Navigating Continuing Education and Employment with CDWA: A Comprehensive Guide for Caregivers

The transition to Consumer Direct Care Network Washington (CDWA) brings changes and continuities for caregivers, especially regarding employment, training, and benefits. This article provides a detailed overview of CDWA's policies, procedures, and resources to help caregivers navigate their roles effectively.

Transitioning to CDWA: Key Information

The shift from the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) to CDWA as your employer requires specific actions to ensure a smooth transition.Firstly, log in to CDWA’s DirectMyCare web portal and complete all your hiring tasks. Your transition is not finished until you get confirmation from CDWA that you are “Okay to Provide Care” as a CDWA employee.

Impact on Training and Benefits

As you transition to CDWA, your training will continue with no interruption to your training schedule or changes to your requirements. This is true whether you are a newer caregiver with a Basic Training requirement or if you are required to take Continuing Education. If you have healthcare coverage through SEIU 775 Benefits Group and remain eligible for coverage, your coverage will continue with no interruption. This enrollment period is called Change of Employer Enrollment (COEE) and is happening because you are transitioning to be employed by CDWA.

Retirement and Job Matching

Transitioning from DSHS/IPOne to CDWA will not impact your future hours or contributions to the retirement. The SEIU 775 Secure Retirement Plan is the first of its kind in the nation for caregivers. Caregivers are automatically enrolled in the plan after meeting the 6-month participation requirement. If you do not have an online retirement My Plan account, create one today! You will still get job-matching benefits through Carina after you transition to CDWA.

Understanding Continuing Education (CE) Requirements

CDWA ensures that caregivers receive ongoing training to enhance their skills and provide quality care. Here's what you need to know about continuing education:

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Completing and Claiming Training Hours

You can go into the DirectMyCare web portal and claim training hours. Once in the portal, select “Admin Time” under the Client dropdown to enter your training time.

Submitting Training Records: The training that you complete through SEIU 775 Benefits Group is sent to CDWA every business day.
Prioritization of Required Hours: Only the training completion records needed to complete a current training requirement will be sent to CDWA and you will only be paid for the number of CE hours that are required. For example, if you need 12 hours of CE but take all 36 hours available on Cornerstone, then only the 12 required hours will be sent.

Navigating the DirectMyCare Portal

The DirectMyCare portal is a crucial tool for managing various aspects of your employment with CDWA.

Accessing and Utilizing the Portal

You can go to the “Time Entry” page in the DirectMyCare portal and select “Admin Time” from the drop-down menu.

Claiming Admin Time

You can go into the DirectMyCare web portal and claim training hours. Once in the portal, select “Admin Time” under the Client dropdown to enter your training time.

Understanding Compensation and Taxation

Understanding your compensation, deductions, and tax obligations is essential for financial well-being.

W-2 Information and Access

CDWA W-2s are available at myADP.com. According to CDWA, Box 1 of the W-2 will only reflect your taxable income, which for some live-in caregivers who are “difficulty of care exempt” will be much lower than your gross wages. It will, however, include things like pay for training and PTO. Box 12 of the W-2 will show gross payment which is not taxed.

Tax Withholdings and Adjustments

If you wish to adjust your withholdings, you can update your W-4 following these instructions. Remember, this will only impact your withholdings going forward. Each tax situation is unique, and there are multiple factors that can impact your W-2 such as the number of deductions taken, extra withholdings, difficulty of care exemptions, and other factors.

Addressing W-2 Concerns

If CDWA is not able to address your concern, please call our Member Resource Center at 866-371-3200 with details on what is incorrect about your W-2.

Difficulty of Care Exemption

IPs who qualify under the Difficulty of Care income exemption may continue to exclude income from federal income tax reporting.

Understanding the CDE Rate

DSHS has received questions about state system generated letters that you may have received regarding the Consumer Directed Employer (CDE) rate of $31.32 which is paid by the state of Washington to Consumer Direct Care Network - Washington. This amount includes an hourly labor rate for IP wages, benefits, taxes, and other employee-related expenses and an administrative rate for the employer functions CDWA is required to provide under their contract. This is not a rate specific to any particular caregiver; different caregivers have different wage rates based on their career cumulative hours and other factors, like differentials and overtime pay. As an IP, your individual rate of pay will remain the same as it is today upon transition to the CDE. CDE will not impact the tax status of Individual Providers.

Addressing Common Concerns

Work Week Limits

Have Work Week Limit rules changed? Work Week Limit rules remain the same for IPs.

Mileage Reimbursement

Mileage is no longer authorized under a service line. Instead, the Case Manager’s authorized mileage is under approved tasks.

Authorization Process

The client’s DSHS Case Manager sends the authorization to CDWA. If the client has one IP, CDWA opens authorization for that IP. Expiration notice - IP, CM, and the client get a U2 notice. I cannot claim all the hours I was authorized for the month.

Available Resources and Support

CDWA offers various resources to support caregivers in their roles.

In-Person Assistance

In-person help: You can schedule an in-person office visit in Lacey, Everett, Federal Way, and Spokane. CDWA also has a limited number of in-person events around the State, including some with language interpretation.

Member Resource Center