Regional Offices
About Regional Offices
The regional offices of Tennessee's Division of Mental Retardation Services are the local point of entry to the Division's community service system. The regional offices are responsible for the enrollment of individuals with mental retardation into a service delivery system that best meets their individual needs for support. It is the mission of these offices to develop and support opportunities for persons with mental retardation to live as contributing members of their chosen home community.
There are multiple avenues through which the regional office supports individuals with mental retardation. One method of support is the direct provision of services such as assessments, training, and limited forms of interventions in a variety of clinical disciplines, such as physical therapy, occupational therapy, behavioral services, and nursing/medical services. Other services such as residential or day services are provided through a contracted provider system. In order to ensure appropriate community supports for individuals the regional office conducts quarterly reviews of agencies and when necessary provides training and technical assistance geared toward improving agency performance.
As a steward of public funds, the regional office conducts the review of service and cost plans which meet the needs of people supported and the procedural requirements of the Medicaid Waiver. The office notifies families about approvals and denials; informs families of their appeal rights, and completes the initial processing steps for provider payments. Each of these steps are required to assure that funds appropriated to the Division are used effectively and that appropriate steps are taken to contain costs while providing the necessary supports to individuals.
The regional office implements policies and procedures developed by the DMRS Central Office, which are designed to ensure that there is consistent application of services and supports across the state. To further fulfill this mission, the regional office also operates compliance and investigative follow-up systems for reviewing performance and recommending actions that will improve service delivery to individuals with mental retardation. An important function of the DMRS Compliance Unit in the regional offices is to monitor court mandated requirements and ensure the Division’s providers remain in compliance with those requirements. Each of these activities permits the Division to provide reasonable assurances to individuals, conservators, court monitors, advocates, and other interested parties that the community service delivery system is responsive to individual service and support needs.
Regional offices exist to ensure that the Division has local presence and can respond quickly to local needs for community mental retardation services on an individual basis.
