Benchmarks' Friday Membership Webinar:

January 20, 2023

Benchmarks' Upcoming Webinars

New: Benchmarks' Child Welfare Webinar with Karen McLeod, Lisa Cauley & Team

Date: Thursday, February 9, 2023

Time: 8:00 am thru 9:00 am

New: Benchmarks' Foster, Adoption, Residential (FAR) Meeting

Date: Wednesday, February 15, 2023

Time: 9:00 am thru 10:00 am

New: Benchmarks' Friday Membership Webinar with Dave Richard and Karen McLeod

Date: Friday, February 24, 2023

Time: 8:30 am thru 10:30 am

Benchmarks' Collection of Past Updates

Important NC Medicaid Update

There are big changes happening at NC Medicaid. NCDHHS will be replacing the current provider enrollment, credentialing, and data management system with an upscale centralized Provider Data Management/Credentialing Verification Organization (PDM/CVO) solution in early 2024. PDM/CVO is a timesaving, cost-effective, and scalable solution designed to:

Improve the user experience;
reduce administrative burden for providers;
address NC Medicaid program needs; and
align with CMS and national accreditation requirements.

This is a significant milestone for the NC Medicaid provider and stakeholder communities. All NC Medicaid providers will be impacted. As such, the NC Medicaid Provider Operations Stakeholder Engagement team is engaging providers, associations, and other stakeholders about our “Journey to Modernization” before, during, and after the project’s transition.

We have developed a 30-minute presentation that offers a high level overview describing the key features of PDM/CVO and the reason this change is necessary. The presentation also affords our partnering stakeholders the opportunity to absorb the newest information, ask questions on this first leg of the journey, and help us spread the word. You may also visit our PDM/CVO webpage: https://medicaid.ncdhhs.gov/providers/provider-data-management-credentialing-verification-organization

Please allow us to tell you more by replying to this email or contacting Michael Herrera, NC Medicaid Provider Relations Supervisor, at 919-219-3445 to schedule a presentation. One of our team members will be happy to follow up with you. The sooner the better!

We hope to hear back from you soon, and thank you for your continued partnership and support of the NC Medicaid program.

Important Note: Session Law 2017-57 authorized the replacement of the current Medicaid Management Information System (MMIS) technologies with modular systems. The new system will evolve the singular NCTracks system into modular systems with independent components that stand alone but integrate with other modules. The Electronic Visits Verification (EVV), Encounter Processing System (EPS), and Medicaid Enterprise System (MES) modules already launched. The PDMCVO is the next module that is going live. Other major modules include: Third Party Liability (TPL), Finance Solution (FMM), Member Management (MMM), Decision Support System (DSS), and Care Management Module(CMM). This is not an inclusive list but intended to show you a snap shot. We hope this gives you a grander picture of the improvements happening at NC DHHS.

Revision - Link updated for Proposed State-Funded Service Definition Policies

State Funded Clinical Coverage Policy Posting 10-day Public Comment Notice

State Funded Clinical Coverage Policy Assertive Engagement (AE) and State Funded Clinical Coverage Policy Comprehensive Case Management (CCM) have posted for a 10-day public comment period. These policies may be accessed at, Proposed State-Funded Service Definition Policies.

Comments can be submitted to [email protected] until Jan. 31, 2023.

Medicaid Clinical Coverage Policy Posting 45-day Public Comment Notice

Clinical Coverage Policy 8A-7, Ambulatory Withdrawal Management (WM) without Extended On-Site Monitoring and Clinical Coverage Policy 8A-8, Ambulatory Withdrawal Management (WM) with Extended On-Site Monitoring have posted for a 45-day public comment period. These policies can be accessed at Proposed Medicaid and NC Health Choice Policies| NC Medicaid (ncdhhs.gov) and comments can be submitted to [email protected] .

The comment period ends on March 3, 2023.

Joint Communication Bulletin #J441: Clarification of Transitions to Community Living Discharge & Transition Process from State Psychiatric Hospitals

This bulletin outlines requirements for the Transitions to Community Living (TCL) in-reach (IR), transition, and discharge process for individuals in State Psychiatric Hospitals (SPHs). These procedures are designed to assist with transitioning individuals from SPHs into permanent supportive housing or TCL Bridge Housing in compliance with the requirements of the TCL Settlement Agreement with the US Department of Justice (DOJ), dated Aug. 23, 2012.

New Data Brief from OMH and ASPE:

Meeting Substance Use and Social Service Needs in Communities of Color

The HHS Office of Minority Health (OMH) and Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) have partnered on issue briefs focused on substance use treatment disparities among people of color and substance use treatment approaches.

This brief, titled Meeting Substance Use and Social Service Needs in Communities of Color, describes findings from a joint study that examined the experiences and practices of substance use treatment providers and their human services partners when serving people of color. The brief also summarizes common approaches the substance use treatment programs take and the challenges they face in their work.

Visit the OMH site to find more briefs and publications related to health disparities facing racial and ethnic minority and American Indian/Alaska Native communities.

NC FFTA Chapter flyer and upcoming 2023 meeting dates

Please find the attached flyer for our 2023 year and some additional information we thought you might find useful. As always please reach out if you have any questions or ideas. Help us make 2023 a year of stronger partnerships, solutions, and outcomes for your agency/organization and NC’s children, youth, and families.

Below are our 2023 Chapter meeting dates (links in the flyer). Meetings will be virtual but with the option to make at least (1) meeting in person.

March 10th 10:00am -12:00pm https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86052985993
May 12th 10:00am -12:00pm https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89283610830
August 11th 10:00am -12:00pm https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84631378207
November 10th 10:00am -12:00pm https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81558362952

**Also the National Conference for FFTA will be in Ohio this year- presentation proposals are due by 1-31-2023 if you are interested: www.ffta.org for more information.

** Public Policy Institute is May 23^rd and 24^th- back in person in Washington DC- look for upcoming registration in your Friday FFTA Public Policy Institute emails.

NC FFTA-2023 Planning

FSN Summer Camp Directory Needs You!

For the past 20 years, FSN has developed a summer camp directory for families, children and providers across the state of North Carolina. This directory lets families across our state know what summer camps are available for their children with disabilities.

Do you know of a summer camp we should include? Please share our Summer Camp Directory Registration flyer with your local camps so we can include them in our Directory. This directory is seen by hundreds of families every year!

If you are looking for a summer camp for your child, please note that our 2023 Directory will be available on our website during the first week of March. We are also planning a Virtual Summer Camp Orientation and Fair in early March. Stay tuned for details!

2023 Summer Camp Directory

NC: In some states, an unpaid foster care bill could mean parents lose their kids forever (Includes audio)

North Carolina is one of at least 12 states, according to an NPR survey, in which mothers and fathers can lose the rights to parent their children forever if they don't pay a little-known and controversial debt to the government. That debt - from a bill that many parents get for some of the costs when their child is placed into foster care - is under attack around the country.

Federal law requires states to bill parents, in order to reimburse some of what Washington pays states for foster care. But because the federal underwriting of foster care applies only to families eligible for welfare, the bill to collect that money targets the poorest families. In addition to North Carolina, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin have similar laws. In most states, it's rare that parents lose their rights to their children for failure to pay the foster care bill.

But in North Carolina, NPR reviewed 200 appeals court decisions - in the state's Supreme Court and Court of Appeals - over the last two years. The failure to pay some of the cost of foster care came up in 30% of termination of parental rights cases.

Read Here

Upcoming Events

Monday, January 30, 2023

How to Connect Call

Time: 12:00 pm thru 1:00 pm

New: Monday, January 30, 2023

Community Partners: NC Medicaid Managed Care & Other Key Initiatives Updates

Time: 1:00 pm thru 2:00 pm

New: Tuesday, January 31, 2023

Making Food & Nutrition Security a SNAP

Time: 1:00 pm thru 2:00 pm

Thursday, February 2, 2023

The Critical Role of Dads: Exploring the Benefits of Father-Friendly Pediatric Care

Time: 2:00 pm thru 3:15 pm

Thursday, February 2, 2023

Virtual & In-Person: Launching North Carolina's State Transformation Collaborative

Time: 3:00 pm thru 5:00 pm

Location: In-Person at Geneen Auditorium, Fuqua School of Business at Duke University, 100 Fuqua Drive, Durham, NC 27708

New: Wednesday, February 8, 2023

Adolescent SUD Stakeholder Engagement—Treatment Providers

Time: 10:00 am thru 11:00 am

Join Here

Wednesday, February 8, 2023

Administrative Simplification: Adoption of Standards for Health Care Attachments Transactions and Electronic Signatures, and Modification to Referral Certification and Authorization Transaction Standard Proposed Rule Call

Time: 2:00 pm thru 3:30 pm

Thursday, February 9, 2023

Benchmarks' Child Welfare Webinar with Karen McLeod, Lisa Cauley & Team

Time: 8:00 am thru 9:00 am

New: Thursday, February 9, 2023

Provider Data Management (PDM)/Credentialing Verification Organization (CVO) Overview – A New Enrollment & Credentialing Solution

Time: 5:30 pm thru 6:30 pm

New: Monday, February 13, 2023

Money Follows the Person (MFP) Lunch & Learn

Time: 12:00 pm thru 1:00 pm

New: Wednesday, February 15, 2023

Benchmarks' Foster, Adoption, Residential (FAR) Meeting

Time: 9:00 am thru 10:00 am

New: Thursday, February 16, 2023

Mitigating Safety and Risk for Children Affected by Parental Substance Use Disorders Involved in the Child Welfare System

Time: 1:00 pm thru 2:00 pm

New: Friday, February 17, 2023

Money Follows the Person (MFP) Roundtable

Time: 12:00 pm thru 2:00 pm

Wednesday & Thursday, February 22 & 23, 2023

Alliance: Assessment and Treatment of Juvenile Sex Offenders

Time: 9:00 am thru 12:15 pm (both days)

Thursday, February 23, 2023

The Impact of Youth Voices in Transforming Pediatric Care

Time: 2:00 pm thru 3:15 pm

New: Friday, February 24, 2023

Benchmarks' Friday Membership Webinar with Dave Richard & Karen McLeod

Time: 8:30 am thru 9:30 am

Thursday, March 16, 2023

Webinar: Psychiatric Advance Directives (PADs): An Introduction

Time: 1:00 pm thru 2:30 pm

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!

See Full Catalog Here