Cost Categories Defined

Cost Category Descriptions
Cost Category Descriptions
Cost Category	Additional Information	Items to Include	Relevant Drop-Down Box - Cost Items	Items to Exclude
Direct Care Staff	Also called: Direct Support Professional. All staff that directly provide waiver services to participants.	1. Salaries for direct support professional for all billable time	DSP FTE/PTE wages - billable wages	1. Administrative salaries (these are classified as General and Administrative)
		a. Direct Support Professional Level I DSP-I: Includes DSP's who have completed the basic training level.		2. Wages/salaries for essential staff not directly providing a service even if these staff are interacting with clients. These wages/salaries would be included in the Program Support cost category.
		b. Direct Support Professional Level II DSP-II or DSP-III: Includes DSP's who have achieved credentialling through the National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals (NADSP) or the Maryland DSP Consortium credential.		3. Costs incurred by DSP staff while not providing services that is unbillable time (e.g., drive time, which is Transportation).
		c. Direct Support Professional Level III See DSP II		4. Fringe/benefits (these are classified as Employment-Related Expenses)
		2. Direct time portion of wages		5. Bonuses (these are Employment-Related Expenses)
		3. Contracted staff providing direct support	DSP temporary/contractual staff wages - billable wages	6. Vacation/holiday/other pay (these are Employment-Related Expenses)
		4. Brief support services (Tab S1-BSS): Wages for behavioral health (BH) professionals/consultant providing direct participant or consultancy BH care	Behavioral health professional wages; Behavioral temporary/contractual staff	7. Exclude the overtime portion of wages (i.e., the overtime portion of the overtime wages is included in Employment-Related Expenses).
		5. Nursing supports (Tab S5-NS): nursing staff wages for nursing providing direct participant care or consultancy nursing care	Nursing staff wages; Nursing temporary/contractual staff

Employment-Related Expenses	Other costs incurred in employment of all staff	1. Insurance	Payroll taxes – worker’s compensation insurance, retirement contributions, FICA, FUTA, SUI	1. Salaries/wages (these are in the cost categories of Direct Care Staff or Program Support or General and Administrative)
		a. FICA		2. Transportation costs (these are in the cost category Transportation unless it is a transportation cost associated with general and administrative and then it would go in the General and Administrative cost category).
		b. FUTA/SUTA		3. Training costs (these are in the cost category Training unless it is a transportation cost associated with general and administrative and then it would go in the General and Administrative cost category).
		c. Unemployment
		d. Workers compensation
		e. Medical	Employee Insurance - disability insurance, life insurance, health insurance
		2. Benefits
		a. Tuition reimbursement	Employee incentives - staff bonuses, gifts, tuition reimbursement
		b. Retirement programs	Employee retirement plans - 401(k), 403(b), IRA, Roth IRA, pension plan
		c. Fringe benefits	Employee insurance - disability insurance, life insurance, health insurance
		d. Gifts/Staff appreciation	Employee incentives - staff bonuses, gifts; Employee events unrelated to client care - staff picnics, staff meals and entertainment; Employee health and wellness - gym memberships, wellness seminars, employee assistance programs, dependent care assistance
		3. Vacation/holiday/other pay
		a. Paid time off (including accrued time)	Paid time off - vacation pay, sick time, unused leave reimbursement
		b. Bonuses	Employee incentives - staff bonuses, gifts, tuition reimbursement
		c. Overtime portion of overtime wages	Employee overtime - overtime portion of overtime wages for all employees
		4. Hiring expenses
		a. Finger printing services	Pre-employment screenings - criminal background check, motor vehicle record, credentials verification
		b. Background checks
		c. Recruitment (DSPs)	Recruiting (DSP) - advertisements, job fairs for DSP specific positions
		5. Member dues and fees	Dues and subscriptions - professional or trade association dues, industry magazines/journals/book subscriptions, staff licenses and/or certificates (service-specific licenses and dues required for service delivery)
		6. Professional fees	Professional fees - payroll tax professionals, payroll tax processing

Program Support	Cost required to provide service (wages/goods) specific to the program, not directly providing the service	1. Supplies and costs related to the specific service offered	Program expenses - program activity, client activities and outings, client classes, client recreation, food	1. Salaries/hourly wages for Direct Care Staff billable time, these would be included in the Direct Care Staff cost category.
		2. Salary or hourly wage for Supervisor or Directors of Services	Program support wages - behavioral health professional/consultant, director/manager of activities, nurse/nursing consultant, program supports staff/consultant, residential counselor	2. Salaries/hourly wages for Administrative Staff, these would be included in the General and Administrative cost category.
		3. Program support wages
		4. Food related to specific services	Food - participant snacks/food related to specific services
		5. Activity costs	Program expenses - program activity, client activities and outings, client classes, client recreation
		6. Contracted services	Contracted services - wages paid to contracted staff
		7. Quality assurance activities	Quality assurance activities - wages for staff providing quality oversight of service delivery
		8. Medical supplies	Client expenses - medical supplies and equipment, medical copays/premiums, client clothing, client housekeeping
		9. Equipment costs	Equipment - purchase/lease of tools, small appliances/furnishings; Employee uniforms
		10. IT expenses	Technology/IT - IT expenses directly to support participants (e.g., program staff computers w/case management software)
		11. Share of direct care staff documentation time (unbillable time)	DSP wages unbillable - direct care staff wages for documentation time and other unbillable activities (unbillable time)
		12. Bad debt (client-related)	Bad debt (client-related) - unrecouped client expenses (i.e., clothing, personal care, housing costs)
		13. Program supports facility/property costs	Program supports facility/property costs - (participant-service related) office rent/mortgage loan, line of credit, mortgage/loan interest, improvement loans, property depreciation for community-based services that have office-based support needs

Facility	Costs for running a facility where services are offered	1. Rent (for service facility)	Service facility/property costs - rent/mortgage loan, home equity line of credit, mortgage/loan interest, improvement loans, property depreciation	1. Office costs (these are in the cost categories General and Administrative)
		2. Mortgage (for service facility)		a. Rent
		3. Maintenance (for service facility)		b. Mortgage
		a. Hourly wage or salary for Facilities Manager	Facility staff wages: facility manager, security staff, facilities maintenance staff, facility manager, and janitorial staff - wages for staff at the service location	c. Maintenance
		b. Hourly wages for maintenance staff		d. Insurance
		c. Hourly wages for janitorial staff		e. Taxes
		d. Hourly wages for security staff		f. Utilities
		e. Hourly wages for DSP staff	DSP wages unbillable - wages paid to direct care staff for time spent on facility activities (unbillable time)
		f. Upkeep and repair	Upkeep and repair - janitorial/fire/safety/security contracts, housekeeping supplies, equipment rental
		4. Insurance (for service facility)	Taxes and insurance - real estate taxes, building permits, property insurance, renters’ insurance, real property depreciation.
		5. Taxes (for service facility)
		6. Interest on facility loans	Service facility/property costs - rent/mortgage loan, home equity line of credit, mortgage/loan interest, improvement loans, property depreciation (including for community-based services that have office-based support needs)
		7. Utilities (for service facility)	Utilities (for service facility) - electricity, gas, water, sewage, internet, business cell phones, cable, telephone, and trash pickup fees
		a. Water, electric, etc.
		b. Phone bill
		c. Cable
		d. Internet
		8. Depreciation on real property	Taxes - real estate taxes, building permits, property insurance, renters’ insurance, real property depreciation.
		9. Equipment costs/supplies	Facility furniture - furnishing purchased/leased for participant use in the service location; Residential supplies- groceries (residential facilities)
		10. Technology/IT	Technology/IT - IT expenses directly to support participants (e.g., remote monitoring, smart home technology, computers specifically for program participants)

Transportation	Costs incurred by transportation staff, transportation time, other transportation related costs	1. Driver hourly wages/salaries	Wages - fleet manager, van driver	1. Salaries/hourly wage for Direct Care Staff if they are providing a service during transportation (these would be Direct Care Staff costs).
		2. Salary or hourly wage for Vehicle Fleet Manager or Driver Manager	Wages - fleet manager, van driver	2. Staff costs for commute to work/off-the-clock, these would not be included in any cost category.
		3. Share of Direct Care Staff time and wages driving on the clock (unbillable)	DSP wages unbillable - wages paid to direct care staff for unbillable time
		4. Staff Mileage reimbursement	Staff transportation expenses - mileage and/or travel reimbursement
		5. Vehicle costs/maintenance/insurance	Vehicle related expenses - vehicle maintenance and repair, tolls, fuel and oil, parking fees, automobile insurance, registration fees, rental lease payments, vehicle depreciation.
		6. Vehicle depreciation
		7. Tags, titles, and registrations
		8. Participant transportation	Participant transportation - public transportation costs

Training	Costs related to staff training, certifications, etc.	1. Training
		a. Training staff hourly wages	Training staff costs - wages and expenditures paid to staff conducting the training
		b. Third party training costs
		c. Training supplies	Training supplies - training materials, cost of printing certificates, staff wages that assist with training documentation (e.g., tracking making, tracking and filing of certificates)
		2. Conferences/Conventions	DSP/program staff seminars/conferences - registration fees, conference costs for DSP/Program staff (non-admin); DSP/Program Staff training travel - airfare, public transportation, hotel expenses for DSP/program staff to attend training
		3. Share of direct care staff time	DSP training wages - wages paid to DSP staff while in training (unbillable time)
		a. New hire training
		b. Staff development
		4. Continuing education	Continued education (DSP) - DSP/Program staff CEU's, certification classes

General and Administrative	Costs regardless of type of business (i.e., common to all businesses).	1. Administrative salaries	Admin wages - salaries or wages for FTE/PTE/contracted staff who perform administrative duties (e.g., assist in and/or perform tasks such as answering phone calls, sorting mail and maintaining office supplies)	1. Cost related to the specific service offered (these are included with the cost category Program Support).
		2. Contracted administrative staff hourly wages		2. Rent/mortgage for service facility (these are included with the cost category Facility)
		3. DSP wages (unbillable)	DSP wages unbillable - wages paid to direct care staff for unbillable time spent on general and administrative tasks (unbillable time)
		4. Office rent	Admin facility expenses – administrative office rent/mortgage loan, line of credit, mortgage/loan interest, improvement loans, property depreciation
		5. Office utilities	Utilities (administrative) - electricity, gas, water, sewage, internet, business cell phones, cable, telephone, and trash pickup fees
		a. Water, electric, etc.
		b. Phone bill
		c. Cable
		d. Internet
		6. Office supplies	Office expenses and supplies - office furniture, cleaning products, pens, paper, notebooks, stationery, snacks and beverages, printer, printer ink, postage fees, or payments for printing services
		7, Equipment costs
		8. Management and executive salaries	Management wages - salaries for staff that perform managerial or executive agency functions (e.g., management or supervision of staff, daily operations and activities, strategic planning, policy and decision-making, team management, and financial management)
		9. General insurance	Business insurance - general liability, professional liability, employment practices liability insurance (EPLI)
		10. Advertising	Advertising - non-DSP staff recruiting, agency advertising and promotional materials
		11. Legal and accounting	Professional service fees – legal services, accounting services (CPAs, financial planning, investment managers), translation services, shredding services
		12. Member dues and fees	Dues and subscriptions - professional or trade association dues, industry magazines/journals/book subscriptions, staff licenses and/or certificates
		13. IT expenses	Technology/IT – hardware costs, mobile devices, industry-specific software, software licensing fees and updates, employee training
		14. Administrative staff expenses	Admin staff expenses - travel, meals and entertainment unrelated to client care, non-client related conference food and travel
		15. General business expenses	Bad debt (Admin ) - unrecouped general business expenses; Bank fees – interest paid on business loans, credit lines, and business credit cards; Charitable contribution – monetized charitable donations to other organizations/agencies; Fundraising and lobbying; Other taxes and fees - not including payroll or real estate taxes