Bill
HB 2310
HB 2310 expands Kansans' disability-support workforce by funding career ladders, a public direct-support registry, performance-based payments, and a waitlist portal.
Purpose
- HB 2310 (the "career advancement, resources, employment and supports for the disability workforce act" or Kansas CARES Act) is designed to strengthen and expand the workforce that supports Kansans with developmental, intellectual, and physical disabilities. It seeks to recruit, train, credential and better manage direct support workers (including direct support professionals and personal care attendants), improve service quality and choice for waiver participants, and provide data and tools for waitlist and workforce planning.
Key provisions
- Career education and advancement
- KDADS (Dept. for Aging & Disability Services), in partnership with the Kansas State Dept. of Education and others, must develop career education programs for high-school and community-college students and career enhancement programs for professionals (including adoption of the National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals’ e-Badge Academy or a similar program by Dec. 31, 2025).
- Establishes and defines “career ladder programs,” credentialing bodies, participating employers, etc.
- Workforce registry and labor data
- Creates a public registry of direct support workers listing business contact information and services.
- Requires the Kansas Dept. of Labor (KDOL) to initiate or expand tracking and publication of labor statistics for direct support professionals and personal care attendants (open positions, future need, number of qualified workers). KDOL must publish such information and provide it to KDADS annually; an initial publication deadline stated as Oct. 1, 2025.
- Performance-based contracting and provider models
- KDADS must adopt a performance-based contracting program for managed care organizations (MCOs) and other large providers that ties a portion of state payments to measurable quality outcomes; withholds may be released when quality terms are met.
- MCOs/large providers must adopt a model showing total cost of care per patient and maximum possible savings; small providers considered individually.
- Contract quality goals include reduced unnecessary ED use, fewer preventable admissions and 30‑day readmissions, better integration of physical/behavioral health, improved prenatal care outcomes, better pharmacy utilization, substance abuse treatment access, addressing social determinants of health, and reducing boarding in EDs.
- Choice, procedures and rate parity
- KDADS must develop procedures to increase compatibility between providers and waiver participants and to facilitate choice of provider and services by individuals with disabilities.
- Mandates rate parity: pay increases across all state waiver programs must occur at the same time and at the same rate.
- Online portal for waitlist management
- Requires KDADS to implement an online portal to manage waiver waitlists, allow two‑way (non‑confidential) communications, provide information to people on intellectual/developmental and physical disability waiver waitlists while maintaining HIPAA confidentiality. Portal implementation deadline: Dec. 31, 2026.
- State benefits
- Provides that certain direct support workers may be eligible for coverage under the State Health Plan.
Fiscal impact and timelines
- KDOL: estimates initial software development for a workforce/waitlist portal at $400,000 SGF and ongoing maintenance at $40,000 annually (FY 2026 forward). KDOL indicates expanded tracking can be accommodated largely within existing frameworks but additional separate tracking may require effort and cannot be funded by current KDOL grants.
- KDADS: indicates a significant but unspecified fiscal impact; KDADS could not provide a firm estimate.
- Kansas Dept. of Education: could incur costs (staffing/coordination) but did not provide an estimate.
- Key deadlines: KDOL workforce publication by Oct. 1, 2025; KDADS e-badge adoption by Dec. 31, 2025; portal implemented by Dec. 31, 2026.
Who is affected
- Direct support workers, direct support professionals, personal care attendants, disability services providers (public and private), managed care organizations, waiver program participants on waitlists, KDADS, KDOL, K‑12 and community/technical colleges, and the State General Fund.
Procedural history (selected)
- Introduced: Jan 31, 2025; Hearing: Feb 11, 2025.
- Legislative actions recorded through May–June 2025 indicate committee consideration, floor passage, enrollment, transmission to the governor (May 28), and a governor’s signature (June 20, 2025) with immediate effectiveness noted in the record.
Notes
- The fiscal note flags uncertainty about total KDADS costs and limitations on creating new federal occupational codes — KDOL cannot add federal occupation codes and may need separate tracking mechanisms.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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