Designated State Entity Assurances

Whether you are with the Designated State Entity or the SILC or a Center that receives Part B money, these new (and not yet implemented) assurances will be of interest to you. One of the most common difficulties reported between the DSE and Centers and SILCs has to do with timely payment, for example, and these assurances state that the DSE MUST make timely and prompt payment to Centers and SILCs. This requirement creates a platform fora conversation and the development of a process that will result in these timely payment. Most of these address potential areas of tension between the DSE and those funded through the SPIL. The areas specifically are:

• The DSE acknowledges its role as the fiscal intermediary to receive, account for, and disburse funds received by the State to support Independent Living Services in the State;
• The DSE must make timely and prompt payments to Part B funded SILCs and CILs:
• When the reimbursement method is used, the DSE must make a payment within 30 calendar days after receipt of the billing, unless the agency or pass-through entity reasonably believes the request to be improper;
• When necessary, the DSE will advance payments to Part B funded SILCs and CILs to cover its estimated disbursement needs for an initial period generally geared to the mutually agreed upon disbursing cycle;
• The DSE will accept requests for advance payments and reimbursements at least monthly when electronic fund transfers are not used, and as often as necessary when electronic transfers are used, in accordance with the provisions of the Electronic Fund Transfer Act ;
• The DSE will abide by SILC determination of whether the SILC want to utilize DSE staff;
• If the SILC informs the DSE that the SILC wants to utilize DSE staff, the DSE assures that management of such staff with regard to activities and functions performed for the SILC is the sole responsibility of the SILC in accordance with Sec. 705(e)(3) of the Act(Sec. 705(e)(3), 29 U.S.C. 796(e)(3));
• The DSE will assure that the agency keeps appropriate records, in accordance with federal and State law, and provides access to records by the federal funding agency upon request;
• The DSE assures that the SILC is established as an autonomous entity within the State as required in Sec 1329.14 of the WIOA regulations;
• The DSE will not interfere with the business or operations of the SILC that include but are not limited to:
  1. Expenditure of federal funds,
  2. Meeting schedules and agendas,
  3. SILC board business,
  4. Voting actions of the SILC Board,
  5. Personnel actions,
  6. Allowable travel,
  7. Trainings and;

• The DSE will fully cooperate with the SILC in the nomination and appointment process for the SILC in the State.

*Statewide Independent Living Council (SILC) indicators of minimum compliance, required by WIOA, and assurances — applicable to both the SILCs and the Designated State Entities (DSEs) — were sent from the Independent Living Administration to SILCs and DSEs in late September, 2017.  ILA will be consulting with the network to develop a plan on setting effective dates for both the indicators and assurances.  You can download the full text at http://www.ilru.org/federal-guidance-il-program, and click on “SILC Indicators and Assurances for the Designated State Entities” to open the document.

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