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

Announcement:

• REMINDER: Community First Choice (CFC) Stakeholder Engagement Survey - Deadline: Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2023

General OCL Meetings:

• Community First Choice (CFC) Council

• DATE CHANGE: Direct Care Workforce Collaborative (DCWC) Training & Career Advancement Action Group

American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA)-Related Meetings:

• ARPA 2.02 Statewide Mobile Crisis Response: General Technical Assistance

Announcement

REMINDER: Community First Choice (CFC) Stakeholder Engagement Survey

Deadline: Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2023

The Department is conducting a stakeholder survey to better understand how we can continue to improve upcoming CFC stakeholder opportunities. Our goal is to ensure a successful launch of CFC in Colorado.

What is CFC?

Community First Choice (CFC), also known as 1915(k), allows Colorado to offer Health First Colorado (Colorado's Medicaid Program) attendant care services on a statewide basis to eligible members. Through CFC, members would have the option to direct their attendant care services or receive services through an agency.

Attendant care services are those that assist in accomplishing:

• Activities of daily living such as eating, dressing and bathing

• Instrumental activities of daily living such as shopping and keeping doctor appointments

• Health-related tasks such as medication monitoring

Promoting self-direction is a significant program goal and is detailed in federal regulations. To encourage states to adopt CFC, Congress has authorized a higher federal match on CFC-related Health First Colorado expenditures. Under CFC, Colorado would pay approximately 44% of program costs instead of the 50% it currently pays on most services.

About the Survey

The Department is seeking feedback through this Stakeholder Engagement Survey from Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) waiver members and other CFC Stakeholders on how we can improve CFC stakeholder engagement. It is important we hear from as many stakeholders as possible for an accurate assessment of individual experiences and values. We want to reach all possible stakeholders, including those who aren’t necessarily familiar with CFC or have not yet engaged in previous engagement opportunities. The deadline to take this survey is Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2023.

Please Help Us Share Information About This Survey

Please help us spread the word about the opportunity to complete the CFC Stakeholder Engagement Survey by Jan. 4, 2023. Please advise stakeholders to follow the survey link or contact Jordan Larson and complete the survey with him over the phone by calling 303-866-3580.

We are also asking our partnering and collaborating community organizations to share or forward this survey to one or more people in their community or network, such as:

• Individuals who receive services from their organization

• Individuals who receive their communications

• Individuals they think would like to provide feedback on CFC

The Department will also be glad to give a short presentation on CFC during any of our partnering and collaborating organizations’ upcoming meetings. An overview of CFC and how it relates to HCBS waivers is on the CFC Overview page. If you have any additional questions, please email the CFC team at hcpf_cfc@state.co.us or call Jordan Larson at 303-866-3580.

General OCL Meetings

Please find general OCL meeting announcements listed below. Other OCL meeting information is on the OCL Stakeholder Engagement & Calendar webpage.

Community First Choice (CFC) Council

The CFC Council collaborates with the Department on the design and implementation of a CFC option in Colorado. The CFC Council needs input from Coloradans with disabilities, Coloradans 65 years or older, and advocates to help ensure CFC is implemented in a way that best meets Colorado’s needs. Everyone is welcome!

CFC Council meetings will be held on the first Wednesday of each month from 10 a.m. - 12 p.m., through May 2023. These meetings are open to the public.

The next meeting will be held:

Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2023

10 a.m. - 12 p.m. MT

Meeting Focus: CFC Review and Consumer-Directed Attendant Support Services (CDASS) Overview

Join via Google Meet

Join via Phone:

260-230-1249, PIN: 719 313 221#

Meeting information will be posted on the Community First Choice Stakeholder Opportunities webpage.

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DATE CHANGE: Direct Care Workforce Collaborative (DCWC) Training & Career Advancement Action Group

NOTE: The DCWC's Training and Career Advancement Action Group meeting originally scheduled for Friday, Jan. 6, at 9 a.m. has been rescheduled to Friday, Jan. 13, 2023, from 9 – 10 a.m. MT. If you have questions, please reach out to the Direct Care Workforce Team at HCPF_DCWorkforce@state.co.us. Thank you!

This Action Group works collaboratively with stakeholders to identify and move forward strategies to support the recruitment and retention of Colorado's direct care workforce. This group intends to meet quarterly on the second Wednesday of the month.

The new meeting date is:

Friday, Jan. 13, 2023

9 - 10 a.m. MT

Join via Zoom

Meeting ID: 993 1700 7314, Passcode: 396389

Join via Phone:

Toll-free: 877-853-5257

American Recue Plan Act (ARPA)-Related Meetings

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

ARPA 2.02 Statewide Mobile Crisis Response: General Technical Assistance

This is an opportunity for any interested stakeholders to ask questions and receive support for the Mobile Crisis Medicaid benefit implementation. This meeting will include full program updates. We recommend it if you can only attend one meeting a month. All interested stakeholders are welcome.

These meetings will occur on the first Thursday of the month, from 11 a.m.- 12 p.m. MT, through at least July 2023.

The meeting will be held:

Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023

11 a.m. - 12 p.m. MT

Join via Google Meet



Join by Phone:

361-248-9976, PIN: ‪239 867 541#

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Need to Make an Accommodation Requests 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.usor the 504/ADA Coordinator at hcpf504ada@state.co.us at least one week prior to the meeting to make arrangements.