The Office of Community Living (OCL) within the Department of Health Care Policy & Financing (HCPF) has the following information to share below:

Announcements:

• Join Our Beta Test for the Direct Care Careers Center - Your Expertise Needed!

• REMINDER: ARPA 6.06 - Dollars to Digitize (D2D) Round 2, Apply by Thursday, Aug. 31, 2023

• REMINDER: Apply for an ARPA 7.02 Member Emergency Preparedness Surviving in Place Battery Backup Power Supply System

Memos:

• Addition of Benefits Planning and Workplace Assistance to the Developmental Disabilities (DD) and Supported Living Services (SLS) Medicaid Waivers, and the State SLS Program

• Case Manager Retention Payments and Bonus Case Management Redesign

• New Service Mental Health Transitional Living Home

American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA)-Related Meetings

• ⚠️ RESCHEDULED: Direct Care Workforce Collaborative (DCWC) Training and Career Advancement Action Group

Announcements

Join Our Beta Test for the Direct Care Careers Center - Your Expertise Needed!

Hello Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) Waiver providers!

We are excited to invite you to join the beta test for the brand-new Direct Care Careers Center - which will be a job search platform, employer matching, and comprehensive resource hub for the direct care workforce. Our primary goal is to facilitate the entry of individuals into the direct care workforce and enhance the overall experience for job seekers and HCBS provider agencies.

The Direct Care Careers Center will offer a user-friendly interface with job boards, an effortless way for job seekers to find ideal positions and access to free training (coming spring 2024). Your valuable insights as beta testers will be crucial in refining the platform and creating a seamless and supportive environment for direct care workers and employers.

By participating in this beta testing phase, you will gain early access to the Direct Care Careers Center to post open positions and be matched with potential job seekers. To apply for consideration, please follow this link to the Beta Testing Sign-Up Form.

Your expertise and feedback will play a key role in transforming the experience for direct care professionals. If you have any questions or need further information, feel free to reach out to us directly at HCPF_DCWorkforce@state.co.us.

Thank you for considering this invitation. We eagerly look forward to your participation and invaluable contributions.

- - - -

REMINDER: ARPA 6.06 - Dollars to Digitize (D2D) Round 2, Apply by Thursday, Aug. 31, 2023

This is a reminder that the application deadline for Dollars to Digitize (D2D) Round 2 is Thursday, Aug. 31, 2023!

As a reminder, the purpose of the ARPA 6.06 D2D project is to provide funding to home and community-based services providers to digitally transform their care delivery. Funding will include investments in upgrading or implementing electronic health record systems to be able to better coordinate care, access real-time information through health information exchanges, and the purchase of tools necessary for the delivery of virtual services.

Please see the Aug. 2, 2023, D2D informational webinar recording to learn more about this opportunity.

If you’re interested in applying, please visit the ARPA 6.06 Grant portion of the ARPA webpage.

- - - -

REMINDER: Apply for an ARPA 7.02 Member Emergency Preparedness Surviving In Place Battery Backup Power Supply Systems

HCPF has recognized the importance of being prepared for a power outage emergency for individuals utilizing life-sustaining medical devices. With funding made available through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and in collaboration with The Center for Inclusive Design and Engineering (CIDE), we will be distributing Battery Backup Power Supply Systems to eligible Health First Colorado members, assisting them in having the necessary equipment to be better prepared and in maintaining their health, safety and independence.

If you are interested in getting a Backup Power Supply System, please complete the application. Once received, the application will be reviewed, information verified, and a determination made if the applicant qualifies. There is a limited supply and a final decision will be made on eligibility and the availability of devices. All applicants will be notified of their results within two months of receipt of the application. All questions should be directed to Julia Beems at 303-315-1284 or julia.beems@ucdenver.edu.

For more information about the project visit the Surviving in Place webpage.

Memos

These memos and related documents, and other memos of interest, are on HCPF's 2023 Memo Series Communication webpage.

• Policy Memo (PM 23-007) - Addition of Benefits Planning and Workplace Assistance to the Developmental Disabilities (DD) and Supported Living Services (SLS) Medicaid Waivers, and the State SLS Program (Aug. 24, 2023): The purpose of this Policy Memo is to inform members, case managers, providers, and other interested stakeholders about two new benefits added to the Developmental Disabilities (DD) and Supported Living Services (SLS) Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) Medicaid Waivers and the State SLS program. These new benefits are Benefits Planning and Workplace Assistance. The new benefits were effective July 1, 2023.

• Link - Benefits Planning Provider Enrollment Instructions - August 2023

• Link - Supported Employment Provider Enrollment Instructions - August 2023

• Informational Memo (IM 23-026) - Case Manager Retention Payments and Bonus Case Management Redesign (Aug. 24 2023): The purpose of this Informational Memo is to inform Colorado HCBS Case Management Agencies (CMA) of the third round of the Case Management retention payment and sign on bonus grant opportunity and application processes.

• Operational Memo (OM 23-052) - New Service Mental Health Transitional Living Home (Aug. 25, 2023): The purpose of this Operational Memo is to inform all Case Management Agencies, service providers, members and interested stakeholders about a new HCBS benefit available under the Community Mental Health Supports waiver (CMHS). Mental Health Transitional Living homes (MHTL) will be a new residential benefit available to members on the CMHS Waiver, beginning Friday, Sept. 1, 2023.

ARPA-Related Meetings

Please find an ARPA-related meeting announcement listed below. Other ARPA-related meeting information is on the ARPA Stakeholder Engagement and Calendar webpage.

⚠️ RESCHEDULED: Direct Care Workforce Collaborative (DCWC) Training and Career Advancement Action Group

The Direct Care Workforce Collaborative (DCWC) Training and Career Advancement Action Group meeting originally scheduled for Friday, Sept. 1, 2023, at 9 a.m. MT has been rescheduled to the following week-- Friday, Sept. 8, 2023, at 9 a.m. MT. If you have any questions, please reach out to HCPF_DCWorkforce@state.co.us. Thank you!

The meeting will be held:

Friday, Sept. 8, 2023

9 to 10 a.m. MT

Join via Zoom

Join via Phone:

(Toll-free) 1-877-853-5257

Meeting ID: 969 405​3 6000, Passcode: 115140

Need to Make an Accommodation Request for One of Our General OCL or ARPA-Related Stakeholder Meetings?

Reasonable accommodations for all OCL- and ARPA-related stakeholder meetings will be provided upon request for persons with disabilities. Auxiliary aids and services for individuals with disabilities and language services for individuals whose first language is not English may be provided upon request. Please notify John Barry at 303-866-3173 or John.R.Barry@state.co.us or the 504/ADA Coordinator at hcpf504ada@state.co.us at least one week prior to the meeting to make arrangements.

📅 General OCL Meetings are on the OCL Stakeholder Engagement and Calendar webpage.

📅 ARPA-Related Meetings are on the ARPA Stakeholder Engagement and Calendar webpage.

Signing up for OCL and HCPF Communications

If you are not currently on the communications list receiving these emails,

you can sign up here.

See a list of all HCPF newsletters you can subscribe to.

Looking for Prior OCL Communications?

Do you know about the OCL LTSS newsletter archive? On this page, you can:

• Search OCL newsletters back to January 2021

• Subscribe to the newsletter

• Keep track of OCL announcements, meeting reminders, and memos