Consumer Direct of Washington (CDWA)

Get Help and Contact CDWA 

If you need help or have questions, contact CDWA at: 
Email: InfoCDWA@ConsumerDirectCare.com   
Toll-Free Phone Number: 866-214-9899   
For deaf and hard of hearing: 877-398-7969
Text: 877-532-8568
Website: www.ConsumerDirectWA.com    

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. Go to CDWA’s event calendar to schedule an appointment.

Frequently Asked Questions

Need to file a grievance?

If you believe your contract has been violated, like receiving an incorrect paycheck and/or late paycheck, an incorrect deduction, or corrective actions, discipline, or terminations, take action! Contact the Member Resource Center (MRC) at mrc@seiu775.org or 1-866-371-3200

Visit our grievance webpage for more information – seiu775.org/grievances

When contacting the MRC about a possible grievance please provide the MRC rep with all relevant information.  For example for pay issues please provide pay periods impacted, hours unpaid etc.

Overpayments

If you receive an overpayment notice from CDWA and you disagree with the overpayment notice and wish to contest it with CDWA please notify CDWA via (InfoCDWA@ConsumerDirectCare.com) email and contact the Member Resource Center (mrc@seiu775.org or 1-866-371-3200) within 21 days of receiving the notice.  Please provide the MRC rep with as much info as possible (date of overpayment, amount of overpayment etc.). CDWA will stop the overpayment recoupment only after they are notified that you disagree with it, so reach out to CDWA and the MRC as soon as possible.

W-2s

What should I know about my W-2s?

1. 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. For more info see: IRS Notice 2014-7, Difficulty of Care Payments Excludable from Income and CDWA’s W-2 Q&A.
2. 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.

More information about CDWA W-2s are available on their website.

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. We recommend IPs reach out to tax professionals for individual tax assistance as the MRC cannot provide tax advice or evaluate your W-2.

If you still believe your W-2 is incorrect, please follow these steps:

1. We encourage you to call your service coordinator at CDWA first.
2. If you don’t know your client’s assigned service coordinator or can’t reach them, call CDWA at 866- 214-9899.
3. 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. Please keep in mind that we cannot make an evaluation of W-2s to determine if they are correct or not due to individual tax circumstances, but we can investigate specific issues you or a tax professional identify to us that CDWA has incorrectly reported or deducted from your taxes.

Continuing Education

How can I get paid for my 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. The job aid for entering Training Time in the DirectMyCare web portal is called “Adding Paid Time Off and Training Time” found on the CDWA website under IP Resources > Time and Mileage Entry Materials.  You can get paid for training hours as you earn them.  If you are unable to enter training time, you should contact your Service Coordinator.

When do my training hours get sent to CDWA? The training that you complete through SEIU 775 Benefits Group is sent to CDWA every business day. You do not need to send screen shots, mail certificates of completion. Training completion information will be reflected in the CDWA DirectMyCare web portal within 72 business hours (3 days) of completion.

What training hours will be sent?

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. If training completion is not reflected correctly in the CDWA DirectMyCare web portal after 72 hours of course completion, you should contact the Member Resource Center (MRC) to check that records show you have completed the necessary requirement.

Don’t know the number of hours you need to take?

Please look at recent emails from SEIU 775 Benefits Group, email the MRC at mrc@myseiubenefits.org or call the MRC at 1-866-371-3200 (Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.)

Other CE deadline questions?

Visit SEIU 775 Benefits Group for more information on CE deadlines and more.

Other Questions

Why does my Paid Time Off (PTO) balance appear incorrectly in DirectMyCare?

CDWA announced that PTO has been successfully transferred from IPOne and the balances should appear correctly on DirectMyCare. IPs can claim their PTO. If there are any issues you should contact CDWA.

How can I claim mileage?

Mileage is no longer authorized under a service line. Instead, the Case Manager’s authorized mileage is under approved tasks. To claim mileage, you will need to select mileage when submitting completed tasks for the shift.

How can I claim non-service hours?

You can go to the “Time Entry” page in the DirectMyCare portal and select “Admin Time” from the drop-down menu. You will see service codes for the authorized non-service hours such as PTO, Travel Time, or Training hours.

How does the process for authorizing personal care service hours and mileage work?

The client’s DSHS Case Manager sends the authorization to CDWA. If the client has one IP, CDWA opens authorization for that IP. If the client has multiple IPs, they or their authorized representative must allocate the hours for each IP before CDWA can open authorizations.

Who authorizes my training pay?

CDWA opens payment authorizations for any required training.

How does CDWA notify IPs of our background check renewal deadline approaching?

CDWA sends the following reminder notices to IPs in U2 system:

• 60-day reminder – IP gets a U2 notice
• 30-day reminder – IP gets a U2 notice
• 15-day reminder – IP gets a U2 notice and a reminder call
• 10-day reminder – U2 notice is sent to both IP and the client’s CM, the client gets a reminder call
• 5-day notice – IP gets a U2 notice and a phone call
• Expiration notice – IP, CM, and the client get a U2 notice. A physical letter is also sent to the client.

When my background check expiration date is approaching, do I need to wait for instructions from CDWA?
No, you can contact the Background Check Central Unit (BCCU) directly for instructions.

I cannot claim all the hours I was authorized for the month. Have Work Week Limit rules changed?
Work Week Limit rules remain the same for IPs. IPs can’t go over their WWL in a workweek (Sunday-Saturday) regardless of what their monthly authorization is.

What is included in the CDE rate? How much goes towards administration and how much towards IP wages and benefits?

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. This is the standard single rate paid to the CDE for all hours worked by all caregivers, which is a weighted average rate that accounts for those differences.

As an IP, your individual rate of pay will remain the same as it is today upon transition to the CDE. The expenses that the State of Washington previously has been responsible for paying to cover benefits described in the Collective Bargaining Agreement and employer taxes are now paid directly to the CDE as part of the hourly rate.  As the employer, CDE will be responsible to manage these employee-related expenses.

Does this impact taxes for IPs?

CDE will not impact the tax status of Individual Providers. IPs who qualify under the Difficulty of Care income exemption may continue to exclude income from federal income tax reporting. IPs who are currently exempt from FICA and FUTA will continue to be exempt.

Where can I find more information about CDE and CDWA?
You can find more information at DSHS’s website and also at CDWA’s website.