National Child Abuse Prevention Month Starts Today!
This year's theme, "Thriving Children and Families: Prevention With Purpose," emphasizes the Children's Bureau's commitment to preventing child abuse by recognizing our collective responsibility to support all families and help them to achieve positive outcomes. We are focusing on promoting protective factors and building parental capacities that help families become the best parents they can be!
All families have strengths and experience challenges. Identifying stressors and building on strengths can help families!
Support for parents is child abuse prevention. This April, I encourage you to help us provide all families with opportunity and access to the supports and resources to address their unique needs; normalize asking for help; and provide parents a holistic, robust, and easily accessible support system.
Join the conversation online and educate and spread the word in your community by using our outreach toolkit, which includes free graphics and sample messages. Use the hashtag #ThrivingFamilies to follow along on social media and share important resources all month.
As always, thank you for your support of National Child Abuse Prevention Month and for your dedication to protecting and serving children and families all year round. Through continued support of family and community-based supports, we can take purposeful action to promote the well-being of families and prevent child abuse.
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Benchmarks' Upcoming Webinars
Benchmarks' Child Welfare Webinar with Lisa Cauley & Karen McLeod
Date: Thursday, April 14, 2022
Time: 8:00 am thru 9:00 am
Benchmarks' Friday Membership Webinar with Dave Richard & Karen McLeod
Date: Friday, April 22, 2022
Time: 8:30 am thru 9:30 am
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Benchmarks' Friday Membership Webinar
Healthy Blue NC & Karen McLeod
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Extension of the Waiver for Qualified Professional Rules
During its meeting Thursday, February 24, 2022, the Commission voted to approve your request to renew a waiver of the aforementioned rules solely as it pertains to the definition of a Qualified Professional (QP) contained in 10A NCAC 28A .0102(b)(35)(B)-(D) and 10A NCAC 27G .0104(19)(b)-(d).
These definitions mandate that all years of full-time MH/DD/SA experience required for credentialing as a QP be earned after one obtains the necessary educational degree.
The waiver permits the years of full-time MH/DD/SA experience required for credentialing as a QP to be obtained before or after obtaining the educational degree. Per your request, the Commission granted the waiver retroactive to January 1, 2022 through December 31, 2023. The Commission anticipates this will permit time for completion of permanent rule actions related to the definitions at issue.
The Commission’s decision was based upon assurances that the waiver will not affect or threaten the health, safety and welfare of any consumers coupled with the fact that all potential staff will still be subjected to the hiring process including a review of relevant work experience and credentials obtained. Please do not hesitate to contact me should you have any questions related to this decision.
I can best be reached via email at [email protected]. In the alternative, you may reach me by contacting Ms. W. Denise Baker, Team Leader, Legislative and Regulatory Affairs Team, Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Abuse Services at [email protected].
Note : Qualified Professional, for community programs and services, is defined in Rule 10A NCAC 27G .0104, Definitions. The education and experience requirements for QP are reflected in (19). This waiver only permits the experience required to serve as a QP to be earned before or after obtaining the required degree. The waiver does not impact or waive any other requirements of the rule.
NC Medicaid Behavioral Health Services to Transition to Tailored Plans in December 2022
NCDHHS currently covers a subset of BH services under its 1915(b)(3) waiver, which will sunset upon Tailored Plan launch in December 2022. NCDHHS is seeking authority to cover most of the current 1915(b)(3) services through the 1915(i) authority (Tailored Plans).
Postpartum Coverage Extended to 12 Months for NC Medicaid Beneficiaries Beginning April 1
Medicaid postpartum health care coverage will be extended from 60 days to 12 months for eligible people in North Carolina beginning April 1, 2022. Medicaid will also provide 12 months of continuous postpartum coverage to eligible people who are currently pregnant or gave birth between Feb. 1, 2022, and March 31, 2022.
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 gave states the option to increase postpartum coverage to 12 months. The extension was included in the state budget which was approved in November 2021. The option for the 12-month extension of postpartum coverage is available to states for five years, through March 2027.
Beneficiaries will now be eligible to receive 12 months of ongoing postpartum health care coverage beginning on the date their pregnancy ends through the last day of the month 12-months after the last date of the pregnancy. Beneficiaries will remain eligible for ongoing postpartum health care coverage even if certain changes occur that may affect eligibility — such as a change in income or household/family unit.
Most pregnant and postpartum beneficiaries will have access to full Medicaid benefits. This may include services like doctor’s visits, prescription drugs, dental, vision and hearing, as well as behavioral health care and substance use services.
New Employment and Brain Injury Resource
Click here for the new Administration for Community Living (ACL) Disability Employment Technical Assistance (TA) Center Resource, "Considerations for Working with Individuals with Brain Injury: A Guide for Employment Service Providers," authored by Maria Crowley and Jill Ferrington of the National Association of State Head Injury Administrators (NASHIA). This is a free resource and can be distributed widely.
Related, here is information about a webinar NASHIA is hosting in partnership with the ACL Disability Employment TA Center. Please note that the North Carolina Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Services (DVRS) and Community Partnerships, Inc. brain injury employment programs are a featured part of this webinar. I encourage all to consider attending.
Joint Communication Bulletin #J408:
UPDATE to Implementation Dates for State-Funded Residential Supports (RS) (I/DD & TBI) Service and Supported Living Periodic (SLP) (I/DD & TBI) Service and Explanation of the Grandfathering Request Process
Please use the links below to access information on the Joint Communication Bulletin #J408 - State-Funded Residential Supports Service and Supported Living Periodic Service Update.
Joint Communication Bulletin #J409:
Supplemental Financial Assistance for the Provision of State-Funded Group Home Services During SFY22
Community Partners Webinar: Updates on NC Medicaid Managed Care and other Key Medicaid initiatives - March 24, 2022
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SPECIAL BULLETIN COVID-19 #241: Direct Care Worker One-Time Bonus Payment Update
This bulletin is an update to SPECIAL BULLETIN COVID-19 #233 and provides guidance for affected providers to distribute one-time bonus payments. More information
New Medicaid Bulletins Available as of March 21, 2022
The NC Division of Health Benefits (DHB) has recently published new Medicaid Bulletin articles:
Providers are encouraged to review this information. All bulletin articles, including those related to COVID-19, are available on DHB's Medicaid Bulletin webpage.
Full Legal Name Required to Match on NCTracks Record and Licensure for Individual Providers
NCTracks has implemented a quality assurance practice to streamline Individual provider records for source verification with credentialing and licensing agencies. The provider’s full legal name (first, middle and last name, as it appears on their government-issued ID) is now required to be listed with both NCTracks and licensing agencies.* Please note that if the name exceeds the character limitation, providers should spell out the name exactly as listed on the ID as far as they can until it truncates but should not abbreviate.
Providers must update their name on the provider record in NCTracks and/or with the appropriate licensure boards or agencies* to ensure a match with their full legal name as it appears on government-issued ID to avoid issues with enrollment applications.
*Agencies and boards required for the provider record, including National Plan and Provider Enumeration System (NPPES), Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), North Carolina Medical Board (NCMB) and other reported licenses, accreditations and certifications, etc.
If a provider has already submitted an application but has discovered a name mismatch between their records, the following steps may be taken to resolve the issue, depending on the scenario:
Provider Name Incorrect with NPPES, DEA, NCMB, etc.
Applies to All Application Types
If it is determined the Individual provider’s name is listed incorrectly with one or more licensing agencies, the provider must complete the appropriate update with that agency.
If this update is made within 30 days of the receipt of an incomplete application letter, the provider may submit proof of the name change from the licensure board to NCTracks (via the Upload Documents page) to complete the application and continue processing.
If the update takes longer than 30 days since the application is returned, and the application is abandoned, the provider should submit a new application.
It may take time for the licensing agency to show the name change after it is submitted. If an incomplete letter is returned by NCTracks after the name has already been updated on the licensure, the provider should upload proof of their name change from the licensure board to allow the application to continue processing.
Provider Name Incorrect on Record with NCTracks
If it is determined the provider’s name is listed incorrectly with NCTracks, the course of action will depend on the application type in progress:
Initial enrollment application: The provider must withdraw their application and submit a new application with their correct legal name.
Re-enrollment, Manage Change Request (MCR), or re-verification application: The provider cannot alter their name on a pending application. The provider must upload a name change support document (driver license, SSN card, marriage license, or alternative government-issued proof of legal name) via the Upload Documents page. The NCTracks Enrollment Specialist will correct the name on the existing record, notify the provider, and withdraw the current application. The provider may then submit a new re-enrollment, MCR or re-verification application.
A provider with no pending application that needs to report a name change or correction should contact the NCTracks Call Center at 800-688-6696 for assistance.
Additional information may be found in the NCTracks announcement here.
Character Limitation for Fields on Provider Applications
When completing a provider application, providers may notice that entries in some fields truncate when reaching a certain length of characters. Spaces, letters of the alphabet, numbers and punctuation all count toward a character limit which exists for some fields on provider applications.
Information such as an organization/individual legal name, street address or doing business as (DBA) name may not always fit completely into the applicable field. In these instances, providers should type in the information until the character spaces have been exhausted. For legal names, providers should not abbreviate or use a shortened name. Instead, they should enter the name exactly as it appears on their government-issued documentation until they run out of space.
As always, providers are encouraged to review their entries before submitting to avoid any typos or errors that may cause processing delays.
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New Funding Opportunity from The Duke Endowment
Request for Applications
The Duke Endowment is pleased to announce a request for applications for Healthy People, Healthy Carolinas (HPHC), a program to improve community health outcomes and reduce health disparities in North Carolina and South Carolina. This expanding initiative is designed to advance up to six new or existing multi-sector community coalitions in North Carolina in their efforts to improve population health through:
2. Enhancing community capacity to implement evidence-based interventions and to sustain those efforts through policy, systems and environmental changes;
3. Incorporating equitable community engagement strategies to identify community needs and drive decision-making;
4. Monitoring performance metrics to spur improvement;
5. Structured technical assistance that includes one on one coaching, learning collaboratives and mentoring from existing HPHC coalitions.
Building upon the foundation of HPHC launched by The Duke Endowment in 2015, and the existing 24 HPHC coalitions across the Carolinas, this funding opportunity is designed to develop the infrastructure needed for effective coalition building to address complex health issues. The healthcare industry continues to undergo transformational change, emphasizing the need for communities to come together to find solutions for persistent and costly health conditions such as obesity and diabetes. As the United States transitions to a value-based healthcare system, communities will need to work collaboratively to improve population health. Recent events have further highlighted the need for these partnerships and equity-driven collaborations.
If you are interested in applying for HPHC, please review the Request for Applications found here. Additionally, coalitions interested in applying are required to review the pre-recorded webinar available here for additional information about the initiative and the application process. Potential applicants are also invited to attend one of the live webinars available for Q&A listed below (these will be recorded).
JOIN US
Thursday, May 12 9:00-9:30 am
Healthy People, Healthy Carolinas
Q&A Webinar
The application can be accessed here. Applications for HPHC in NC are due to The Duke Endowment by 5:00 PM on June 15, 2022. If applicable, all applications must be accompanied by written support from both the hospital and the health department in the community supporting this initiative.
Questions about the program should be directed to Chris Collins at 704-927-2122 or [email protected].
Additional information about the Endowment’s Healthy People Healthy Carolinas initiative can be found here.
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Attorney David Rudolf of Rudolf Widenhouse Announces Cardinal Innovations Healthcare Solutions to Pay Former CEO Richard Topping $500,000 for Defamation
Cardinal Innovations Healthcare Solutions will pay its former CEO Richard Topping $500,000 for false and defamatory statements made by Cardinal Innovations and its law firm, McGuireWoods, at a 2018 press conference. The payment was announced by prominent civil rights attorney David Rudolf, who represents Topping.
“The Cardinal Innovations Board has accepted responsibility for the misconduct of its former employees. We continue to believe that those employees mislead not only regulators and the public, but also the Cardinal Board itself,” said Rudolf.
In addition to the half million-dollar payment, Cardinal Innovations has dismissed its lawsuit against Topping based on the same false allegations and will hand over the documents and interviews it provided to McGuireWoods that formed the basis of the press conference and the lawsuit. Three former Cardinal executives, CEO Trey Sutten, General Counsel Chuck Hollowell, and Deputy General Counsel Steve Martin, will be required to provide recorded interviews, detailing their roles in the defamation and the lawsuit. Sutten, Hollowell and Martin’s testimony can be compelled by the judge in the case, if they refuse to comply.
Topping’s lawsuit against McGuireWoods and a former partner in the firm, Kurt Meyers, will proceed. In March 2021, the North Carolina Supreme Court upheld a ruling by the Court of Appeals that McGuireWoods could be held liable for statements made by Kurt Meyers at the press conference. That case is expected to go to trial sometime later this year.
From 2009 to 2017, Topping built Cardinal Innovations from a small pilot program serving 5 Piedmont counties, into the North Carolina’s largest managed care organization, and the state’s single biggest Medicaid contractor. After Topping’s departure, Cardinal began losing counties in its service area. In October of 2021, Cardinal Innovations announced that it would lay off its entire workforce and cease operating.
In 2017, former North Carolina Health Secretary Mandy Cohen dismissed Topping, and the entire Cardinal Innovations Board based on misinformation provided to Department of Health and Human Services by Sutten, Hollowell and Martin; information that subsequently formed the basis of the defamation suit. In sworn depositions, Sutten, Hollowell and Martin admitted to using prepaid “burner” cell phones to help facilitate the takeover of Cardinal by Cohen and DHHS.
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CALL FOR ABSTRACTS:
A Special Issue of Child Welfare Journal on Opportunities for Child Welfare to Respond to Prenatal Alcohol and Other Substance Exposure
Updated Abstract Submission Deadline: May 6, 2022
This issue will examine the role and opportunities for child welfare agencies to respond to and care for children and their caregivers impacted by prenatal alcohol and other drug exposures. Policies and practices relevant to state, local/county, and Tribal child welfare agencies, their collaborating partner organizations, and the children and families they serve will be discussed.
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NC CTP Fall 2022 Learning Collaborative Applications are now open!
The NC Child Treatment Program is happy to announce that the following Fall 2022 Learning Collaborative Applications are now open:
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Dodging Standards: A three-part series
Social services in NC may be in the hands of people who don’t meet minimum qualifications. Why and how it happens, and how other states avoid the problem.
Socal social services agencies in North Carolina have vast authority over the lives of families, children, people with disabilities and others. State rules set clear minimal standards for social workers and social services directors, but state agencies can’t prevent counties from hiring unqualified people. In at least one case, an unqualified agency director later admitted to a work-related felony while workers in her office unlawfully separated children from their families. Counties struggle to recruit and retain qualified workers in part due to pay inequities between counties. But other states avoid these problems with different approaches.
Dodging Standards is a three-part investigative series from Carolina Public Press, being published daily beginning March 28, 2022. The series was made possible in part with support from the Fund for Investigative Journalism, a national foundation that supports the investigative reporting efforts of independent journalists and news organizations, and through the support of readers like you. You can support nonpartisan in-depth and investigative journalism in North Carolina from our nonprofit newsroom by becoming a member today.
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CDC data looks at the impact of COVID-19 on adolescents
Today, CDC released new data from the Adolescent Behaviors and Experiences Survey (ABES) highlighting the magnitude of the challenges our nation’s youth faced during the COVID-19 pandemic. ABES provides results on students’ behaviors and experiences during the pandemic related to substance use, mental health and suicide, disruptions to student life, racism and more.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a seismic effect on communities across the country, and young people have been especially impacted by the ways in which their everyday lives have been altered. DASH is working to support schools as they help students recover from the pandemic. Each of us can play a part in creating safe, supportive, affirming environments where youth can be healthy and resilient.
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Senate Finance Committee Bipartisan Report on Mental Health Care
In a newly released bipartisan report, the Senate Finance Committee makes the case for Congressional action to improve mental health for Americans covered under federal programs, such as Medicaid, Medicare and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). The Committee identifies five key areas that must be addressed to improve access: workforce, care integration, parity, telehealth and youth. The Committee found that access to affordable, reliable and high-quality mental health and substance use disorder services evades Americans when it is most needed, and even more so for racial and ethnic minorities as well as people living in underserved urban and rural communities.
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New: Monday & Tuesday, April 4 & 5, 2022
Duke-Margolis-FDA Workshop:
Identifying Key Competencies for Opioid Prescriber Education
Time: 1:00 pm thru 5:00 pm-Monday
1:00 pm thru 4:00 pm-Tuesday
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Tuesday, April 5, 2022
It’s Complicated...Navigating Today’s Workforce, Employer, and Work Dynamics
Time: 1:00 pm thru 2:00 pm
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New: Wednesday, April 6, 2022
NCCDD Hosts Second Self-Advocate Discussion Series
Time: 1:00 pm thru 2:00 pm
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Thursday, April 14, 2022
Benchmarks' Child Welfare Webinar with Lisa Cauley & Karen McLeod
Time: 8:00 am thru 9:00 am
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New: Thursday, April 14, 2022
Empowering Employers with Health Care Payment, Pricing, and Market Tools
Time: 10:00 am thru 11:00 am
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Continued: Friday, April 15, 2022
"Building a National Movement” Workshop Series
Child Trends is co-sponsoring a workshop series—presented by the Campaign for Trauma-informed Policy and Practice, the National Prevention Science Coalition to Improve Lives, and PACEs Connection—on preventing trauma and fostering resilience. Half-day workshops will be offered every other Friday from late January to mid-April, from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm ET.
- April 15: “Building the Movement through Policy and Advocacy”
- April 29: "Building the Movement through Policy and Advocacy"
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Tuesday, April 19, 2022
Save the Date: NC Department of Health and Human Services Ethics Seminar
Time: 1:00 pm thru 4:00 pm
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Friday, April 22, 2022
Benchmarks' Friday Membership Webinar with Dave Richard & Karen McLeod
Time: 8:30 am thru 9:30 am
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New: Wednesday, April 27, 2022
Person-Centered Community Supports for People
with Complex Behavioral Challenges: Using ABA
Time: 1:00 pm thru 2:15 pm
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Tailored Care Management Educational Offerings
Ongoing Webinar Sessions and Trainings: Some are free, some require a fee, and some are for CMA organizations that have passed the desk review only.
NC AHEC has partnered with the NC Department of Health and Human Services and Division of Health Benefits to equip Tailored Care Management (TCM) candidates with the tools and knowledge to effectively provide care management services to North Carolina’s Tailored Plan beneficiaries through Continuing Professional Development (CPD) opportunities. Find a list of monthly offerings below and join us for one or for all!
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