay periods always end at midnight every other Saturday/Sunday (see pay schedule). Although the deadline is 5:00pm the Monday before a payday, timesheets should be sent as soon as possible after services are complete in that pay period.
When signing up a new worker, the original (not faxed or emailed) Waiver and W-4 must be received by Respite, Inc. before that person can be entered in the payroll system. It is best to include the worker’s first timesheet with the original forms, which can be mailed or hand-delivered.
Tri-Counties Regional Center has decided not to authorize mileage reimbursement for EOR families/those with designated respite workers beginning fiscal year 2018-2019. The expectation is that authorizations for miles will be canceled during IPP meetings or simply lapse on the current end date. Without an authorization, no payment can be made to a designated worker for miles.
Per a directive from the Dept. of Developmental Services, the 90 hour per quarter limit has been removed. This means if there are hours leftover from a previous quarter, for the same authorization, they can be moved forward into another quarter. Hours cannot be taken from future months.
Since there isn’t funding for overtime, a worker cannot provide more than 40 hours of respite in a workweek (Sat/Sun midnight to Sat/Sun midnight). Arrangements would have to be made for two or more workers to provide over extended time periods.
Designated respite workers are currently earning $15/hour, well above the minimum wage, which is the state’s preferred pay amount. This includes money that would have to be set aside for other unfunded mandates. DDS conducted a survey in 2017 to review various program rates. It is unknown if this will cause a rate change in the areas served by Respite, Inc. Should DDS decrease the rate there would be a proportional decrease in the hourly pay rate for workers. This change may take place without additional notice, but isn’t expected until 2019.
AB1522 is the sick leave law in California. Although mandated to accrue, there isn’t any funding for sick pay. Since respite can be re-scheduled and is very part-time, taking sick time is difficult to justify. When feasible, some or all accrued hours will be paid out at the end of the calendar year.
Respite, Inc. has no control over authorizations. We understand the frustration when hours thought to be available can’t be paid. When this occurs only your Service Coordinator at TCRC can resolve the issue. We will also contact your SC on your behalf. Anytime all authorized hours have been used the services stops being respite and becomes private party care of an individual.
If you’re still reading, there are a few things I’d like to bring to everyone’s
- Most respite workers paid through Respite, Inc. are designated by the family, who technically are the employer, while Respite, Inc. becomes the Employer of Record, ensuring consistent payroll procedures are adhered to and the program is administered properly.
- Between clients (individuals served), parents, guardians and workers we have several people with the same names. This is why timesheet information has to be complete and legible. If we have to guess someone’s name, hours used may be applied to the wrong client and/or the wrong worker could be paid.
- We process up to 1000 timesheets every two weeks. All must be printed. Every timesheet may not be readily available during a payday week.
- We are not a technologically advanced office. Just as with using respite, we try to keep processing as simple and efficient as possible. This is why timesheets can only be sent as a .pdf, as picture attachments take different programs and more time to try to print.
- Reimbursement from TCRC can only be made after services have been provided and is only once a month. For older service months we may have to wait months for reimbursement, having paid the worker long before. This is why payment for older service dates can be delayed and when many months are submitted at one time are paid incrementally over several paydays.
- Mandates, laws and regulations keep changing, making it more difficult for respite programs to remain viable. The next major event will be Electronic Visitation Verification to be mandatory in 2022.
Now in its 16th year, Respite, Inc. still makes using respite as simple and stress-free as possible. We understand the need and appreciate everyone involved.
Sincerely,
Diane Toevs
Program Coordinator
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