Opinion ID: 2805947
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: 2011 Changes to the Budget Tool

Text: The Department periodically evaluates and adjusts its Budget Tool. In July 2011, the Department made several changes to the Budget Tool in a purported effort to capture a participant’s “living situation.” Although the record does not disclose exactly how the 2011 changes accounted for “living situation,” it makes clear that a number of the changes were dramatic. First, the weights assigned to the variables–the inputs from the various assessments used to calculate the budget–changed. Second, some previous variables were dropped entirely. For example, before July 2011, “needing assistance with mobility” was a weighted variable used to calculate budgets; it no longer is.1 Additionally, the constant coefficient used in the Budget Tool changed. The constant coefficient before July 2011 was $54,965.65. After “living situation” became a weighted variable, the constant coefficient decreased to $24,476.75. E. Notice of Decreases in Class Members’ Calculated Budgets Numerous class members’ individualized budgets decreased in the Fall of 2011. The Department notified participants of these cuts by sending Budget Notices. The 2011 Budget Notices did not explain why the budgets had been cut, but instead simply stated: “Using information from the Individual Needs Inventory and a complete case file 1 According to the Department, the weighed variables have not changed since July of 2011. 10 K.W. V. ARMSTRONG review conducted by the Regional Independent Assessor, your individual budget is calculated to be $________.”