- President's Committee for People With Intellectual Disabilities 2017 Report
- Electronic Verification Visit Info and Fact Sheet
- OPRA Executive Board Officers Update
- Ohio Department of Medicaid Seeking Comment on Work Requirement Proposal
- New Communication Tool Implementation for OPRA Members
- HIPAA: Document Everything
- 2018 Spring Conference Schedule & Session Descriptions
- DD Awareness Day Speaker Schedule
- Upcoming OPRA Events
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Time for Renewals!
OPRA Members - Has your agency submitted your
online renewal application? Your agency has until the end of March to submit their application before OPRA begins removing staff from list-serves and committees.
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Report to the President
America’s Direct Support Workforce Crisis: Effects on People with Intellectual Disabilities, Families, Communities and the U.S. Economy
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- Overview of the direct support workforce
- Critical challenges faced by the long-term services and supports industry
- Effects of the workforce crisis
- Economic and other factors that have influenced the crisis
- Promising practices to address the direct support workforce crisis
OPRA recognizes these issues and continues to work on developing programs and solutions to address these issues including the following initiatives:
- DSPOhio - a unique statewide DSP recruitment effort that combines data-driven, targeted DSP branding and recruitment advertising with an on-line direct link that connects potential employees with provider employers.
- C3P(O)-an alternative path to obtain a high school diploma and find a lifelong career. The curriculum, which was developed by the Ohio Alliance of Direct Support Professionals, is a combination of on-site internship work with community agencies and classroom work based on the DSPaths curriculum. This program is mentioned on page 39 of the Committee's Report.
- Healthier Buckeye Grant-a grant to provide funding to set up an employee resource network (ERN) for direct support professionals and other agency staff to utilize.
- Workforce Sustainability- an area of focus in the OPRA 2018-2019 Strategic plan which includes the following initiatives:
- Advocate to increase workforce wages and benefits with the goal of average DSP wages of 200% of the federal poverty level
- Work with system partners to reinvest any savings into workforce issues and the waiting list.
- Remove barriers in order attract, train and retain direct support staff
Further information about the OPRA initiatives can be found on our website at
www.opra.org
.
I
n addition, we will be bringing you more in-depth information in upcoming issues.
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Electronic Visit Verification
Fact Sheet
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Electronic Visit Verification
, also known as EVV, is part of the 21st Century Cures Act. It is a federal requirement for all states to verify certain things about all waiver funded personal care services and all home health services. EVV is required for all waiver-funded personal care services by January 1, 2019, and for all home health services by January 1, 2023. The
Ohio Department of Medicaid (ODM)
currently has implemented EVV in a select number of Medicaid services and plans to expand EVV to
Department of Developmental Disabilities
(DODD)
services during the fall of 2018.
OPRA has some concerns about the implementation of EVV in DODD services and the potential impact it may have on everyday operations. We will be attending a series of stakeholder meetings as well as trying to work with the ODM to create a plan that may help mitigate some of this impact.
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OPRA Executive Board Officers Update
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OPRA would like to welcome its newest Executive Board Officers and would like to thank the outgoing Board Officers for their service to the organization.
The incoming Executive Board Officers are as follows:
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Executive Board Chairperson
Ohio Valley Residential Services (OVRS)
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Diane Beastrom
Executive Board Vice-Chairperson
Koinonia Homes, Inc.
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Executive Board Secretary
RHDD
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Executive Board Treasurer
Residential Home Association of Marion
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Executive Board Past-Chairperson
Choices In Community
Living, Inc.
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The outgoing Executive Board Officers are as follows:
Chairperson:
Tom Weaver
Vice-Chairperson:
James Steele
Secretary:
Robert Heinzerling
Treasurer:
Roy Cherry
Again, we thank those outgoing Board Officers for their time, dedication and input. In addition, we look forward to continuing to working with James Steele and Tom Weaver who will continue to serve in different capacities.
For more information on the OPRA Executive Board Officers,
click here.
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Ohio Medicaid Seeking Public Comment on Proposal to Implement Work Requirement for
Medicaid Expansion
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On February 16, 2018, the
Ohio Department of Medicaid (ODM)
proposed to implement a work requirement for Medicaid enrollees that is proposed to take effect on July 1, 2018. This proposal is based on RC 5166.37 along with the new
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) guidelines
,
and align with Ohio’s existing requirements for work and community engagement under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Able-Bodied Adults without Dependents (ABAWD) program.
To comply with the work requirement, enrollees will need to demonstrate the following:
- work at least 20 hours a week
- or are engaged in other allowable activities, including job search, education and training, or unpaid work in certain cases.
New enrollees must meet the requirement when they enroll, and current enrollees must meet the requirement during their annual eligibility renewal. Failure to meet the requirement results in termination of Medicaid benefits. Limited exceptions may be granted, for example for a family emergency or illness.
ODM proposed work requirements will be open for online public comment through March 18, 2018. Public hearings will be held in Cincinnati on February 21 and Columbus on March 1. Based on input from the hearings and public comments, ODM will finalize the application and submit to CMS for review. CMS will post Ohio’s waiver application online for at least 30 days and then wait at least 45 days after submission before making a decision.
To read more about the proposed work requirements
,
click here
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New Communication Tool Being Implemented for OPRA Members
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You spoke, and we listened! In order to better serve you, OPRA is phasing out the use of Simplelists as a communication method and replacing it with Basecamp. In addition there will be the added benefit of being able to to keep OPRA committee and workgroup emails and documents in one, well-organized place. Basecamp will also allow you to control how often you receive OPRA emails sent from the program. We believe you will find Basecamp easy to use.
Each OPRA committee and workgroup will have its own "Basecamp." If you are on multiple OPRA listserves, you will receive individual emails from Basecamp inviting you to join each committee and workgroup set up within the program. We will begin this transition over the next month.
We hope you enjoy Basecamp! If you have questions or comments, please do not hesitate to call or email Lisa Mathis at
614-224-6772
or
lmathis@opra.org
Eager to learn more about Basecamp now?
Click
HERE
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HIPAA Says: Document Everything
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Key Point:
If you don’t document it, you can’t prove you have followed privacy regulations — meaning you could face penalties. Security policies and procedures are mandated under the Health Information Portability & Accountability Act (HIPAA), and the regs are very specific about the policies and procedures you need to implement.
To learn more about the steps necessary to stay compliant,
click here.
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OPRA Spring Conference April 4-6, 2018
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Attendee registration, schedules and session descriptions for the Spring 2018 OPRA Conference are now available online.
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DD Awareness Day Speaker Schedule:
10:00—10:05
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Shari Cooper
Welcome
10:05—10:15
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Christine Brown
Introduction by, Jeff Davis
10:15—10:25
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Wallace Peck
Introduction by, Sharon Dorsey
10:25—10:35
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Ed McClain
Introduction by, Dana Charlton
10:35—10:45
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Josh Anderson
Introduction by, Suzie Burke
10:45—10:55
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Director Martin
Speaker Wrap Up
10:55—11:00
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Shari Cooper
Closing
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