Ltr-14: ECPMH
Official Letter
Official Letter
October 9, 2015
Dear Select Special Education Local Plan Area Directors:
CLAIM SUBMISSION FOR NECESSARY SMALL SELPAs’ EXTRAORDINARY COST POOL FOR MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES, FISCAL YEAR 2014−15
The California Department of Education (CDE), pursuant to provisional language in item 6110-161-0001 of the Budget Act of 2014, administers an extraordinary cost pool to reimburse necessary small special education local plan areas (SELPA) as defined in California Education Code (EC) Section 56212 for extraordinary costs associated with educationally related mental health services, including out-of-home residential services.
The threshold amount for necessary small SELPAs is the lesser of $75,017.54 (reflects the 2014–15 cost-of-living adjustment of 0.85 percent) or one percent of the SELPA’s Subtotal Apportionment, Line J-4 of the SELPA Special Education Funding Exhibit for the 2014–15 Second Principal Apportionment. Costs of placements and services for single students in excess of the threshold will be eligible for reimbursement. Single placement costs applied towards the threshold for reimbursements from the extraordinary cost pool for nonpublic schools and licensed children’s institutions will also be applied to this threshold.
The Budget Act of 2014 appropriated $3 million for this program. If the total reimbursable amount from all claims exceeds the $3 million appropriation, residential costs will be reimbursed first and claims for other mental health related costs will be prorated. If claims for residential costs exceed the $3 million appropriation, these claims will be prorated and remaining claims will not be reimbursed.
Necessary small SELPAs that choose to apply for reimbursement from the Extraordinary Cost Pool for Mental Health Services (ECPMH) are to report the costs for each student by following the claim submission process below.
Claim Submission Process
Submit 2014–15 Necessary Small SELPA ECPMH claims by November 30, 2015 (EC Section 56836.21(c)) as follows:
- Submit electronic ECPMH claim data files to the CDE using the 2014–15 Principal Apportionment Data Collection Software v14.00. The software and reporting instructions are available on the CDE Web page at http://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/sf/pa/padcsw1415.asp.
- Submit hard copies of the supporting documentation by mail, postmarked on or before November 30, 2015 to:
Shelley Goode, Analyst
Office of Principal Apportionment and Special Education
School Fiscal Services Division
California Department of Education
1430 N Street, Suite 3800
Sacramento, CA 95814
Supporting documentation includes a printout of each individual claim report and copies of paid invoices for that claim and any applicable waiver requests.
Please note that the November 30, 2015, statutory deadline will be strictly enforced; CDE will reject any claims submitted after that date.
SELPA directors should advise local educational agencies of the claims submission process for ECPMH as soon as possible by providing them a copy of this letter.
If you have any questions, or need further assistance, please contact Shelley Goode, Analyst, Office of Principal Apportionment and Special Education by phone at 916-324-4530 or by e-mail at sgoode@cde.ca.gov [Note: the preceding contact information is no longer valid], or Halena Le, Consultant, Office of Principal Apportionment and Special Education by phone at 916-323-6195 or by e-mail at hle@cde.ca.gov.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth Dearstyne, Administrator
Office of Principal Apportionment and Special Education