Catalyst Center Monthly Update
What have we done for you lately?
Key Catalyst Center Updates

This month the Catalyst Center is hard at work updating our State Data Chartbook, with the most currently available health indicators for all 50 states as well as Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia.

The Catalyst Center is also preparing for our Annual National Advisory Committee meeting, where we discuss our current work, and plans for the months ahead.

Finally, as part of the National Network for Advancing Systems of Services for CYSHCN's needs assessment we are interviewing family leaders and youth for their expert perspective on current challenges and areas of opportunity in the system of care.
News you can use...
Webinar: Mental Health Policy Briefing - Raising the Priority of California Children with Special Health Care Needs

Wednesday, May 8 from 2-2:30 pm PST

Access to mental health services is an issue of concern for many families of CSHCN. From access to care, to improving coordination of care, and ensuring that disputes about coverage are resolved in a timely manner, there are many challenges to address in California.

The Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health will be hosting a 30-minute policy briefing on raising the priority of mental health services and supports for California CSHCN. Speakers from the National Health Law Program will highlight current state policy priorities and share ways to engage.
HRSA Releases Resources for Medicaid Collaboration

The U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) released new resources for state Title V and maternal and child health programs collaborating with state Medicaid counterparts, including comprehensive information on The Early Periodic Screening Diagnostic and Treatment (EPSDT)  benefit .

The HRSA resource offers concrete examples of EPSDT and State Title V MCH partners hips, state strategies for using Title V to strengthen Medicaid’s EPSDT program, information about Title V’s role in data and quality monitoring in EPSDT, and more.
In case you missed it...
Health Affairs Blog Post: Not Just Along for the Ride: Families Are the Engine that Drives Pediatric Home Health Care

 Family leader, Family Voices consultant, and CMC CoIIN consultant, Cara Coleman has authored a blog post in Health Affairs about the important contributions of family caregivers in supporting home and community-based pediatric medical services.
Issue Brief: Home and Community Based Services Waiver

This Kaiser Family Foundation issue brief presents the latest data and answers key questions about home and community based services (HCBS) waiver waiting lists. The data comes from the Kaiser Family Foundation’s 17th annual survey of state Medicaid HCBS programs. The report's appendix contains tables with state level data.

This project (U1TMC31757) is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of an award totaling $500,000, with no financing by nongovernmental sources. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government; HRSA Project Officer Sarah Beth McLellan. 
Catalyst Center
A project of the Center for Innovation in Social Work & Health
at Boston University School of Social Work 
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